Mark Ruffalo receives the “Giffoni Experience Award” (© IMAGE.NET)

After working steadily for over two decades, actor Mark Ruffalo is enjoying a high point in his career. He has been seeing big box office success with his dual role of Dr. Bruce Banner and the Hulk in Marvel movies, as well as winning critical acclaim for his roles in smaller films, such as a recovering alcoholic in Begin Again, a bipolar dad in Infinitely Polar Bear, and an Olympic wrestler in last year’s Foxcatcher, which got him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. And he has just been honored with the Experience Award at Italy’s Giffoni Film Festival.

The fest is unique in that it is a sort of cinematic summer camp, with a jury made up of thousands of young people invited from around the world. Ruffalo spoke to the kids about cinema and the meatball recipe passed down by his Italian relatives, and fielded tough questions about climate change and renewable energy. He spoke about his most famous role, saying, “I’m sometimes afraid I will only be remembered for Hulk, but I suppose there are worse things that could be written on my tombstone.”

The actor stayed in Italy for the Venice Film Festival and the premiere of Spotlight, in which he plays part of the Boston Globe team that uncovered kid molestation in the Catholic Church.