‘Dallas Buyers Club’ writer Craig Borten on his personal inspiration

“Dallas Buyers Club” co-writer Craig Borten first met Ron Woodroof, the real-life Texas electrician-turned-AIDS-activist, in 1992, a few months before Woodroof succumbed to the disease. But Borten had seen Woodroof’s never-say-die attitude before: It was the same one his cancer-stricken father had displayed a decade earlier.

At a recent installment of the Envelope Screening Series, Borten talked about how his father’s fight to survive inspired the film.

“Every scene in the movie speaks to a man wanting to live,” Borten said, “and I think part of having that inside of you — not wanting to die, and wanting to do everything you can to stay alive — is kind of what can extend your life.”

‘Dallas Buyers Club’: Watch cast, crew discuss the film

Borten continued, “I think part of that extended Ron’s life, and I think for my father it was very similar. He wanted to seek out alternative medications; the doctors were very cold. There was only protocol for certain chemotherapies, and we looked abroad. He never really faced death until he had to — on a physical level, but not on an emotional level. I think Ron Woodroof’s character was very similar to that, and when I read about Ron Woodroof, that’s what spoke to my heart.”

For more from the cast and crew of “Dallas Buyers Club,” watch the clip above.

ALSO:

Oscar nominations 2014: Laying odds on the six major races

SAG Awards 2014: ‘Hustle’ cast wins, tightens race to Oscars

Oscars 2014: Nominations — and snubs — attest to the strong field