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Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner still have it. The 13 Going on 30 stars recreated their memorable “Thriller” dance from 13 Going on 30 at Ruffalo’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Feb. 8. 

Garner was at the event in Los Angeles to celebrate her former co-star as his star was unveiled. She also took a moment to sing Ruffalo’s praises, particularly his work in romantic comedies. 

“I have got to be here to honor and elucidate rom-com Ruffalo,” she said (via YouTube). 

“How lucky are we to have been in a movie that kids are dressing up for as Halloween? It still means something to people,” she added of the 2004 movie.

Mark Ruffalo kneeling before his Walk of Fame star
Mark Ruffalo poses during the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony honoring him in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2024 | MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

In 13 Going on 30, awkward 13-year-old Jenna Rink wakes up one day as a 30-year-old woman (Garner). Ruffalo plays adult Matty Flamhaff, Jenna’s childhood best friend and love interest. 

Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner doing the Thriller dance at Walk of Fame ceremony
Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner | MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

At the Walk of Fame ceremony, Ruffalo and Garner playfully reenacted the scene from 13 Going on 30 when adult Jenna tries to liven up a dull office party by performing Michael Jackson’s famous “Thriller” dance. A reluctant Matty joins her on the dance floor. 

Jennifer Garner gives a speech while Mark Ruffalo looks on
Jennifer Garner speaks at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony honoring Mark Ruffalo | MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

While the “Thriller” dance ended up being one of 13 Going on 30’s most memorable moments, Ruffalo wasn’t on board with it at first. The Avengers actor “tried to drop out” of the movie “after the first rehearsal of the ‘Thriller’ dance,” Garner revealed at the Walk of Fame ceremony. 

Side by side images of Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner doing Thriller dance at Walk of Fame ceremony and Ruffalo posing with his star
[L-R] Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner; Mark Ruffalo poses with his star | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

“Mark went from kind of shocked that we actually had to do this, to antsy, to a deathly quiet, to ‘Bro, this is not for me,'” Garner recalled. 

Mark Ruffalo's Hollywood Walk of Fame star
Mark Rauffalo’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame | MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images
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Mark Ruffalo Almost Turned Down a Role in ’13 Going on 30′ Because of This 1 Scene

Despite his initial reluctance, Ruffalo eventually nailed the 13 Going on 30 dance scene. Filming with him definitely left an impression on Garner, who later teamed up with Ruffalo again for 2022’s The Adam Project. 

Working with Ruffalo was a “privilege,” Garner said. She drew a connection between his work in 13 Growing on 30, where he “added depth to what was light,” to his recent role in Poor Things, for which he earned a 2024 Oscar nomination. 

“There’s a throughline from Matty in 13 Going on 30 to Duncan in Poor Things, a common thread of anxiety, of clarity of purpose, of understanding of story, of standing up for your characters, being a person of character,” she said.    

“To work with you, Mark, is to love you,” she added. “You allow yourself to be fully known — by your colleagues, by the audience, by the world. Your work on Poor Things deserves all of the awards. All of them. But the real success is in how thrilled and delighted your colleagues are to have the opportunity to lift you up and celebrate you. Every time your name is called, Hollywood takes a deep, collective breath, and says, ‘OK, the good and right thing has happened.'”

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