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Written by WiG
Jan 21, 2012
Alec Baldwin and Julia Roberts have signed on to star in the film version of Larry Kramer’s Tony Award-winning autobiographical play “The Normal Heart,” which follows the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The two stars join Mark Ruffalo, who was already cast as protagonist Ned Weeks, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Baldwin will play Weeks’ brother and Roberts will play the doctor who understands the seriousness of the mystery sickness.
The roles are meaty. The 2011 Broadway production won awards for Ellen Barkin in the party Roberts is taking and John Benjamin Hickey in the role that Ruffalo will play on the big screen.
“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy is directing.
The play debuted off-Broadway in 1985 and was revived in 2004 in Los Angeles and London. It debuted on Broadway last year.
“White Collar” star Matt Bomer and Jim Parsons, who won an Emmy for “The Big Bang Theory,” are also part of the cast.
Baldwin is a strong equality supporter who lobbied New York lawmakers to back the bill that legalized same-sex marriage in the state.
Murphy is at the forefront of bringing issues of gay equality into the national conversation, The Hollywood Reporter says. His TV show “Glee” features several gay characters and story lines, as does his cable hit “American Horror Story."
