In “Roofman,” the newest film by “Blue Valentine” director Derek Cianfrance, Channing Tatum plays U.S. Reserve officer-turned-escaped convict Jeffrey Manchester. He’s a good-hearted man, locked up for and getting his moniker by cutting a hole into the roofs of dozens of fast food restaurants and robbing them, which is also how he lowers himself into the Toys”R”Us he’s resided in for months undetected.
However, that all changed in the worst way possible when Jeffrey re-enters the store after showering in the restroom sinks — still in the nude — and comes face-to-face with a surprised Mitch, the ornery manager played by “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage. When both actors arrived on set, Cianfrance received Dinklage’s consent before introducing him to Tatum, who was basically already in the buff. “I was like, ‘Well, Channing’s naked, and you’re going to have to see him naked. Are you okay with that?'” the director told Entertainment Weekly. Dinklage was, so they went ahead as planned. “The first time Peter ever saw Channing Tatum in real life, it was the full Monty. That’s how they were introduced to each other,” Cianfrance recalled. “I think they have a bond now. I think their bond is forged in fire.”
Tatum, likewise, did what he could to prepare his co-star for what was about to happen. “I’m like, ‘Hello, Mr. Dinklage. I’m Channing. We’re going to have an experience today,'” he shared. “He’s such a man. He is a legend. He’s an absolute legend.”
Their meeting wasn’t the only unusual occurence on the Roofman set
Derek Cianfrance is no stranger to making his actors do unusual things to get into character. After all, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling had to rehearse and improvise for several hours to prep for “Blue Valentine.” While making “Roofman,” Cianfrance took pains to make the aughts-set experience as immersive as possible by straight-up building his own Toys”R”Us. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, production designer Inbal Weinberg shared that nearly the entire store was functional. “She sourced actual toys from the time!” Channing Tatum marveled, sounding as excited as … well, a kid in a Toys”R”Us. That’s exactly the reaction Cianfrance was hoping for, explaining in the video, “It’s a lot of fun to see Channing Tatum set loose in a toy store.”
Though the environments are important, this is really a film about people relating to one another. Holed up in a false wall, Jeffrey becomes engrossed by a security camera feed that lets him watch an employee named Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) interact with her boss. To make that relationship natural, Cianfrance had Peter Dinklage conduct an actual job interview with Dunst, in character. Dunst grew a newfound appreciation for her co-star, telling The Los Angeles Times, “He would not give me an inch in that interview. I respect him so much as an actor, I think I was also just intimidated by him as well.”
Channing Tatum built a better foundation with Kirsten Dunst
Eventually, Jeffrey swipes some Toys”R”Us merchandise for the toy driven donation happening at Leigh’s church. Soon enough, they fall in love, even though Leigh has no idea that her new boyfriend is an escaped convict living (and watching her) at her retail job. While Channing Tatum had to bare it all in front of Peter Dinklage and Kirsten Dunst had to endure a grueling interview, Tatum and Dunst got to build their sparkling chemistry in a more traditional way.
Well, sort of. The two didn’t interact before shooting their first scene together, hoping to keep the meet-cute spontaneous. It was certainly a better foundation to build on than a nude surprise, and the performers quickly found their rhythm. “We both felt that it felt right, because [Jeffrey] wanted [Leigh] to like [him]. And I also just wanted Kirsten just to like me,” Tatum confessed to Vanity Fair. Dunst, however, had more blunt reasons for enjoying this style of filmmaking. “I don’t like when people want to talk about things for a very long time,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Let’s just do it.'”
Cianfrance is a filmmaker who only directs movies he writes, but he likes collaboration on set, an element Dunst appreciated. “I knew in Derek’s hands it would feel authentic, and he kept all our little improv things,” she revealed.