Channing Tatum on ‘Roofman,’ Stripping, Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

It’s hard to imagine that a man who has been described by Esquire as “the first honest-to-God movie star of his generation” and by Vanity Fair as “the biggest male star since Pitt or Clooney,” and who was chosen as People’s Sexiest Man Alive and one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in the world, would feel anything but immense confidence. But Channing Tatum, on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, insists that he felt “imposter syndrome” throughout his career — until, that is, he completed his latest film, Derek Cianfrance’s Roofman, which premiered at last month’s Toronto International Film Festival — bringing Tatum the best reviews of his career — and will be released nationwide on Friday.

Tatum’s path to Hollywood is highly unusual, to say the least, and literally the stuff of movies — the blockbuster Magic Mike films, which he produced and starred in, were inspired by his own youthful adventures as an adrift young man who turned to stripping for lack of a better idea of something to do. For Tatum, though, stripping, against all odds, eventually led to dancing in music videos, most notably Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs”; then to modeling for the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani; then to appearing in national commercials for Pepsi and Mountain Dew; and eventually to acting.

He landed his first film roles 20 years ago, and since then has proven to be a box-office magnet. Indeed, it can’t be a coincidence that 13 of his films have topped the domestic box office in their opening weekend: 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 2010’s Dear John, 2012’s 21 Jump Street and The Vow, 2013’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 2014’s 22 Jump Street and The Lego Movie, 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle and The Lego Batman Movie, 2019’s The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, 2022’s The Lost City, 2023’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance and 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

He also has shown himself to be a gifted and constantly-improving actor who top filmmakers want to work with. He has been directed by Steven Soderbergh (five times), Quentin Tarantino, Bennett Miller, Michael Mann, Kimberly Peirce, Jon M. Chu, Lasse Hallstrom and the brothers Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, among others. And if anyone doubts his chops, they should check out his performances in 2006’s A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, 2009’s Fighting, 2012’s Magic Mike, 2013’s Side Effects, 2014’s Foxcatcher, 2015’s The Hateful Eight and especially Roofman.

In Roofman, which is based on a true story that is stranger than fiction, Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, a military veteran who struggles to provide for his family; turns to robbing businesses (in the most polite of ways); winds up incarcerated; and then escapes and secretly takes up residence in a Toys ’R Us store, while also embarking on a relationship with an unwitting single mother (Kirsten Dunst) who works there.

The performance, which required from Tatum both emotional vulnerability and physical comedy, is the fruit of a collaboration with the writer/director Derek Cianfrance, who is best known for the 2010 masterpiece Blue Valentine — a film, it turns out, that Cianfrance offered to Tatum before the actor he eventually cast, Ryan Gosling. Cianfrance came back to Tatum all these years later, having co-written the part of Manchester with the actor in his mind, at a time when Tatum had grown disillusioned with the business and with fame, and had begun to work less than he used to. But this time, the actor was not going to make the same mistake that he made all those years ago by passing on an opportunity to collaborate with Cianfrance, among the most highly-regarded actors’ directors.

And sure enough, as Tatum describes during this conversation, Cianfrance’s unusual way of working not only brought out the best in him, but also reignited his passion for acting and provided him with a sense of belonging in the business that he had never possessed before.