‘Lingua Franca’s’ Isabel Sandoval had an accidental camera duel with Mark Ruffalo

Some people have your run-of-the-mill celebrity encounter (a photo with a friendly smile, or maybe a never-meet-your-heroes type of deal), but some have moments that feel like they’re straight from a fever dream, because the world runs weird. Take for example “Lingua Franca” director Isabel Sandoval and Mark Ruffalo. (Yes, that Mark Ruffalo.)

The Filipino-American filmmaker took to Twitter to share a famous sighting back in September 2015. Responding to a user’s prompt that said, “Tell me the strangest interaction you’ve had with a celebrity,” Sandoval tweeted two photos: one she took of Mark Ruffalo sitting opposite her on a New York City subway train, and the other a photo of her own shoes—taken by Ruffalo, as published on his Instagram feed.

“I took a pic of Mark Ruffalo on the subway while he was taking pics of my [high-heeled shoe emojis] … which he then posted on Insta,” she recounted in the tweet. “TARANTINO IS SHAKING.” 

Six years later, Ruffalo’s photo of Sandoval’s shoes is still on his Instagram feed for anyone to see if they’re willing to scroll through. The photo provided no caption, only the location tag “Williamsburg Bridge (Under It).”

The questions remain: What was Ruffalo’s deal? Was this for his artsy IG phase? Was he pulling a Cole Sprouse and testing the waters for a camera duels page? Is he a big Isabel Sandoval fan? These, unfortunately, still remain as mysteries—but it’s probably because he just really likes to take candids of people on trains. (That, or he likes shoes.)

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Art by Yel Sayo
Screenshot from Isabel Sandoval’s Twitter
Mark Ruffalo’s photo from “Avengers: Endgame”
Isabel Sandoval’s photo courtesy of her Instagram