The Normal Heart won two of 16 nominations for the 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Television Movie, according to Emmys.com. The HBO film also won Outstanding Makeup For A Miniseries or A Movie (Non-Prosthetic).

The film is an adaptation of the eponymous play, which originally debuted off-Broadway in 1985. The Broadway production won Best Revival of a Play at the 2011 Tony Awards. Set in New York City at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, both the play and the film were written by Larry Kramer.

Kramer had been nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special. Ryan Murphy had been nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special.

According to Eonline.com, Murphy said during the acceptance speech for best movie: “We’re going to use the rest of our time to ask the young people watching to become Larry Kramers, to find a cause you believe in that you will fight for, that you will die for…This is for all of the hundreds of thousands of artists who passed from HIV/AIDS in 1981. Your memory and your passion burns on in us and this is for them.”

Mark Ruffalo had a lead actor nomination and Julia Roberts had a nomination for supporting actress. Jim Parsons, Joe Mantello, Alfred Molina and Matt Bomer all were nominated for supporting actor. The other nominations included casting, photography, editing, costume, hairstyling, makeup and prosthetic makeup.