Channing Tatum said his role in the film "Roofman," which tells the true story of a man who robbed dozens of McDonald's restaurants and hid in a toy store, helped him overcome "impostor syndrome."

"I was getting (acting) jobs before I knew what I was doing. I think I was struggling with imposter syndrome," Tatum said, a day after the film's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

"For the first time, maybe even in this film, I feel like I've really earned my place at the table," explained the 45-year-old actor, who worked as a stripper before being hired as a model, which ultimately led him to acting.

"Roofman" tells the story of Jeffrey Manchester, who served in the US Army but experienced difficulties, including financial ones, upon his return to civilian life in North Carolina.

In the 1990s, he robbed dozens of fast food restaurants, mostly McDonald's, by entering them through the roof, AFP reported.

The film highlights one of Manchester's recurring acts of kindness—making sure restaurant staff wore coats before locking them in the cold storage room.

Manchester was arrested and sentenced to decades in prison, but in 2004 he managed to escape.

The film focuses on the months after his escape from prison, before his re-arrest in 2005.

Manchester builds a secret hideout in a Toys "R" Us store in Charlotte, goes out at night after closing to wash in the bathroom, and survives mainly on snacks such as M&Ms.

He later begins a romantic relationship with one of the store employees, played by Kirsten Dunst.

Manchester often called Tatum from prison while the actor was preparing for the role.

Channing expressed sympathy for a man who made a series of disastrous choices in an attempt to earn money for his three children.

"Look, I was a stripper," said the actor, whose experiences at a nightclub in Tampa partly inspired the 2012 film Magic Mike.

"Sometimes the slippery slope gets slipperier and then you find yourself at the bottom, not knowing how to get back up," he said.

"Roofman" has the tone of a romantic comedy, emphasizing Manchester's boyish playfulness as he spends months alone at night in a toy store.

Director Derek Cianfrance said the decision to emphasize the lightheartedness rather than the seriousness of Manchester's crimes was a conscious choice.

"Society judged (Manchester) very harshly, and he is serving 45 years (in prison). However, I felt that in the film we could look at him with a little more leniency," he said.

Since his re-arrest in 2005, Manchester has twice unsuccessfully attempted to escape from prison. | BGNES