TooFab/North Carolina Department of Corrections
Tatum and costar Kirsten Dunst reveal why it's "scary" playing real people on film as they react to the positive affect the movie has had on the people they portrayed on screen.
Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst can rest easy after the release of their film Roofman, as it not only got a positive reaction from the family members of those they portrayed on screen, but sparked a few long-awaited reunions for them as well.
In the film, Tatum stars are Jeffrey Manchester, a real-life Army vet and dad who earned the titular nickname by breaking into and robbing McDonald's restaurants by cutting holes in the roof. After a dramatic escape from prison, he then hid out inside a Toys 'R' Us store for six months -- living within its walls -- all while sneaking out to date an employee and single mom named Leigh Wainscott (Dunst).
Manchester was sentenced to 45 years for his crimes, escaping after four years before he was locked up again. He's currently being held at the North Carolina Department of Corrections, from which he's expected to be released in 2036.
After director Derek Cianfrance recently revealed that the movie played a role in sparking a reunion between Manchester and his siblings, as well his daughter -- from whom he'd been estranged for around 15 years -- TooFab's Brian Particelli asked the two actors how it feels to know one of their projects had such a positive impact on the people they played.
"I got kind of emotional. It was after the premiere, it was at Paramount and his sisters came and I knew they were coming -- I knew one was coming, I didn't know the other was going to be there -- and you could tell there's so much history there," Tatum told TooFab.
"I met Leigh and Leigh has a very different vibe, you can tell Leigh had a different experience with Jeff than maybe his sisters did. His sisters were like, 'He was crazy at times, when he was younger,' and you can tell how much that affected them," he continued.
"This movie really helped them -- this is what they said -- it really helped them understand their brother, so they have now reached out and started to talk more, and be in each other's lives as much as they can be. He's still in a very, very supermax prison."
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View Story"You feel like you did a good job," added Dunst, who has met with the real Leigh. "That's what you try and do ... when the person that you're playing loves what you did, there's no words. I just feel really good about it. It's the best life compliment you can kinda get."
As Tatum pointed out, it can be very "scary" playing actual people on screen, "because you'll never be able to do it perfect and you just hope they don't hate the film."
Adding that it's impossible to tell someone's whole story in just 90 minutes, Tatum told TooFab that he also "tried to set Jeff's expectations low" for when he's finally able to watch the movie, which he still hasn't seen. "I don't know when he's ever going to be able to see it, but hopefully he doesn't hate it. If they even half like it, it's a win," added Tatum.
Speaking at a recent screening of the film last month, per Page Six, director Cianfrance said he has spoken with Manchester's daughter -- and revealed she's "been in contact" with him, speaking with him at least six times. "So in some ways, the movie has had this effect of connecting them again, you know, because he hadn’t talked to her for, I think, 15 years," added the director.
Cianfrance also said he's heard from Manchester as well, claiming Jeffrey told him, "Derek, if I could give you a hug, I would ... I called my sister, and she answered, and we talked for a half hour.'" He added, "It was like we were in high school together again."
Roofman is now available on Digital from Paramount Pictures and hits 4K and Blu-ray on January 20.
