Bomer's next project involved Ryan Murphy casting him opposite Mark Ruffalo, Jim Parsons and Julia Roberts in the drama romance film "The Normal Heart" (2014). Based on Larry Kramer's play of the same name, it featured Bomer as an closeted writer of "The New York Times" and love interest of Ruffalo's character. The film shows the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks (Ruffalo), the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. The production of "The Normal Heart" stopped for a few months while he was on a diet. Bomer's performance was praised by a reviewer for "The Hollywood Reporter", who considered his acting as the highlight of the production. Matthew Gilbert of "The Boston Globe" noticed that Bomer is: "quite simply, devastating in this movie, his beauty adding resonance because it begins to fade so suddenly, as his cheeks protrude and lesions gather." Gilbert also lauded the chemistry between Bomer and Ruffalo saying that: "is among the movie's strengths, too, as it provides the core of love and compassion amid all the acrimony." Bomer received his first Golden Globe Award in the Best Supporting Actor category and his first Primetime Emmy Awards nomination.