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ron woodroof
Ron Woodroof was first diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 and given just 30 days to live.
Ron Woodroof, who was born in Texas in 1950, was 35 at the moment of diagnosis.
He became an electrician and rodeo cowboy in adulthood.
Ron Woodroof initially refuses to accept the diagnosis, but remembers having unprotected s** with an intravenous drug-using prostitute.
Instead of accepting the death sentence, Ron Woodroof studied the disease and its effects on the body, and created a business sourcing and smuggling non-FDA approved medication, experimental and alternative drugs for AIDS patients.
His determination and tenacity enabled him to live for six more years – during which time he pushed legislation through the courts, promoted awareness of the disease and helped countless other AIDS patients in the process.
Ron Woodroof was first diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 and given just 30 days to live
In 1988, Ron Woodroof also began what is now known as the Dallas Buyers Club, through which he sold the drugs to AIDS victims around the world who had no other recourse. In the face of the FDA and other regulators, the Dallas Buyers Club flourished, but Ron Woodroof himself succumbed to the affliction six years after the diagnosis, on September 12, 1992.
Through the Buyers Club, Ron Woodroof operated a large distribution center for experimental AIDS treatments out of his Oak Lawn, Texas, apartment, selling thousands of dollars worth of medication. His club resulted in a huge network of buyers and sellers, all of whom attempted to fly under the FDA radar. The group imported AIDS treatments from other countries or smuggled in experimental American drugs that had been shipped to other countries but were not approved in the US.
His fight brought added awareness to the disease, and the awareness in turn helped countless victims find Ron Woodroof and attain a level of help otherwise unavailable.
More than two decades after his death, Ron Woodroof and his story are gaining renewed attention in 2013, as a movie version of his life, Dallas Buyers Club, finally came to fruition after years in limbo. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodroof, a role which brought him the Academy Award for Best Actor prize last month.
Matthew McConaughey lost 30 lbs for the role.
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Matthew McConaughey shed 40 lbs to play the role of HIV positive Texan Ron Woodroof in highly anticipated film Dallas Buyers Club.
The results of Matthew McConaughey’s dramatic transformation are shockingly clear in a new trailer for the film.
Matthew McConaughey, 43, shows off his range in the preview footage, appearing tearful, angry and frustrated as he attempts to smuggle life-prolonging drugs into the U.S.
Dallas Buyers Club, set in 1985 Dallas, begins in the doctor’s surgery with Matthew McConaughey’s Ron Woodruff being informed he has tested positive for the HIV virus.
“Have you ever used intravenous drugs? Have you ever engaged in homos**ual conduct?” the doctor asks the initially homophobic electrician.
“You made a mistake. Because that ain’t me,” a horrified Ron Woodroof replies.
After being told he has 30 days to live, Ron Woodroof determines to find a way to survive.
“There ain’t nothing out there that can kill Ron Woodroof in 30 days,” he declares.
Matthew McConaughey shed 40 lbs to play the role of HIV positive Texan Ron Woodroof in highly anticipated film Dallas Buyers Club
Ron Woodroof turns to Jennifer Garner’s doctor Dr. Eve Saks for assistance but is unhappy with AZT, the only conventional drug available at the time.
After learning anti-viral drugs could be found abroad but were not FDA approved within the U.S., Ron Woodroof drives to Mexico saying: “They’re not illegal, they’re merely unapproved.”
Ron Woodruff then begins bringing the drugs back over the border, initially dressing as a priest and telling customs officials he has “nada” to declare.
The trailer then cuts to him encountering Jared Leto’s transgender character Rayon on the street.
Jared Leto, who also shed 30 lbs to play the role of the HIV positive transgender, plays the part in sassy yet fragile style.
“I’ve been looking for you lone star,” she tells Ron Woodroof after getting into his car, before she negotiates “25 per cent cut” of his burgeoning operation, which he soon names Dallas Buyers Club.
“You treating these people?” Dr. Eve Saks asks, before Ron Woodroof clarifies: “They’re treating themselves. I ain’t selling drugs, I’m selling membership.”
The trailer touches on the relationship between Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey’s characters, with former homophobe Ron Woodroof assaulting a man in a grocery store after he insults Rayon.
However, things predictably don’t all go smoothly in Ron Woodroof’s new venture.
With an increased number of HIV and AIDS patients seeking his help, he comes to the attention of the FDA who investigate.
But Ron Woodruff is clever, giving police a list of members of the club, who happen to share the monikers of the Dallas Cowboys football players.
Forced to look further afield than over the Mexican border, the movie shows Matthew McConaughey travelling all over the world in search of supplies.
“Check Amsterdam, China, Israel,” he says, while declaring: “I got one life. I want it to mean something.”
The film also follows Ron Woodroof’s personal quest to survive more than his 30 day prognosis.
In reality, he actually managed to live for a further 2191 days, passing away on September 12, 1992, six years after he was diagnosed with the HIV virus.
Meanwhile there has been growing Oscar buzz surrounding Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto’s performances after Tuesday’s first viewing of the trailer which will première at the Toronto Film Festival.
Commentators have also cited Focus Features’s decision to move the film’s release date up to November 1, in order to fully maximize its awards season chances.
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Ron Woodroof’s family helped Matthew McConaughey to reveal the true story of courage that inspired actor’s breathtaking transformation in new movie The Dallas Buyers Club.
Sharon Woodroof Braden, 70, and Yvette Carroll, 42, have had years to try to come to terms with the agony of losing Ron Woodroof – Sharon’s brother and Yvette’s father to AIDS.
But Matthew McConaughey’s astonishing physical transformation to tell Ron Woodroof’s courageous story in The Dallas Buyers Club means they will soon see his brave battle relived on the big screen.
These exclusive photos of Ron Woodroof, who is described as a heterosexual, homophobic electrician, as he fought the disease show just what a remarkable resemblance Matthew McConaughey has achieved for his portrayal.
Speaking from her home in Como, Texas, Sharon Woodroof Braden said: “It’s very hard to see. I don’t go on the internet.
“It’s hard to look back whenever you’ve lived through it; it’s really hard to look back at something like that. So I don’t look at the pictures that much.
“The pictures of Matthew are breathtaking though. They look so like what Ronnie looked like when he was sick and how the disease progressed.
“Matthew is definitely looking like he’s gone down that path. His eyes, that is the main thing, the way he is doing his eyes.
“I’m not looking at his body as much as his face and his face certainly taken on the look of someone with AIDS. Matthew is so in character it is unreal.”
Ron Woodroof – who Sharon and Yvette affectionately call Ronnie – was an extraordinary character who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and given just six months to live.
Instead of accepting the death sentence, Ron Woodroof studied the disease
and its effects on the body, and created a business sourcing and smuggling non-FDA approved medication, experimental and alternative drugs for AIDS patients.
His determination and tenacity enabled him to live for six more years – during which time he pushed legislation through the courts, promoted awareness of the disease and helped countless other AIDS patients in the process.
“I remember he was the best-looking man I’d ever seen, even when I was little,” his daughter Yvette Carroll has said.
But that appeal all changed when he got sick, as Yvette Carroll said: “It was awful to see him like that. I couldn’t handle it, even at 21 years old.”
Ron Woodroof was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and given just six months to live
Over the years, several A-List stars have had their names attached to play the role of Ron Woodroof in the film – including Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling.
Sharon Woodroof Braden said: “They wanted Brad Pitt to play him and I thought <<No, that isn’t going to work because I didn’t think Brad Pitt had the personality>>.
“They talked about Ryan Gosling and I thought the same thing.
“I like Ryan Gosling but I didn’t think his personality was the right personality.
“Then a year ago they mentioned Matthew McConaughey and I thought, <<Ok … yes!>>
“He’s got that same swagger that Ron had. I’m excited because Matthew is from Texas. I really think he has that personality where he can do what needs to be done.”
Sharon Woodroof Braden says the way Matthew McConaughey has gone about losing weight to transform into Ron is another characteristic they shared – determination.
The actor has dropped more than 40 pounds for the role leading to criticism that he was risking his health by extreme dieting, though he insisted he was going it the safe and healthy way.
“I feel fine. I really do. I got the means to lose the weight in a really healthy way. I’m eating fresh fish. I’m just eating small amounts. I’m not being starved… I’m taking care of myself,” he told The Daily Beast.
Of his shocking weight loss Sharon Woodroof Braden said: “I hate that he’s having to do this, I really do. I wish there was another way for him to do it, but that is just another trait – determination – Matthew does to portray someone dying of AIDS.
“It isn’t pretty in real life and it won’t be pretty on the big screen. I think he will get an Oscar for this role.”
Sharon Woodroof Braden says that things weren’t always easy between her and Ron when he was alive. He was a drug user and had many girlfriends – leaving his family unclear exactly how he contracted HIV.
“I will say this, I love Ronnie and always have – and I miss him with all my heart – but I know where he is and I know where my cars are now!
“But he was one wonderful and unique individual; I didn’t realize how unique he was until he got sick. But he was my brother and down underneath we both loved each other a lot.”
Matthew McConaughey has revealed he is now down to his goal weight to play the real-life AIDS-afflicted character of Ron Woodroof in The Dallas Buyers Club – and doesn’t plan on losing any more.
In a new interview the 6 ft-tall actor reveals he now weighs in at 143lbs – having lost 38 lbs over the past few months (more than the 30 lbs previously reported).
With a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 19.4, Matthew McConaughey is still in the “normal weight” range – but skirting very close to and just seven pounds away from the underweight range (below 18.5).
Matthew McConaughey, 43, opened up to HitFix.com about the struggle he endured to shrink his frame – admitting it has been “90 per cent diet”, and exercise less so, which has seen him transform into the gaunt figure he is today.
He also admitted to looking forward to being able to eat a cheeseburger – but before then he has to maintain his weight for the next five weeks while filming after arriving on location in New Orleans over the weekend.
“I feel good, now,” Matthew McConaughey told HitFix‘s Gregory Ellwood. “Overall, probably got 35 percent less energy. The tough part, there have been plateaus.”
He explained: “Getting past 170 [lbs] was really hard, but then once you get into the 167, the next 7 come off easy. Getting past 160, really hard. But then you fly down to 150.
“Getting past 150 was really hard. And then, bam, got down to 143 and that’s where I want to be. Once you get past the plateau, the body seems to understand, <<OK this is where we’re living now, this is where we are>>, so the energy rises.”
Matthew McConaughey reveals he now weighs in at 143lbs, having lost 38 lbs over the past few months for his new role in The Dallas Buyers Club
Matthew McConaughey also talked about how he realized it was his diet he needed to regulate most – rather than his exercise.
The star is sticking to a drastic regime of cardio, five ounces of protein a day and low carbohydrates to maintain his emaciated form.
He said: “I’m doing cardio but I’ll tell you what, the more I’ve learned is – and I think it comes with age too – is it’s 90 percent diet.
“It’s 90 percent amount and then what you’re eating because right now I’m not losing any more weight if I burn 1,500 calories, two hours of cardio in an afternoon, or if I don’t. It doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of how much I eat or how little I eat.”
Matthew McConaughey says he has had to be strict on himself and stay away from temptation – but concedes that while he is looking forward to eating normally again, his body will probably be in for a shock.
“The organs shrink, so my stomach has shrunk as well. So as much as I can’t wait to have that cheeseburger, on the day, it’ll be damn hard to eat the whole thing.”
But for now: “I choose to pick my places where there’s less good smells and temptations. I don’t want to be doing this interview at a Pizza Hut buffet,” he added with a laugh.
The gritty film role, which initially attracted Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling, revolves around Ron Woodroof, the heterosexual, homophobic electrician who died of the disease in 1992 after illegally smuggling HIV drugs not approved in the States.
This is perhaps Matthew McConaughey’s most dramatic turn, having last appeared as a sexy stripper in Magic Mike.
Jennifer Garner has joined the film as Dr. Eve Saks and Jared Leto has also come on board to portray Ron Woodroof’s friend Rayon, a flamboyant HIV-positive cross-dressing hospital patient.
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Fears are growing Matthew McConaughey is taking it too far as he continues to shed weight for a role as an AIDS victim in a forthcoming film, The Dallas Buyer’s Club.
Matthew McConaughey, 42, looked gaunt and unwell as he made his way through a Los Angeles airport as he jetted out to New Orleans on Friday.
The actor was aiming to lose 30 pounds from his already lean but muscular frame to play Ron Woodroof in The Dallas Buyer’s Club.
However, it looks like Matthew McConaughey may have lost even more than that as he shuffled through security at LAX.
He certainly looked almost unrecognizable from the snake-hipped muscleman who lit up screens this year in stripper movie Magic Mike.
The Dallas Buyer’s Club starts filming next week and follows what happened when Ron Woodroof was given six months to live after contracting the disease in 1986.He ended up spending the next six years smuggling medicine into the U.S. to help himself and fellow sufferers.
The heterosexual, homophobic electrician died in 1992 after illegally smuggling HIV drugs not approved in the States.
Jared Leto has just been cast in the film, which will also star Jennifer Garner.
He is to play Rayon, a cross-dressing fellow AIDS patient who meets Ron Woodroof in the hospital.
Matthew McConaughey revealed he was going to lose a staggering 30 lbs to play real-life AIDS victim Ron Woodruff in upcoming movie The Dallas Buyer’s Club.
But it seems that it might be time for Matthew McConaughey to stop his weight loss quest.
Matthew McConaughey, 42, was seen on a family day out in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, and appeared to be severely emaciated.
The actor failed to conceal his frail frame beneath a baggy navy knitted cardigan and loose-fitting jeans, wearing a red scarf around his neck and topping off his outfit with a flat cap.
He even appeared to be struggling to walk along, putting his arm around his mother Mary for support as the group left church after the morning service.
However, while Matthew McConaughey looked terrifyingly gaunt, his wife Camila looked healthier than ever.
Matthew McConaughey was seen on a family day out in Austin and appeared to be severely emaciated
The Brazilian model is currently expecting her third child with Matthew McConaughey, and highlighted her blooming figure in a patterned maxi dress, which she finished off with a pair of brown cowboy boots.
Camila and Matthew McConaughey were joined by their two children Levi and Vida for the service, with Vida looking cute in a dress and orange scarf, while Levi opted for a dapper outfit in jeans and a mini pea coat.
It was revealed last year that Magic Mike star Matthew McConaughey would be playing Ron Woodroof in the upcoming movie, after beating strong competition from stars including Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling for the role.
