Channing Tatum's dramatic 70-pound weight loss left film crew concerned for actor's health

Channing Tatum's dramatic weight loss for his role in the upcoming film "Roofman" left people "concerned."

Tatum dropped nearly 70 pounds for "Roofman" after gaining weight for his previous role in "Josephine." The actor's latest film focuses on the story of Jeffrey Manchester, a real-life criminal who escaped prison and hid inside a Toys R Us store for months.

"Jeff is a really thin guy," Tatum explained during an interview with Variety. "He's not as big-bonded as me. I think he's tall, but he's just really wiry.

"I had just done a role earlier that year, and I got up to 240 [pounds]," he added, referring to his role as Damien in "Josephine." "I only planned to get down to 185. Once I was already going [with] the days of shooting, it kept coming off. I got down to 172."

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Tatum's intense weight loss led assistant director Mariela Comitini to become "concerned," according to "Roofman" director Derek Cianfrance.

"She's like, 'That's it.' She's like, 'Get him a steak right now,'" Tatum recalled. "I was like, 'I think you're right.' This is weird."

Tatum said his transformation had "sort of an emptiness and a sadness to it."

"I would see myself and just seem hollow," he added. "The movie to me was a lot of loneliness. A real meditation for that wanting to be full. … That empty feeling sucks after a while."

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Tatum previously showed off his body transformation on Instagram weeks after wrapping filming.

"We back up! lol. 1st photo is today 205. 2nd photo 235 for a movie called Josephine Then went to 3rd photo which is 172 for a movie Roofman," he captioned the set of photos. "I'm so grateful for my genetics. Grateful for my chef/nutritionist/witch. Grateful for my trainer.

"I couldn't make these big swings in my weight without you guys," Tatum added. "But i won't be doing anymore fat roles haha. It's to [sic] hard on the body and too hard to take off now. But d--- when i look at these pics it's just wild what the human body and will can do."

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Tatum rose to fame by starring in films such as "Coach Carter" and in the 2006 comedy "She's the Man" starring Amanda Bynes.

While the Hollywood actor took on physically demanding roles throughout his career, Tatum put his physique to the test when he starred in the 2006 dance movie "Step Up."

Fox News Digital's Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.