Mark Ruffalo may finally be reaching for an Oscar. While promoting his latest film, The Kids Are All Right, the character actor let it slip that he has a new role lined up in The Normal Heart.
The Normal Heart is an adaptation of Larry Kramer’s semi-autobiographical play, which follows the rise of the AIDS epidemic in 1980’s New York. Ruffalo will play gay writer/activist Ned Weeks, who founds a HIV advocacy group. Ruffalo said that he was excited to take on such a “juicy part” and called Weeks a “fighter.” “To see someone who really does change the world by his commitment,” Ruffalo said, “there’s still a real power in that. I love that it’s a people-powered movement that actually changed the way our government looked at this epidemic.”
Ruffalo also revealed that Glee creator Ryan Murphy is involved in the production of the film, but didn’t specify his role.
While a role like this screams “Oscar bait”, this sounds like it could be a pretty good movie. The play it’s based on is well-loved and critically acclaimed, and a look back at the start of the AIDS epidemic from a modern perspective could be fascinating. But they’re going to have to make sure that Murphy tones down his melodramatic Glee sensibilities for the more realistic film.
Source: MTV.com
