Stars Who Have Played Criminals: Channing Tatum, More

It’s fun to be bad! These stars transformed themselves to play real-life criminals in ripped-from-the-headlines projects.

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Channing Tatum as Jeffrey Manchester

You can’t make this stuff up! The gentlemanly serial robber the Magic Mike star, 43, will play in Roofman broke into 60 McDonald’s fast-food restaurants, advising his victims to put on their coats before locking them in the walk-in freezer.

He later escaped prison, hiding out in a Toys R Us, where he survived on baby food and exercised by riding the store’s bikes at night.

Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos

The 48-year-old won an Oscar for her portrayal of the Florida prostitute turned serial killer in 2003’s Monster, but had to convince producers she was right for the role — and pack on the pounds.

“I will never, ever do a movie again and say, ‘Yeah, I’ll gain 40 pounds,’” she later said of such transformations. “I will never do it again because you can’t take it off.”

Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger

“If [audiences] immediately go, ‘I’m watching some guy in makeup,’ then I’m screwed,” the 60-year-old said of playing the notorious Boston gangster in 2015’s Black Mass, giving credit to makeup designer Joel Harlow, who outfitted him with heavy prosthetics and blue contact lenses and stained his teeth.

“It needed to be perfect and he did an amazing job.”

Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer

The 37-year-old won a Golden Globe for the grisly Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story in 2023, but the prize came at a price.

“I’m going to take a little break from darker roles and explore the light,” the actor said after admitting he struggled with the darkness of the serial killer who killed and dismembered 17 men from 1978 to 1991, cannibalizing and preserving their remains.

Leonardo Dicaprio as Frank Abagnale

The 49-year-old was impressed when he met the real-life con artist who as a teen cashed millions in bad checks while passing himself off as a Pan Am pilot, a Harvard-educated lawyer and a doctor, among other scams, before being caught by the FBI and pivoting to become a security consultant.