--- title: The Normal Heart: HBO's Movie Draws 1.4 Million description: The project from Glee's Ryan Murphy is now the fifth-biggest debut of all HBO movies since 2010 canonical: https://time.com/120637/the-normal-heart-ratings/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-27T21:09:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:52:53.627Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Normal Heart: HBO's Movie Draws 1.4 Million og:description: The project from Glee's Ryan Murphy is now the fifth-biggest debut of all HBO movies since 2010 og:url: https://time.com/120637/the-normal-heart-ratings/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58d70e76a61a5f59/698690fcd0b6f25601304730/normalheart07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3819 og:image:height: 2148 og:image:alt: normalheart07 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Normal Heart: HBO's Movie Draws 1.4 Million twitter:description: The project from Glee's Ryan Murphy is now the fifth-biggest debut of all HBO movies since 2010 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58d70e76a61a5f59/698690fcd0b6f25601304730/normalheart07.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # HBO's _The Normal Heart_ Pulls in 1.4 Million Viewers > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Taylor Kitsch: Working on 'The Normal Heart' was 'Gutting' [Watch (HLS stream): Taylor Kitsch: Working on 'The Normal Heart' was 'Gutting'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EcD2AhPB.m3u8) (3:42)  _Published 2014-05-21. Taylor Kitsch talks to TIME's Lily Rothman about his new movie, 'A Normal Heart," and why he's glad he didn't get famous until later._  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney May 27, 2014 9:09 PM UTC  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney May 27, 2014 9:09 PM UTC HBO’s _The Normal Heart_ [brought in 1.4 million viewers](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-hbos-normal-heart-707304) on Sunday night, making it the fifth-biggest debut of the 17 films HBO has created since 2010, according to _The Hollywood Reporter_. _Glee_ creator Ryan Murphy directed the adaptation of Larry Kramer’s award-winning 1985 play, which followed the early days of the AIDS crisis in New York City and starred Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch and Julia Roberts. Just under 1 million people watched the first screening at 9 p.m., while more than 400,000 viewers tuned in for a second broadcast later that night. The total audience for the film is expected to spike once time-shifted viewings and HBO Go users are factored in. While the numbers aren’t bad for the [film](http://time.com/109156/the-normal-heart-review-hbo/), the showing pales in comparison to Lifetime’s _Flowers in the Attic_ sequel, which premiered with [3.4 million viewers](http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/05/27/lifetime-petals-on-the-wind-stirs-up-3-4-million-viewers-down-from-flowers-in-the-attic/267827/) the following night. Watch TIME’s interview with Kitsch above. \[[_THR_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-hbos-normal-heart-707304)\] ## Transcript I'm Lily Rothman with Time Magazine. And I'm here with Taylor Kitsch who's in the Normal Heart on HBO. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me. Did you know a lot about the AIDS crisis and its history before you? You know? I'd been to Africa and I had worked with an AIDS program there and worked in the clinics there, but not to this extent of how personal this story is, you know of it, of the epidemic in New York City in the early 80s, to, to the struggle of just figuring out what this is, you know, of the unknown. And, you know, at the time they were calling it gay cancer. Going to that, to what we have now is pretty incredible. Have you completely forgotten how to fight? Don't tell me how to fight. I just fight differently than you do. I, I haven't seen your way yet. No. Bruce. Albert may be dying. You son. No. So one of the, you know, most obvious takeaways from the movie is that it's just really, really, really sad. Yeah. Super duper sad. Yeah. So what was the atmosphere like on set? Were you guys just sad all the time? Super duper sad. It was exhausting. I remember Ryan Murphy many times, actually, it was like, man I'm ready for this to be done. Cuz we're so tired, and it's just, you know, obviously long days. But, it's just mentally and emotionally taxing on a different level. I think we laughed harder. You know, I think everything was heightened. When it's a time to like have fun and, when we're all together. That was amazing. You know, unless it was a funeral scene or something. But it was like we just, you know, in between takes, we'd keep each other like pretty light hearted and, and that was very important. How do you feel that the, that having all this negative talk about these movies that you are in, how did that affect your career moving forward from that. I was very lucky that I had a late start in my career. And Hugh Jackman, who's a dear friend of mine, had a late start. He was 30 when Wolverine kinda just broke and really made him, you know, global. And with that comes a sense of self that allows you to know who you are before people try and tell you. And I'm very grateful for that. I had been tested on a deeper level and not on such a superficial thing that I have no control over. The one thing that would be hard to let go, would be if I didn't put everything I had into those jobs. That is something, personally, I'd have a really tough time dealing with. But I did. So it helps me just be like, you know what? So much is out of your control with these types of huge blockbusters that all you can do is take that leap of faith with that director and his vision. And and do what you can, you know? When people watch The Normal Heart, is there anything that you hope they take away from it specifically? These guys are so different, yet so relatable in the sense of, like, everyone feels fear and lack of love, and is, is scared at one point to a certain degree, no matter. You know, if you want to admit it or not. You can be gay 24 / 7 Ed. But I can't. And I think this movie really goes into that depth of like how they deal with loss and how they don't, which is even more exciting for me to kind of dive into as an actor. Like, you know, what's he not really revealing of himself. 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