Friday Night Lights Heartthrob Taylor Kitsch Joins Ryan Murphy’s The Normal Heart Movie

Taylor Kitsch is the latest addition to the cast of HBO's upcoming film adaptation of The Normal Heart, according to Deadline.com. Kitsch will play the role of Bruce Niles, a closeted banker who becomes a dedicated AIDS activist.

Kitsch joins a previously reported star-studded cast that includes Julia Roberts as Dr. Emma Brookner, Mark Ruffalo as Ned Weeks, Alec Baldwin as Ben Weeks, and Jim Parsons (who starred in the 2011 Broadway production) as Tommy Boatwright. Glee and American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy directs.

Set in New York in the early 1980s at the beginning of the HIV-AIDS crisis, Larry Kramer’s Tony-winning play follows gay activists and their allies in the medical community as they struggle to expose the truth about the “gay epidemic” to a nation in denial.

Kitsch is well known for his role as Tim Riggins on NBC's Friday Night Lights. His film credits include Savages, Battleship, John Carter and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.