Mark Ruffalo revealed he packed on a whopping 30 pounds to play one of his twin characters in HBO’s upcoming series I Know This Much Is True.
The 52-year-old-actor plays both Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in the upcoming TV adaptation of Wally Lamb’s 1998 novel, following the parallel lives of the brothers.
And while the pair are identical twins, their significant weight difference required Ruffalo to bulk up to shoot his scenes as brother #2, Thomas.
Weight gain: Mark Ruffalo revealed he packed on a whopping 30 pounds to play one of his twin characters in HBO’s upcoming series I Know This Much Is True
Two roles: The 52 year old actor plays both Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in the upcoming TV adaptation of Wally Lamb’s 1998 novel, following the parallel lives of the brothers
The novel was most notably known for being named part of Oprah’s Book Club in June 1998, with the story now being brought to life on HBO.
Ruffalo revealed that brother Thomas has a mental illness, which requires him to take, ‘stabilizers and antipsychotics’ that lead to weigh gain.
He shot the scenes where he played the other twin Dominic before the scenes with Thomas, where he had to put on the 30 pounds in just a five-week timeframe.
‘When you’re force feeding yourself some of the romance of food leaves,’ Ruffalo stated at the panel, where he was wearing an olive green suit coat and pants with a grey dress shirt.
Mental illness: Ruffalo revealed that Thomas has a mental illness, which requires him to take, ‘stabilizers and antipsychotics’ that lead to weigh gain. He’s seen with director/screenwriter Derek Cianfrance above
Lonely: ‘Those five weeks were kind of lonely, I’d been away from my family and (Thomas) hears voices, and I was imaging that life and there was a couple weeks where I was just staying by myself, going down into the heart of this mental illness and studying it,’ Ruffalo said
‘Those five weeks were kind of lonely, I’d been away from my family and (Thomas) hears voices, and I was imaging that life and there was a couple weeks where I was just staying by myself, going down into the heart of this mental illness and studying it,’ Ruffalo said.
The actor revealed he felt a great deal of pressure to get the aspects of mental illness right on camera.
‘There’s an element of mental illness in this project and you want to be as honest as you can to that, and it means a lot to me to be honest to that which means going into that world and getting to know it and getting comfortable with it,’ Ruffalo said.
‘I was really afraid to play it, I think it’s a really an important issue and I want to tell it as honestly as possible, the responsibility of playing it was really apparent to me,’ he added.
Creator: Ruffalo also took the stage with series creator Derek Cianfrance, who wrote the pilot script and also directed the pilot episode, who said the brothers ‘have the same DNA’ but much different life experiences
Simply: The filmmaker added that another actor played the other twin opposite Ruffalo, adding that he shot the show, ‘very simply,’ shot-counter shot
Aside from the brothers’ physical traits and the prevalence of mental illness in Thomas, Ruffalo revealed how different they really are.
Dominic is more, ‘bound to our ideas of manhood and masculinity,’ while Thomas is more ‘sensitive and open’ largely because he relates more to his mother.
Ruffalo also took the stage with series creator Derek Cianfrance, who wrote the pilot script and also directed the pilot episode, who said the brothers ‘have the same DNA’ but much different life experiences.
The filmmaker added that another actor played the other twin opposite Ruffalo, adding that he shot the show, ‘very simply,’ shot-counter shot.
HBO also announced that the series, which also stars Melissa Leo, Kathryn Hahn, Juliette Lewis and Rosie O’Donnell, will debut in April.
Debut: HBO also announced that the series, which also stars Melissa Leo, Kathryn Hahn, Juliette Lewis and Rosie O’Donnell, will debut in April