The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno says he cannot take Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of Marvel superhero the Hulk “seriously”.

Ferrigno portrayed the green-skinned alter-ego of Dr David Banner (Bill Bixby) in 1978 CBS television series The Incredible Hulk.

He said Ruffalo is great actor but his version of Bruce Banner in Marvel Cinematic Universe is not his favourite, reported Comicbook.com.

“Mark is a wonderful actor. But we’ve had three different actors. We’ve had Eric Bana, Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo. I like Bill Bixby the best, I like Edward Norton. But Ruffalo I think he’s a wonderful actor, he blends in with the Marvel aspect of the Avengers but I can’t take him seriously enough,” Ferrigno said at Montreal Comiccon.

“Bill has that intensity, and you knew that when he was in danger, you could feel that intensity. But because of Marvel and Disney, they’ve taken a different direction. You can’t take it as seriously as the original series,” he added.

Ruffalo, who first essayed the part in The Avengers (2012), has reprised the role in Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.