Mark Ruffalo to star in HBO series 'I Know This Much is True' from Blue Valentine director

Mark Ruffalo is heading back to the small screen for a new project from Derek Cianfrance, the director of Blue Jasmine and The Place Beyond the Pines.

The three-time Oscar nominee will star in limited series I Know This Much Is True as twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, following in the footsteps of Ewan McGregor and James Franco who have both recently played siblings in television projects: Fargo season three and HBO's very own The Deuce from The Wire creator David Simon.

Adapted from the popular 1998 novel by Wally Lamb, the eight-episode series - set in Connecticut - will follow the pair through the latter stages of the 20th-century in what is described as “a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness.”

HBO is continuing to attract big screen talent for its miniseries projects following huge success with True Detective, starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, and Big Little Lies which won Emmys for Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgård last month.

Cianfrance - whose most recent film The Light Between Oceans was met with mixed critical response - is writing and directing what HBO will hope will be yet another big Emmy award-winner.

Ruffalo previously starred in HBO miniseries The Normal Heart. His next screen appearance will be as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in Marvel sequel Thor: Ragnarok from filmmaker Taika Waititi.