The Normal Heart, director Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of Larry Kramer's Tony-winning play about the early days of the AIDS pandemic in New York City, won the Emmy on Monday for best television movie.

The film, broadcast over Memorial Day weekend on premium cable network HBO, features an all-star cast, including Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons and Julia Roberts.

“We are only here because of one person,” Murphy said in accepting the award, “and that's Larry Kramer. We did this for him.”

“After 30 years, it took the super powers of Erin Brockovich and the Hulk to get this thing alive,” he said, a reference to popular roles played by Roberts and Ruffalo.

“This is for all the hundreds of thousands of artists who passed from HIV/AIDS in 1981,” Murphy added. “Your memory and your passion burns on in us and this is for them.” (Video is embedded on this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)