Revealed: Matthew McConaughey asked famed shape shifter Tom Hanks for diet tips before dropping 50lbs to play AIDS victim

PUBLISHED: 09:49 EST, 17 October 2013 | UPDATED: 23:07 EST, 17 October 2013

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When Matthew McConaughey had to shed 50 pounds to play an AIDS-afflicted hustler in Dallas Buyer's Club, he called Hollywood's master of weight loss, Tom Hanks.

The former Big star became a pro at dropping pounds fast after getting skinny for two roles - both which he received Oscar attention for.

'I actually called Tom and had a great conversation with him about what he learned about losing weight for Philadelphia and Cast Away,' Matthew told People on Saturday.

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He didn't call Jenny, he called Tom! Matthew McConaughey in September (left) rang up Tom Hanks (right) before dropping 50 pounds to play an AIDS victim in Dallas Buyer's Club

The Texan - who has two sons, Levi, aged five, and Livingston, aged eight months, and daughter Vida, aged three, with his model wife Camila Alves - was 185 pounds when he began losing weight for his role as an HIV-positive man who starts selling the AIDS drugs on the black market before they're approved.

'I was going around and people were going, "Hey, are you feeling all right?"' he says.

After he reached his initial goal of getting down to 145 pounds, he just kept going.

'Then I hit 135 lbs,' he reveals. 'I ran in to somebody and they didn't just ask if I was all right, they said, "My God, we need to get you some help." And I thought, "There we go. That's the perfect spot."'

He gave up cheeseburgers for this role: Matthew as a hustler battling AIDS in Dallas Buyer's Club

Tan and thin: Tom spend months dieting to get this svelte shape for 2000's Castaway

Skipping lunch: In 1993's Philadelphia the Oscar winner looked almost unrecognizable as his character fell ill

The star - who showed off his beefed up frame in the stripper film Magic Mike - also 'consulted a nutritionist about the best way to do this' which was a smart thing since Tom, 57, revealed to The Independent last week he thinks he got Type Two diabetes from the weight fluctuations he went through for his film roles.

'The gaining and the losing of weight may have had something to do with it because you eat so much bad food and you don’t take any exercise when you're heavy,' Hanks said.

'But I think I was genetically inclined to get it and I think it goes back to a lifestyle that I have been leading ever since I was seven years old, as opposed to 36.'

He added: 'I've talked to a number of actors who have gained weight for roles and just out of the sheer physical toll on one's knees and shoulders, no one wants to do it again. I think that's more or less a young man's game.

'I'm 57 and I don't think I'm going to take on a job, or even go on vacation again, and see to it that I can gain 30 pounds.'

Tom Hanks attends Tokyo film festival to promote movie

Both family men: Matthew with his wife Camilla Alves in June (left) and Tom with his spouse Rita Wilson on Saturday in Paris (right)

Still, Matthew - whose ex-girlfriend Sandra Bullock also dropped several pounds to play an astronaut in her hit Gravity - said he didn't worry too much about dropping all that weight.

'I fed myself good food, just not much of it,' explained.

'I found through this journey that the human body is much more resilient than we give it credit for,' he added.

'Somebody told me they heard a story about how I didn't have any energy on set, but I was kind of uncontainable with energy. All the acuity, energy and power I lost from the neck down transferred to the neck up.'

Matthew, 43, has now gained almost all that weight back.

In April he told the women on The View that bulking up isn’t 'as much fun as you think it would be.'

He packed on 40 pounds just months after filming of Dallas stopped and pointed out, 'You can’t just hop off the diet and eat straight cheeseburgers! Your body revolts.'

He added that losing the weight wasn’t bad for his health, instead 'the dangerous part is putting it on.'

When he did go for a splurge, he said it was fun. 'That first cheeseburger was good.'

The A Time To Kill actor will show off his fuller frame on October 21 when he picks up his Hollywood Actor Award at the Hollywood Film Awards.

Healthy again: The Texan was at the perfect weight for his Dolce & Gabbana The One fragrance ad with Scarlett Johansson

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matt, northants, United Kingdom, 1 day ago

Im sorry but Christian Bale is the king of weight change. just google his weight for roles over the last 10 years.

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norfolk in chance, aylesby, 1 day ago

camilla alves is just sooooooo smokingly sexy!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Sophie, Flintshire, 1 day ago

Both fantastic actors. A few years ago I passed him off as just a romcom actor but recently he's been in some brilliant film, can't wait for Dallas Buyers Club.