Ryan Murphy may be in the news these days for his bad Menéndez brothers fanfic, but a decade ago, the filmmaker had just dropped one of the best and most acclaimed works of his career. "The Normal Heart," an HBO film based on the semi-autobiographical 1985 Larry Kramer play, won two Emmys, two Critics Choice Awards, and the Humanitas Prize. They were accolades the film deserved. As a portrait of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and both those who survived it and those who didn't, "The Normal Heart" was moving, political, and original in its take on a much-discussed time period.

It was also a true actor's showcase, led by Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, and Mark Ruffalo with a scene-stealing, fiery performance from Julia Roberts. Except, Roberts almost didn't take the role. In an interview with HBO from the time, she admitted that she turned down the part of Dr. Emma Brookner...