Heads up, dearest readers: this article includes discussion of weight loss, body image, and extreme dieting for film roles.
While promoting his upcoming movie The Roofman, Channing Tatum revealed the physical and emotional toll of losing 65 pounds for the role. The film dramatizes the bizarre true story of Jeffrey Manchester, a real-life fugitive who became infamous for drilling into McDonald’s rooftops to rob them—and, in one of his more surreal stunts, hiding out inside Toys “R” Us stores.
Miramax confirmed last year that Tatum would headline the project, directed by Derek Cianfrance, with a cast that also includes Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, Juno Temple, Uzo Aduba, and LaKeith Stanfield. The movie premieres on October 10.
Tatum explained why the weight loss felt unavoidable:
“Jeff is a really thin guy. He’s not as big-boned as me. I think he’s tall, but he’s just really wiry. He was so wiry and really fit.”
Coming soon to a screen near you—here’s the crime caping trailer:
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The real Manchester, dubbed the “Rooftop Robber” or simply “Roofman,” was a former U.S. Army Reserve officer who broke into restaurants, locked employees in freezers, and emptied registers—reportedly without ever turning violent.
Convicted in 2000, he escaped prison and pulled off a months-long disappearing act by secretly living inside a North Carolina Toys “R” Us and Circuit City. His diet? Mostly baby food. His workouts? Joyrides on store bikes.
But his undoing? Investigators traced his fingerprints to a copy of Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2002 Catch Me If You Can DVD.
Yes, really. Alanis would call it ironic—and for once, she wouldn’t be wrong.
Sentenced to forty years, Manchester remains incarcerated at Central Prison in Raleigh, with a projected release in 2036 after additional escape attempts in 2009 and 2017. Apparently, “third time’s the charm” hasn’t applied to prison breaks.
To embody him, Tatum pushed his body further than planned, dropping from 240 pounds to 172—overshooting his original 185-pound goal:
“I had just done a role earlier that year that I got up to 240. I had only planned to get down to 185. And then once I was already going, and just the days of shooting, it kept coming off, and I got down to, like, 172.”
Even the crew grew alarmed. Tatum recalled the assistant director stepping in: “That’s it. Get him a steak right now.”
But the toll wasn’t just physical:
“It was a sort of emptiness and a sadness to it. I would just see myself, and I would just seem hollow. And the movie, for me, was a lot on loneliness, and a real meditation for that, and wanting to be full and trying to fill an empty vessel… That empty feeling sucks after a little while.”
A clip discussing the preparation for his “Roofman” role can be seen here:
On Instagram, Tatum credited his support system for getting him through:
“I’m so grateful for my genetics. Grateful for my chef/nutritionist/witch. Grateful for my trainer. I couldn’t make these big swings in my weight without you guys.”
You can see Tatum’s post—and his dramatic transformation—below:
He’s since sworn off future body-altering extremes, though he believes the experience gave him a deeper connection to Manchester’s loneliness.
The Magic Mike actor explained:
“Life gives you fuel. If you’ve really been heartbroken, and really been in pain, and felt real, true aloneness … I’ve experienced enough life that I have something to offer. The technique, and the ability to actually deliver.”
Online, reactions were mixed. Some praised his dedication, while others warned of the dangers of glorifying such extreme transformations.
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Director Derek Cianfrance, best known for The Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine, has a history with Tatum. Early in Tatum’s career, Cianfrance even considered him for the role that ultimately went to Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine.
Looking back, Tatum admits he turned it down out of fear:
“I think I blocked it out because I probably, on some level, regret it. When I really look back on that moment, I was scared of it, because I hadn’t really lived it.”
So it turns out you don’t need to drill through a McDonald’s roof to find the irony—you just need Channing Tatum to method-act his way into a fugitive’s shoes.
You can watch Tatum and Cianfrance’s full Variety interview below:
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