Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things”.Photo:Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in POOR THINGS

Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Mark Ruffalois baring it all — including his hesitancy at baring it all.

ForPerfect Magazine, the Oscar-nominated actor posed for photos and discussed his work inPoor Things, in which he plays the dandified Duncan Wedderburn.

“I didn’t know if I could pull this off,” Ruffalo, 56, told the magazine, as revealed in the first ofPerfect Magazine’s two collaborationInstagramposts published Monday. “I’ve never done anything like [Poor Things] before.”

Ruffalo, 55 at the time of the interview, also mentioned his age. “So, like, the sex scenes,” he said of acting oppositeEmma Stonein the film. “Am I too old to be doing that kind of stuff? Does anyone want to see that?”

Mark Ruffalo on Jan. 4.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Mark Ruffalo attends the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards at Palm Springs Convention Center on January 04, 2024 in Palm Springs, California.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Also in Ruffalo’s “wide-ranging interview forPerfect,” per another Instagrampost— which includes an apparent shot of his bare torso — the actor discussed politics, social media and the depiction of sex on screen.

“I feel like we’re in this prudish time for films," he said. “Sexuality is so deeply connected to the psychology of a character. And it should be explored in that sense, too.”

Ruffalo himself approved of his risqué display, commenting on the latter Instagram gallery soon after it was posted, “Thanks Willy and [interviewer Amber Later] and all the folks over there. You are perfection.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Poor Thingsalso starsWillem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael and Christopher Abbott. It earned an R rating for “strong and pervasive sexual content, graphic nudity, disturbing material, gore and language.”

“It was very important for me to not make a film that was going to be prude, because it would be completely betraying the main character. So we had to be confident,“Lanthimos saidin September at the movie’s Venice Film Festival premiere.

Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone in 2023.Cindy Ord/WireImage

Mark Ruffalo Emma Stone poor things new york 12 06 23

Cindy Ord/WireImage

“The character [had to] have no shame, and Emma had to have no shame about her body, nudity and engaging in those scenes, and she understood that right away,” he said of Stone, who is also among the film’s producers.

Ruffalo has also had plenty of praise for his costar, calling Stone “a once in a generation talent” atPoor Things’ New York City premiere in December.

“She’s a great talent,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “I mean, this is probably one of the most daring female performances in decades, in a sense.”

Poor Thingsis in theaters now.

source: people.com