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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Jared Leto has revealed his shockingly skinny frame after starving himself for a month to play the role of a HIV-positive transsexual woman in the Dallas Buyers Club.
Jared Leto has shed a drastic amount of weight for the role – much like his co-star Matthew McConaughey.
However, while Matthew McConaughey has been on a slim-down mission for six months, Jaredo Leto has transformed his physique in little over a month after only recently getting involved in the project.
Jared Leto, 40, who has waxed his body hair and eyebrows for the movie.
This week, Jared Leto told Vulture about how he has been suffering for his art, revealing he has essentially starved himself for the past month.
He said of the weight loss: “Your body goes through weird stages.
“Sometimes it’s hard to hold on to water. But for me, it’s not about the most weight I can lose, it’s more to represent the character.”
He went on: “Historically, people have done it for pursuit of self, to achieve a meditative state, so I’m hoping for that. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
Jared Leto has revealed his shockingly skinny frame after starving himself for a month to play the role of a HIV-positive transsexual woman in the Dallas Buyers Club
Explaining his involvement in the Jean-Marc Vallée-directed movie – which marks his return to the big screen after 2009’s Mr. Nobody – Jared Leto said: “I’m playing a transsexual woman. I didn’t get involved in the project until a few weeks ago, three and a half weeks ago.”
Jared Leto has gained and lost weight before for film roles, notably piling on the pounds for Chapter 27 back in 2006.
The actor did not give details of how much he has lost for the Dallas Buyers Club, but his co-star Matthew McConaughey recently told how he has dropped almost 40lbs to play Ron Woodroof, a real-life electrician who smuggled illegal medication after contracting the disease.
