Larry Kramer, playwright and AIDS activist, has died on Wednesday morning due to pneumonia. He was notably hailed for his autobiographical play, The Normal Heart, which had an HBO adaptation in 2014 starring Matt Bomer and Mark Ruffalo. Matt has paid tribute to Larry on his Instagram account. He also spoke with Marc Malkin from Variety, and referred to Mr. Kramer as “one of the most courageous people I’ve ever known.”
Matt Bomer’s career took a major upswing in 2015 when he won a Golden Globe for his performance as Felix in Ryan Murphy’s HBO adaptation of Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart.”
“Larry Kramer, thank you for your anger and your passion and writing this story that changed so many lives,” the actor said in his acceptance speech.
Today, Bomer is remembering the late writer and AIDS activist as one of his heroes. “I, and countless others, owe our lives to Larry,” Bomer told Variety. “Without his tireless advocacy and his outspokenness and opposition to everything that was going on and encouraging people to educate themselves and be responsible for themselves, I, growing up in a semi-rural environment, wouldn’t have had any clue about the epidemic if it weren’t for him.”
Bomer said he first read Kramer’s writings when he was 14 or 15. “For me, it was the first time that someone really stood up and said, ‘You should be proud of who you are and you should be outspoken about who you are and you should be bold about who you are and passionate about who you are.’ He was a trailblazer and one of the most courageous people I’ve ever known.”
You can read the full interview at Variety.