Channing Tatum isn’t a stranger to gaining or shedding weight for his movie roles. In the role of Jeffrey Manchester for Roofman, by director Derek Cianfrance, the actor reveals he shed some serious weight, and it kept dropping throughout filming. At one point, the assistant director on set got concerned and advised Tatum to stop.
In an interview for Variety, Tatum explains how he had gained enough weight to reach 240 pounds for his role in the independent film Josephine. But for Roofman, he thought it was best to lose the weight to portray the “so wiry and like really fit” character of Jeffrey. He arrived on set 65 pounds lighter.
“I had only planned to get down to 185 (pounds). And then, just once, I was already going, and just the days of shooting, it kept coming off, and I got down to like 172,” explained the actor.
Cianfrance chimed in that the movie’s assistant director, Mariela Comitini, became concerned with Tatum’s continuing decrease in weight. She said, “That’s enough weight,” and seriously advised that Tatum needed to eat a steak.
“I was like, I think you’re right,” said Tatum. ” Like this is weird.”
But Tatum reveals that having lost so much weight in a short amount of time did help portray his character in Roofman better and really dive into the headspace of Jeffrey.
“I don’t know why, it was a sort of emptiness and a sadness to it. I would just see myself, and I would seem hollow. And the movie, a lot for me, was a lot on loneliness, and a real meditation for that wanting to be full and trying to fill an empty vessel,” explained the actor.
“That empty feelings sucks after a little while,” he joked.
Roofman focuses on the real-life story of Jeffrey Manchester, a former Army Ranger whose unique MO earned him the nickname “Roofman.” He broke into McDonald’s locations by sawing through their roofs to commit robberies. After escaping prison, he hid away in a Toys “R” Us and began a relationship with one of its employees.
The movie is set to release on October 10, 2025.
