Channing Tatum, for the star, some of his biggest roles have come with sacrifices beyond the screen.
The actor revealed that preparing for his upcoming film Roofman required him to push his body in ways that also affected his mental health.
At 45, Tatum shared that he underwent an intense weight loss process to embody fugitive Jeffrey Manchester, the character at the center of the movie.
“I had only planned to get down to 185. And then, just once, I was already going, and just the days of shooting, it kept coming off, and I got down to like 172,” he explained in a recent interview with Variety.
It was only when assistant director Mariela Comitini raised concerns that he realized the toll it was taking.
“I was like, ‘I think you’re right. This is weird,’” he said.
While the transformation may have worked for the role, it came with unexpected emotional struggles.
“It was a sort of emptiness and a sadness to it,” Tatum said.
“I would just see myself, and I would seem hollow. And the movie, a lot for me, was a lot on loneliness, and a real meditation for that wanting to be full and trying to fill an empty vessel.”
He admitted that after some time, “That empty feelings sucks.”
Still, he believes the experience gave him something valuable to bring to the performance.
“I’ve lived six or seven different lives,” Tatum reflected.
“Life gives you fuel. If you’ve really been heartbroken, and really been in pain, and felt real, true aloneness … I’ve experienced enough life that I have something to offer. The technique, and the ability to actually deliver.”
The Magic Mike star also opened up about the period in 2017 when he decided to step away from Hollywood. For nearly five years, he stayed away from leading roles, unsure if he even wanted to continue acting.
“I was working too much. I got burned out,” he admitted.
“I was questioning if I ever should have been in this business, because I didn’t feel I was good enough. And I got to a place where I didn’t know what I was doing. No one tells you how to do fame.”
His return, however, has been a strong one.
Since stepping back into the spotlight, Tatum has starred in a series of major projects including The Lost City (2022), Blink Twice (2024), and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
