'Thor: Ragnarok' Star Mark Ruffalo to Play Twins in HBO Miniseries from Wally Lamb
"Thor: Ragnarok" star Mark Ruffalo who plays Hulk will lead an upcoming HBO miniseries based on a book by Wally Lamb. The actor will play twins in the small screen adaptation of "I Know This Much Is True."
Lamb published the novel in 1998, which became a bestseller and part of Oprah's Book Club. The story centers on identical twins Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, where one brother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.
Ruffalo will not only play the twins but will also executive produce the show. He and Lamb have been working on the TV adaptation for two years until HBO signified interest. Ruffalo worked with HBO before as star and producer of the 2014 TV movie "The Normal Heart."
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The plan is to release "I Know This Much Is True" as an eight-episode drama. Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine") will write and direct the episodes.
Lamb's "I Know This Much Is True" consists of 912 pages. The author revealed that there was much interest in turning his novel into a movie in the past 15 years. None of the plans materialized because it was a challenge to fit the story in a 90-minute feature film.
"Along comes the second golden age of television, limited series on HBO and all that stuff," he said. "Suddenly, this book, this grand old novel, had a better format."
Lamb also said Ruffalo connected with the characters in the book because he also had a brother who had challenges before his death.
"The whole idea of being your brother's keeper, he kind of plugged into it," the author related.
Filming for "I Know This Much Is True" will take place in Connecticut and Lamb already did consultations with Cianfrance for the scripts. Casting will soon follow but HBO has not yet given a confirmed premiere date for the miniseries.
Meanwhile, Ruffalo is currently making the press rounds to promote "Thor: Ragnarok" with Chris Hemsworth and Cate Blanchett. The Marvel movie will be in theaters on Friday, Nov. 3.
