{"id":311751,"date":"2025-11-28T06:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T06:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/311751\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T06:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T06:01:10","slug":"kirsten-dunst-and-channing-tatum-are-perfect-scene-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/311751\/","title":{"rendered":"Kirsten Dunst and Channing Tatum Are Perfect Scene Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The last time I spoke with Kirsten Dunst<\/a>, for her work in Alex Garland\u2019s 2024 pulse-pounder \u201cCivil War,\u201d it came with an unexpected coda: a win at the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards<\/a> for that story. So when I was on deck to interview Dunst again, alongside her \u201cRoofman\u201d co-star Channing Tatum<\/a>, I pulled out the star-shaped award I received for the honor. No pressure for this interview, I joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s it say?\u201d Dunst asked, leaning forward to get a better look. \u201cWell, it\u2019s when we talked for \u2018Civil War,\u2019 and the name of my piece was Kirsten Dunst Is Our Most Reasonable Movie Star,\u201d I told her.<\/p>\n

Tatum beamed. \u201cI like \u2018reasonable,\u2019 because that is right. If I ever really needed to get a real perspective on something, I would absolutely come to you,\u201d he said, turning to his co-star. \u201cI would 100 percent want to have your perspective, because I know it would be a reasonable one. On both sides! You wouldn\u2019t just try to take my side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a> \"Eyes<\/a> <\/p>\n

Dunst laughed and tried to demure. \u201cNo,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cYou would!\u201d Tatum said. \u201cYou\u2019d be like, \u2018Well, you should probably look at this as well,\u2019 and I\u2019d be like, \u2018Damn it. No, you\u2019re right.’\u201d<\/p>\n

While Derek Cianfrance\u2019s fact-based feature<\/a> marks the first time Dunst and Tatum have starred together, the pair are longtime admirers of each other\u2019s work. That admiration is obvious, even through the screen of a Zoom interview, as the pair comfortably traded stories (and compliments) about the other and how that respect and appreciation translated to 2025\u2019s most charming onscreen pairing.<\/p>\n

Dunst and Tatum don\u2019t even really interact until the film<\/a> is almost at its midway mark. Instead, we watch Tatum\u2019s Jeffrey Manchester \u2014 based on a very real dude<\/a>, who became infamous in the late \u201990s for breaking into various fast food joints through the roof, then robbing them in quite respectful fashion \u2014 admire Dunst\u2019s Leigh Wainscott from afar, kind of. Manchester\u2019s crimes did catch up with him, and when he was thrown into prison in 2000, the way-too clever former soldier cooked up a daring escape, which eventually led him to a natty hiding spot: in a suburban Toys \u201cR\u201d Us.<\/p>\n

In Cianfrance\u2019s film, which he wrote alongside Kirt Gunn<\/a>, Dunst\u2019s Leigh works at that same Toys \u201cR\u201d Us (the real Wainscott didn\u2019t). As Jeffrey carves out a strange (and sometimes fun) existence inside the store, he notices Leigh, a single mom with a sterling work ethic and a real sense of right and wrong. And when he just so happens to run into her at her local church (where the real Manchester and Wainscott met), their immediate chemistry turns into a warm romance.<\/p>\n

In a film filled with insane details \u2014 most of them true! \u2014 Dunst and Tatum are so believable and so real that their bond turns a nutty true crime story into one of the year\u2019s most unexpected crowdpleasers. The first step for both of them? Maybe some nerves about sharing the screen with someone they already liked so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw \u2018Interview with the Vampire,\u2019 but I wasn\u2019t an actor then, so I didn\u2019t have that [feeling of], \u2018I want to work with that little beast of a girl in that movie,’\u201d Tatum said of the first time he remembered taking notice of Dunst. \u201cThat movie? She\u2019s literally blowing [out of the water] two of the biggest movie stars and best actors of any generation \u2026 I don\u2019t know how that little person just had that in them. She\u2019s now just a little taller, and it\u2019s the same fire in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunst seemed to recognize Tatum\u2019s range early, noting that she loved him in both \u201cFoxcatcher\u201d and \u201c21 Jump Street.\u201d \u201cI knew working with Chan was going to be\u2026 I just knew,\u201d she said. \u201cI had a feeling about him, and I was right.\u201d (Reasonable!)<\/p>\n

Tatum credits Cianfrance for recognizing that his stars would vibe, both in front of and behind the camera.<\/p>\n

\"Channing\u2018Roofman\u2019Davi Russo<\/p>\n

\u201cDerek really knew that Kirsten and I were just going to immediately connect and get each other,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cWe\u2019re very similar in a lot of ways, in the way that we approach the world or move through the world. He just knew, ultimately, that that was going to work, and then we\u2019re just going to genuinely like each other. I think our acting style is very similar. Sometimes you work with people who are so aware of the camera and what they\u2019re doing, and saving their really good stuff for the close-up. And it feels a little, I don\u2019t want to say manipulated, because sometimes that really works. I don\u2019t ever judge anybody\u2019s process, because man, some people give incredible performances that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunst was more to the point: \u201cIt\u2019s selfish, really. I like to work with people that aren\u2019t selfish actors,\u201d she said. She didn\u2019t need to worry about that with Tatum, who still beams when he thinks back to the first day the pair got to work together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, they kept hiding us from each other during the prep for this movie,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cDerek really wanted the first time that we genuinely got to connect and really talk and meet each other [to be] on camera for the very first time, and that was the very first take of the Red Lobster scene. There\u2019s, I don\u2019t know, what, 14, 15 other actresses at that table? And Kirsten just became my safe space. I was so nervous to get to act with her, and then, take one, we just looked at each other for the very first time, and I was just like, \u2018Oh, OK. Everything\u2019s going to be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scene in question follows Jeffery (going by the name \u201cJohn Zorn\u201d) and Leigh\u2019s first official meeting, when she invites him to a post-church meal at a local Red Lobster with a bunch of other singletons (all women) from their congregation. Even at a big table in the middle of a chain restaurant, the pair\u2019s giddy chemistry is obvious.<\/p>\n

For Dunst, that scene felt \u201cdorky and fun,\u201d the start of something new for both of the characters. \u201cI just had to feel like a woman who is blown away by this guy and trying to figure it out,\u201d Dunst said. \u201cI feel like she\u2019s someone who hasn\u2019t giggled genuinely in a while, or had these feelings that she\u2019s feeling. It was just embracing your inner happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the pair leave the restaurant, a blushing Leigh makes a bit of a move on Jeffrey, shyly asking him out on a date. It\u2019s a light, lovely moment, built on the first flush of romance. \u201cJust leaning into all that, because it makes it feel real,\u201d Dunst said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what Derek is always fishing for: the most real and authentic performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real Jeff told me that Leigh was actually the one moving it forward,\u201d Tatum added. \u201cI think she pushed him against a van and kissed him first, and he was like, \u2018Whoa! Jesus.\u2019 Very forward and strong, and he liked it. And he\u2019s goofy, so I get to be goofy in that scene, and the scene outside by the car is just really sweet. We don\u2019t really know each other yet, so we were still trying to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Editor\u2019s note: Spoilers for the last act of \u201cRoofman\u201d follow.]<\/p>\n

One of Dunst\u2019s best scenes, at least by Tatum\u2019s estimation, isn\u2019t even in the final film. Jeffrey\u2019s misdeeds and real identity are, of course, eventually found out. As the walls start closing in, Jeffrey starts to flee, heading to the airport and away from Leigh and her two daughters, who are expecting him for Christmas dinner. But when Leigh calls him, he can\u2019t resist her gentle asks as to when she might expect him. <\/p>\n

And though it\u2019s not entirely clear to Jeffrey at that moment, as the audience, we get an inkling of what\u2019s happening: Leigh has been tasked with bringing him back in. In the final film, we only see Tatum\u2019s side of the conversation, but Dunst\u2019s was also shot, with a cadre of cops around her, forcing her to trick the man she loves.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cGod, one of Kirsten\u2019s best-acted scenes in the movie, they\u2019re all great, but there was this one,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cI watched the whole scene. I was there watching the scene, and it is just crushing. She\u2019s getting interviewed by the real cops that actually arrested Jeffrey, and they were interviewing her like they would a real suspect, and she just nails this thing. It\u2019s killer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scene didn\u2019t ultimately make it into the film, mostly because everyone agreed it gave too much away and detracted from the raw energy of what Tatum is experiencing in that moment. Dunst doesn\u2019t get fussed about that sort of thing. Even if that scene is not in the film, the emotion is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real Leigh was there that day,\u201d Dunst said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t bother me at all, although other people projected that it should bother me. But it didn\u2019t at all. And I felt like, \u2018Oh, we shared something in life, kind of\u2019 in that moment for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Jeffrey arrives at Leigh\u2019s apartment, we know what\u2019s about to happen: He\u2019s going to get caught. As a distraught Jeffrey is grabbed by the cops, a horrified and heartbroken Leigh sits unseen in a cop car, mere yards away. Dunst\u2019s face in these moments is a revelation, her emotions so present, her expression so raw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really think about what I\u2019m doing with my face, because then I probably would not be genuine,\u201d she said of that scene. \u201cI did listen to a Nina Simone song during that take. Sometimes, I look for other people\u2019s performances, whether it\u2019s a live performance [or something else], and that connects me to the realness of being a human being. I think your job is just to give your guts. You know what I mean? And so I just try and put myself in a place that feels authentic for myself, and I think that people can smell whether something feels genuine or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatum nodded next to her. \u201c\u2018Give your guts\u2019! I love that. I\u2019m stealing that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dunst chuckled. \u201cOtherwise, what am I doing here? You know what I mean? It\u2019s a job that I do,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think, \u2018Oh, people are going to watch this and judge me.\u2019 I don\u2019t judge myself, I don\u2019t judge\u2026 And you know what? If people don\u2019t like me anymore, then I\u2019ll go do something else. It\u2019s like, I don\u2019t know what to tell you. This is what you get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatum smiled at his co-star. \u201cI think you\u2019re good. I think they like it. I don\u2019t think you have to do anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Paramount Pictures release, \u201cRoofman\u201d is now available on digital platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last time I spoke with Kirsten Dunst, for her work in Alex Garland\u2019s 2024 pulse-pounder \u201cCivil War,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[3042,49,48,361,29109,139161,75,1554,2977,69206],"class_list":{"0":"post-311751","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-awards","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-celebrities","12":"tag-channing-tatum","13":"tag-consider-this","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-film","16":"tag-interviews","17":"tag-kirsten-dunst"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}