[2] Ruut Tarmo was the stage manager of the Apollo miniature theater in Tallinn from 1917 to 1922.

In 1927 he would make his film debut in the Aksella Luts and Theodor Luts-penned and directed silent film drama Noored kotkad (English: Young Eagles), which chronicled Estonian soldiers fighting in the Estonian War of Independence from 1918 to 1920.

Although the reasoning was not very watertight, they were sentenced to ten years in prison with the deprivation of all rights and the confiscation of all property.

In 1955, he made his first post-ban film appearance in a comedic short titled Värav nr.

In 1971, his wife would write a posthumous biography of the actor; Ruut Tarmo, published by Eesti Raamat.