Mark Ruffalo Feared He'd Die When His Wife Was Carrying His Baby – Now, He Is Proud Father of 3 Look-Alike Children

• Hollywood icon Mark Ruffalo once feared he'd die when his wife was pregnant.
• Now, he is the proud and doting father of three look-alike children.
• He raises his kids with his loving wife of 23 years.

Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo, 56, is a well-known and talented actor in the entertainment industry who has built an illustrious career. Aside from his esteemed professional life, Mark is a doting husband to his beloved wife, Sunrise Ruffalo, 51.

Sunrise and Mark have been married for 23 years, but their relationship spans back to 1998, when they first met on the streets of Los Angeles. The "13 Going on 30" star had been taking a stroll with a friend when he saw her.

He recalls instantly knowing that he would someday make Sunrise his wife upon first glance of her. However, Mark also admits that courting her was not without its challenges.

Of the reason why trying to impress Sunrise was challenging, the actor explained, "All I had was my decency, wit, and charm — I didn't have anything. When I met her, she was like, 'You don't have a driver's license, you don't have a credit card. What's wrong with you, dude? I can't be with you!'"

On top of all that, Mark's living situation could have been better as he resided in a converted garage. However, Sunrise didn't allow herself to be fussed about the monetary/material things too much, as she still took a chance on him and believed in his acting skills, which she already knew would garner him incredible success without even having seen him perform.

Since then, the lovebirds have only grown stronger and more in love, with Mark frequently and proudly professing his love for his wife. Be it for Valentine's Day or birthdays, he posts of Sunrise on various occasions, like when she turned 51 this year, and he expressed, "So happy we found each other and held on for dear life through everything that came and has left..."

During the course of their enduring and beautiful relationship, Mark and Sunrise welcomed three kids: Keen, Bella Noche, and Odette Ruffalo, whom they raised in a large farmhouse for some time before moving back to New York. The return move was prompted by the parents wanting to be closer to a school with a robust dyslexic program, a learning disability that Mark believes he had when he was younger.

Mark Ruffalo Had a Near-Death Experience When His Wife Was Pregnant with Their First Child

Before welcoming their three children into the world, Mark and Sunrise faced a tragic situation in their lives. When Sunrise was on the cusp of giving birth to their firstborn son, Keen, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Prior to getting examined by a doctor, Mark had already figured out he had a brain tumor. The "Dark Waters" talent shared, "I had this crazy dream that I had a brain tumor. I just woke up, and I just knew that I had a brain tumor. There was no way that I didn't..."

After the doctor's analysis and a CT scan, it was determined that Mark had an acoustic neuroma. The mass was the size of a walnut and located behind his left ear.

Medical professionals informed Mark that they would be able to operate to remove the mass, but they warned that in doing so, he stood a 30% chance of losing the motor and function of the left side of his face. Plagued with the situation at hand and especially given the fact that a pregnant Sunrise was due to give birth shortly, Mark decided to keep the news to himself for weeks.

Interestingly enough, when each child was born, Mark and Sunrise initially had no names for them.

A week following the birth of Keen, Mark let his family know what he was going through and, two weeks after that, underwent surgery. Naturally, Mark was terrified about what could potentially happen to him. In fact, he admitted, "I was certain I was going to die."

Mark also feared that Keen would have to grow up without a dad and even made a tape for him to remember him by when he got older. Fortunately, the tumor was benign and was removed; however, as doctors predicted, the left side of his face went slack, and was paralyzed for a while, and he lost hearing in his left ear after the operation.

His equilibrium was also thrown out of whack, and he would fall a lot. However, luckily, he went on to make a full recovery, and the whole ordeal gave him a renewed sense of life and purpose, where he learned to appreciate and prioritize the most important things.

Mark Ruffalo Raises Three Look-Alike Kids With His Beloved Wife of 23 Years

Of those most important priorities in Mark's life, his family sits at the pinnacle. His children -- Odette, Keen, and Bella Noche, who he raises with his wife of 23 years -- mean the world and more to their proud father, whom they closely resemble. The kids are pretty much carbon copies of Mark, with their similar thick, dark, and curly hair, kind brown eyes, and laid-back demeanor.

Interestingly enough, when each child was born, Mark and Sunrise initially had no names for them. Mark explained that while he and Sunrise certainly had a few names they selected when Keen was born, none of them were the right fit for him.

They had tried sounding out different names each day until they were rushed along by the hospital where Keen was born, who informed them they had a time limit on picking one before they chose it for them.

As young children, Odette and her brothers lived in Callicoon with their parents for some time after Sunrise and Mark decided to leave Los Angeles. While there, they attended Montessori school.

A big appeal of previously living in Callicoon full-time, in addition to the affordability, was the strong sense of community. According to Sunrise, "...Callicoon...ticked off all the boxes for me. The community of people — people mean a lot to me."

Being that she is married to a busy and booked actor, Sunrise bears a lot of the responsibility of tending to her and Mark's kids, which he is extremely grateful for, dubbing her a hero. When it's Mark's turn to play daddy daycare when Sunrise is busy, he admits that raising kids is not as easy as his wife may make it look. He disclosed, "It's intense..."

Mark went on to joke about how frazzled he gets by their laundry alone, which he quipped about being enough to destroy a parent.

The Hollywood film star has come a long way since very nearly not being around to see his kids grow up, and now cherishes every moment he gets to spend with his beautiful family.