Matthew McConaughey Starves Himself for Role, Longs for Cheeseburgers

The once super buff and athletic Matthew McConaughey, whose shirtless paparazzi number in the hundreds, is now a mere shadow of his formal self, at least physically.

The 43-year-old actor is following up his portrayal of a very ripped stripper in "Magic Mike" with a real-life character, Ron Woodroof, an HIV-positive patient in his new film "The Dallas Buyers Club." He's lost nearly 40 pounds for the role, and has become almost unrecognizable. It is a startling transformation.

Speaking to Hit Fix, McConaughey said, "I feel good now. Overall, probably got 35 percent less energy, but there's been plateaus, like getting past 170 was really hard, but then once you get [to] 167 the next seven come off easy. Getting passed 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."

And, striking a deep chord with humans everywhere, McConaughey admitted to elaborately fantasizing about the cheeseburger he'll eat once the film wraps.