Channing Tatum Lost 70 Lbs. for ‘Roofman’ Role and ‘Concerned’ Crew

Channing Tatum dropped so much weight while filming Roofman that the crew became “concerned” for him.

Roofman — based on the real-life story of Jeffrey Manchester, who broke out of jail and lived inside the walls of a Toys ‘R’ Us — is “a really thin guy. Like, he’s not as big-boned as me,” Tatum, 45, told Variety. He shared that he’d wanted to lose some weight to play the “wiry” Jeff, as he’d recently bulked up for a role.

“I got up to like 240,” Tatum said, likely referencing his dramatic weight gain for the thriller Josephine. But for the crime comedy-drama, Tatum explained that he’d planned to stop his weight loss when he hit 185 lbs. But “once I was already going, it’s just the days of shooting, it just kept coming off and I got down to like 172.”

“Our assistant director, Mary Ellis, she was concerned,” director Derek Cianfrance said. 

“She’s like, that’s it … get him a steak right now,” Tatum quipped, adding that the weight loss was, in part, due to an “emptiness” and “sadness” he felt in the character. “I just see myself and I would just seem hollow and the movie … for me was a lot of, like, loneliness.”

He continued: “A real meditation for that and wanting to be full and trying to, like, fill an empty vessel. That empty feeling sucks after a while,” Tatum added with a laugh.

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Cianfrance told the outlet that Tatum had originally planned to lose weight as “Jeff was The Roofman, and he had to get into tight spaces and he has to live inside the walls of a Toys ‘R’ Us.”

“It’s harder to do that when you’re bigger,” Cianfrance explained. “I was like, whatever you want to do.”

In March, Tatum said he’s finished with gaining and losing weight for roles in an Instagram post where he thanked his chef, nutritionist and trainer. 

“I couldn’t make these big swings in my weight without you guys. But I won’t be doing any more fat roles haha,” Tatum said. “It’s too hard on the body and too hard to take off now.”