First Mark Ruffalo sighting in Newtown Square as ‘Mare of Easttown’ follow-up shoots in Delco

Mark Ruffalo is up for best supporting actor against some of Hollywood’s biggest names at the Academy Awards this Sunday.

But last week, he was hanging out in Delco.

When Marple resident Mike Gentile stopped for lunch at A Cut Above Deli in Newtown Square on Wednesday, the 37-year-old found himself steps away from one of his Marvel heroes — Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk — in the modest store along West Chester Pike.

Chatter was swirling that Brad Ingelsby’s follow-up to Mare of Easttown, a crime show called Task set in the Philadelphia area, was filming locally. But Gentile had no clue that Ruffalo, fresh off an Oscar-nominated performance in 2023′s Poor Things, was starring in the forthcoming HBO series.

“I said ‘Hey Mark, big fan, big Marvel nerd,’ " Gentile told The Inquirer. “I was telling him how I go to the movies for the premiere of all the Marvel movies by myself. [Ruffalo] was just thanking me for feeding his kids, and making me laugh.”

Being from Delco, Gentile said he “has no couth” and unabashedly asked for a photo with Ruffalo, who was joined by an acquaintance. Gentile believes Ruffalo ordered a hoagie.

Ruffalo was excited to share that he was in town for Task during their brief interaction, the Marple native said.

The series follows “a task force of law enforcement officers and the criminals they are trying to apprehend,” according to Variety. Filming was underway in Ridley Township over the weekend at Our Lady of Peace School on Milmont Avenue.

Ruffalo said in a January interview that he plays the head of an FBI unit that’s “badly damaged but fighting for good.” It’s unknown whether Kate Winslet could reappear as Mare Sheehan; Ruffalo’s comments left the possibility open ended.

Nicholas Carneglia, manager of A Cut Above, wasn’t expecting Ruffalo when the actor dropped in for lunch shortly after noon.

“He was very generous,” Carneglia said. “He was kind of incognito, wearing a baseball hat, a jacket. But he was also very sociable once I started talking to him.”

Carneglia is a longtime Ruffalo fan, beginning with the actor’s 2010 role as a U.S. Marshal alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island. The manager also enjoys The Avengers.

Still, Carneglia wasn’t overly starstruck. The manager said M. Knight Shyamalan — Chester County’s most famous resident — is a Cut Above customer, along with members of the Phillies and Sixers.

Ruffalo is no stranger to Philadelphia.

The actor joined local high school students in Cheltenham in 2016 for an educational trip in the Delaware River watershed (Ruffalo is the founder of a water defense group that opposes natural gas drilling). In April, Ruffalo took to X to endorse former councilwoman Helen Gym during her campaign for mayor.

Ridley Township residents were mesmerized by Task’s filming last week. There were no reported sightings of Ruffalo on set.

“I’ll definitely watch it,” Gentile said, adding that he had enjoyed Mare. “I’m a Delco guy — anything that’s stationed in Delco, I’m definitely gonna watch it.”