Brotherly love
In 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 explore a brotherly bond complicated by mental illness.
Mark Ruffalo (“The Avengers,” 2012) does double duty as identical twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in the new miniseries “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 Thomas, who suffers from schizophrenia. Although his condition is fairly well managed, Thomas has occasional episodes that prompt his brother to intervene. Eventually, their mother’s death pushes Thomas to the brink.
An official news release describes the miniseries as “an epic story of betrayal, sacrifice and forgiveness.” Like the book, the miniseries explores the lives of the Birdsey 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 another 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 recruited director Derek Cianfrance to collaborate with him on the production. In an interview with Variety, Ruffalo had high praise for Cianfrance, who also penned the scripts for all six episodes.
“He really understands working-class America and the namelessness that is part of that,” Ruffalo explained. “Derek works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
In the same Variety article, HBO executive Casey Bloys also commended Ruffalo for his work on the miniseries:
“Mark is one of the greatest actors 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 Banner/ 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 activism as for his talents, he studied at the famed Stella Adler Conservatory 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 Actor 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 alongside a talented ensemble cast. Melissa Leo portrays Thomas and Dominick’s mother, Ma. The recipient 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 “Frozen River” (2008) and “The Fighter” (2010) on the big screen.
Actress, comedian and television 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 Fosters” and “SMILF.”
Multifaceted performer Juliette 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 appeared on television in “The Firm” and “The Act.”
Archie Panjabi portrays Thomas’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 Beckham” (2002) and “Yasmin” (2005).
Imogen Poots has taken on the role of Dominic’s livein girlfriend, Joy Hanks. Perhaps best known as Tammy in the post-apocalyptic film “28 Weeks Later” (2007), the English actress previously appeared on television in the Showtime series “Roadies.”
Kathryn Hahn plays Dominick’s ex-wife, Dessa Constantine. Audiences 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 latest project is definitely one of the most highly anticipated series of the spring season. Watch him tackle two very challenging roles in “I Know This Much Is True,” premiering Sunday, May 10, on HBO.