All the Light We Cannot See Star Reveals the Unlikely Person Who Picked Mark Ruffalo To Play Her Dad

Breakout stars Aria Mia Loberti and Louis Hofmann are the heart of Netflix’s screen adaptation of the best-selling book “All The Light We Cannot See.” Their characters serve as a light in a dark story that is painfully similar to what is happening across the world. Set in World War II, the 4-hour limited series, follows the story of a young French girl who is blind, who escapes Paris in the 1940s with her father, played by Mark Ruffalo. Loberti’s Marie-Laure communicates with the world through her forbidden radio broadcasts. Hofmann plays a young German teenager, Werner, a radio engineer, who was enlisted by Hitler’s troops to shut down these broadcasts. But turns out, instead the young teenager fell for this faceless voice in the middle of a world war. When Ruffalo’s character disappears, Marie-Laure uses her radio broadcasts to also try and communicate with him wherever he might be. All while avoiding bombs and one of Hitler’s soldiers who is hellbent on finding her. Together, Werner and Marie-Laure find solace in their radio connection, while trying to stay alive.

Loberti and Hofmann sat down exclusively with SheKnows to discuss their important limited series and reveal what they learned from working with Mark Ruffalo. Loberti also lets us in on a surprising casting tidbit. Mark Ruffalo was actually cast by a very important person in her life, before Loberti knew he was cast!

“We’re going through so much right now… there’s so much darkness, I think it’s important for us all to take a moment to remember that within so much darkness, there’s still space to find the light and that’s what the show is all about,” Loberti says. Hofmann says in order to prepare to play a character that history does not look upon fondly, he focused on the human elements, and also did a lot of research on radios. “I actually learned how to build a radio! That had me unconsciously connecting with my character without having to intellectualize too much, because I can sort of get into my head too much.” Loberti laughs in agreement.

One of the highlights of this project, especially for Loberti in her acting debut, was working with Mark Ruffalo. “He’s just a remarkable person, he’s everything you want him to be, he’s just very kind and generous and funny, and very sweet.” She reveals the two hung out in New York prior to filming to connect and bond. “Then when I got set, I learned so much from him in terms of craft, and finding truth in these scenes.” She reveals that Ruffalo would tell her little stories from his characters’ perspective in between takes. She says, “It would help ease my anxiety, and it would help him build the character.”

The casting of Ruffalo as her on-screen father seems perfect when you see them together. Loberti reveals that her mother actually cast Ruffalo first. “Fun fact, my mom called this before we knew that he got cast.” When Loberti learned she got the role, she was overwhelmed with emotion and couldn’t speak. “Shawn (Levy) had to call my parents and tell them I got the part, because I was physically incapable. When I could talk, my mom goes, ‘You know who should play your father, if it’s not going to be your actual father, I think Mark Ruffalo should play your father.’” Well, turns out Loberti’s mother may have a casting career in her future. When Loberti spoke to the casting director, she mentioned her mother’s idea and asked if he was even a possibility, and was met with stunned silence on the phone. Turns out Ruffalo was already cast as her father. “I think maybe if (my mother) wanted to switch careers, she’d be okay!” Loberti laughs. Watch the exclusive video above.

All the Light You Cannot See is streaming now on Netflix. And check out what executive producer and director Shawn Levy had to say about how the adaptation differs from the book in his exclusive interview.

Before you go, check out the all-time best ‘Outlander’ episodes you need to watch.