Why Channing Tatum Was ‘Afraid’ to Work with Kirsten Dunst (Exclusive)

Channing Tatum knows talent when he sees it.

His new movie Roofman had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 6, where the actor, 45, told PEOPLE about the pinch-me feeling of working on the movie with Kirsten Dunst.

Sharing that his personal favorite movie of Dunst’s is 1994’s hit Interview with the Vampire, Tatum says, “I couldn’t imagine doing what she did in that film at the age.”

“Everything she’s ever done, I’ve been obsessed with,” Tatum added of Dunst, 43.

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While Tatum admires Dunst’s decades-spanning filmography, he admits it made working together a little more difficult in one specific way.

“I was so intimidated to work with her — and when I say intimidated, I was afraid. I just wanted her to like me,” the Magic Mike actor says with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Please like me!’ ”

Based on a true story, Roofman is about Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum), a “former Army Ranger and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman,” according to a synopsis.

“After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys ‘R’ Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move,” the synopsis adds.

“But when he falls for Leigh (Dunst), a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.”

The cast also includes Ben Mendelsohn, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Melonie Diaz, Uzo Aduba, Lily Collias, Jimmy O. Yang and Peter Dinklage. Roofman is directed by Derek Cianfrance.

In June, Tatum previewed the film, telling Entertainment Weekly about the pressure of portraying a real-life figure on screen.

“It’s impossible to tell someone’s real life story in 90 minutes,” he said at the time. “I’ve only played two other real people in my life, and it’s not very comfortable. I feel a lot of pressure. It gets muddy.”

Roofman is in theaters Oct. 10.