Channing Tatum has played a wide assortment of characters over the course of his career, from a troubled dancer to a cajun mutant with a thick accent. In his 2025 movie release, Roofman, Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, a former non-commissioned officer for the Army reserve who turns to a life of crime. During filming, Tatum had the opportunity to get to know the real Manchester and pick his brain. The actor discussed their relationship while speaking with CinemaBlend and explained how he empathizes with Jeff.
Whenever actors play real people, it’s natural for them to feel a sense of responsibility to tell a person’s story to the best of their ability. Channing Tatum seemed to take his role as Jeff Manchester very seriously, based on what he shared when he and co-star Kirsten Dunst spoke with CinemaBlend. When asked about his philosophy on how close an actor should get to a subject they’re playing, Tatum opened up about getting very anxious when playing his roles:
Yeah, it's very stressful for me. I don't know, I think I put myself under a lot of stress to even do a movie, because I kind of want to scare myself into, like, doing really – the best job I can, I guess. And, you know, talking to Jeff, you start to create a connection with somebody, and you want to be able to do them justice on some level.
Manchester – famously known as the “Roofman” – gained notoriety for robbing McDonald’s restaurants and other establishments by infiltrating the locations via their roofs. Also, as covered in the film, which is directed by Derek Cianfrance, Manchester eventually took up residence in a Toys "R" Us store while evading the authorities. At present, the former officer is serving a 40-year prison sentence. Still, Tatum has positive sentiments to share about Manchester, and he also recalled an important conversation he had with him:
I definitely prepared Jeff. I was like, ‘Look, I'm not — this isn't going to be you. It's going to be some strange sort of amalgamation of like you, me and Derek, and that's just what the movie's going to be.’ But he's smart. He knows – he loves movies. He's such a beautiful guy. I know that he's done wrong things. He knows he's done wrong things, but I just pull for him.
Channing Tatum’s comments more than indicate that he wanted to approach his portrayal as Jeffrey Manchester with plenty of care, and I’d nothing less from the actor who also beautifully played real-life wrestler Mark Schultz in Foxcatcher. In terms of playing Manchester, Tatum really committed, even going “butt naked” for a scene (and there’s a wild story about how it was shot). Needless to say, we’re talking about an actor who’s dedicated to their craft.
Speaking of dedicated performers, Kirsten Dunst also has experience playing real people, including actress Marion Davies and French queen Marie Antoinette. In Roofman, Dunst plays a variation of Leigh Wainscott – a woman who became romantically involved with Manchester. Like her co-star, Dunst also took her responsibility to Wainscott very seriously:
I think there's more stress when it's a person that everybody knows, you know? But I think for me, finding – through Derek – out about Lee, and she came to set and stuff. The real thing I wanted to show was her beautiful compassion to the situation with Jeff and how she doesn't hold any resentment, and she truly leads her life, like, with a lot of grace. So I wanted [to show] that aspect of her.
Such thoughtfulness from both Dunst and Channing Tatum is commendable, and is sure to shine through in their performances. Both stars are now linked to their film’s subjects due to their portrayals and, if Tatum’s comments are anything to go on, he’s happy to be connected to Jeff Manchester in that way. Check out Tatum’s performance as well as Dunst’s in Roofman, which is now playing in theaters.
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