Entertainment NOW

Entertainment Now | May 9 - 15, 2020 By Kyla Brewer TV Media I n today's topsy-turvy world, family ties are as important as ever. While no family is perfect, an epic new miniseries travels back and forth through time to ex- plore a brotherly bond complicated by mental illness. Mark Ruffalo ("The Avengers," 2012) does double duty as identi- cal twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in the new minise- ries "I Know This Much Is True," premiering Sunday, May 10, on HBO. The six-part series is based on the Wally Lamb novel of the same name, a 1998 bestseller featured in Oprah's Book Club. In the fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, Dominick struggles to help his brother Thom- as, who suffers from schizophre- nia. Although his condition is fairly well managed, Thomas has occa- sional episodes that prompt his brother to intervene. Eventually, their mother's death pushes Thom- as to the brink. An official news release de- scribes the miniseries as "an epic story of betrayal, sacrifice and for- giveness." Like the book, the mini- series explores the lives of the Bird- sey brothers in present day as well as through flashbacks to their childhood and young adult years. The miniseries marks Ruffalo's first major project as a producer, and it's been in the works for quite some time. In 2015, the award- winning actor was working on an- other project when he learned that the screen rights for the novel were coming up for option again. Previous attempts to adapt the novel had not come to fruition, but he managed to convince Lamb that the story would work best as a limited series. It was a bold play that would pay off for Ruffalo, who then re- cruited director Derek Cianfrance to collaborate with him on the pro- duction. In an interview with Vari- ety, Ruffalo had high praise for Cianfrance, who also penned the scripts for all six episodes. "He really understands work- ing-class America and the name- lessness that is part of that," Ruffa- lo explained. "Derek works harder than anybody I've ever seen." In the same Variety article, HBO executive Casey Bloys also com- mended Ruffalo for his work on the miniseries: "Mark is one of the greatest ac- tors that we have living today," Bloys said. "Everybody understood that it was very special material. We knew going in that if anybody could pull off playing these two characters, it was Mark." This isn't the fist time that the actor has tackled dual roles. Since 2012, he's been playing Bruce Ban- ner/Hulk in Marvel's blockbuster Avengers film series. The comic book characters may be a far cry from the gritty, realistic roles of the Birdsey brothers, but Banner and Hulk are vastly different from each other, and the roles showcased Ruffalo's versatility as a performer. An actor as admired for his ac- tivism as for his talents, he studied at the famed Stella Adler Conser- vatory in Los Angeles. On the big screen, aside from the Avengers movies, he's known for roles in "You Can Count on Me" (2000), "13 Going on 30" (2004) and "Shutter Island" (2010). He's been nominated for Best Supporting Ac- tor Oscars three times for his work in three different films: "The Kids Are Alright" (2010), "Foxcatcher" (2014) and "Spotlight" (2015). On television, he won a SAG Award for his role in 2015's "The Normal Heart." In "I Know This Much Is True," the acclaimed actor stars along- side a talented ensemble cast. Me- lissa Leo portrays Thomas and Dominick's mother, Ma. The recipi- ent of an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a SAG Award, Leo's known for her roles in "All My Children," "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Louie" on the small screen, as well as "Fro- zen River" (2008) and "The Fight- er" (2010) on the big screen. Actress, comedian and televi- sion personality Rosie O'Donnell portrays Lisa Sheffer, a social worker at the institute where Thomas is staying. O'Donnell is, of course, probably best known for her reign as daytime talk show host of "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." Her other work includes memorable roles in the movie "A League of Their Own" (1992) and television series such as "The Fos- ters" and "SMILF." Multifaceted performer Ju- liette Lewis stars as Nedra Frank, a self-absorbed grad student whom Dominick hires. Hugely popular in both mainstream and indie scenes in the '90s, Lewis has a long list of film credits that includes "Cape Fear" (1991), "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993) and "Natural Born Killers" (1994). More recently, she's ap- peared on television in "The Firm" and "The Act." Archie Panjabi portrays Thom- as's psychologist Dr. Patel. TV fans will probably recognize her from her role as Kalinda in CBS's "The Good Wife," which earned her an Emmy in 2010. She's also known for her work in "Bend It Like Beck- ham" (2002) and "Yasmin" (2005). Imogen Poots has taken on the role of Dominic's live-in girlfriend, Joy Hanks. Perhaps best known as Tammy in the post-apocalyptic film "28 Weeks Later" (2007), the English actress previously ap- peared on television in the Show- time series "Roadies." Kathryn Hahn plays Dominick's ex-wife, Dessa Constantine. Audi- ences first got to know Hahn as Lily in NBC's "Crossing Jordan" before she made the jump to films such as "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (2003), "Tomorrowland" (2015) and "Bad Moms" (2016). With a stellar cast and heart- wrenching storyline, Ruffalo's lat- est project is definitely one of the most highly anticipated series of the spring season. Watch him tack- le two very challenging roles in "I Know This Much Is True," premier- ing Sunday, May 10, on HBO. Mark Ruffalo stars in "I Know This Much Is True" A tale of two brothers: Mark Ruffalo plays twins in 'I Know This Much Is True' 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2" 3833 S Lafountain 455-2700 www.NorrisInsurance.com Great insurance. Local Service.

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