Channing Tatum laughs when asked about the latest revelation from the Roofman press tour.
“We’ve been doing this for a while now,” he says. “And every once in a while, a new thing comes out I haven’t heard.”
That “new thing” is director Derek Cianfrance’s confession that he was once the fastest checker in Walmart history. “They gave you a raise if you got 18 rings a minute,” Cianfrance recalls. “I averaged 350.”
But this quirky detail fits perfectly with Roofman — a heartfelt film that celebrates ordinary people, community spirit, and second chances.
A Modern Take on Classic Values
Roofman tells the true story of Jeffrey Manchester (played by Channing Tatum), a good-hearted thief who hides in a North Carolina Toys "R" Us after escaping prison, and Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a single mother who helps him find redemption. Follow the latest updates on X.
Cianfrance describes the movie as a spiritual descendant of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. “As we were selling this movie, trying to get it financed, I was pitching it as a Capra movie,” he says. “But everyone kept telling me, ‘We don’t make those movies anymore.’”
The director persisted — determined to make a film about compassion, redemption, and human connection in a cynical age.
Capturing Real Lives on Set
Cianfrance took a unique approach to filmmaking, turning his set into what he calls “an aquarium for actors.” He wanted the cast to live their characters’ suburban lives rather than just perform them.
He even had Peter Dinklage, who plays the Toys “R” Us manager, actually manage the store — including interviewing Kirsten Dunst in character for a “job.” “He would not give me an inch in that interview,” Dunst recalls. “I respect him so much as an actor, I was just intimidated.”
Supporting actors Emory Cohen and Juno Temple were encouraged to add their own touches — from character quirks like an obsession with peanut M&M’s to imagining backstories that never made the script.
Even a simple scene decorating for Thanksgiving became a collaborative debate about where to place an inflatable turkey. “Kirsten put it where my production designer wanted,” Cianfrance laughs. “Then Peter Dinklage walked out and said, ‘No, the turkey goes here.’”
Tatum and Dunst on Cianfrance’s Immersive Direction
For Tatum, Roofman offered the kind of emotional challenge he craves. He admired how Cianfrance provokes authentic reactions — much like in Blue Valentine (2010), where the director famously gave different directions to Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams to heighten their tension.
Dunst recalls a similar experience. Before a tense driving scene, Cianfrance grabbed her arms and told her to push back as hard as she could. “Then we went straight into the scene,” she says. “It brought up emotions of being trapped and out of control — and that really helped me.”
Tatum laughs when remembering the one time he refused a direction: “He wanted me to sing. I said no.”
The film also features an extended nude chase scene — which Tatum insists was shot tastefully. “Derek asked, ‘Do you want me to blur it?’ I said, ‘Don’t blur it. That’s even weirder.’”
A Film Full of Humanity
Behind the humor and intensity lies Roofman’s deeper appeal — a film about flawed, hopeful people rediscovering themselves through love and forgiveness.
“I love the populist filmmaker who makes movies about regular people,” says Cianfrance. “You never feel like Capra judged anyone. He made movies about the people who go to the movies.”
That philosophy runs through every frame of Roofman. “Moments happen once,” says Cianfrance. “They become the moments you watch forever. They become immortalized.”
It’s a sentiment Frank Capra himself would have loved.
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