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Director Derek Cianfrance was amused throughout the filming of his new movie, but one comedic moment on set stands out above all others.
While attending a special screening of Roofman at The Crosby Street Hotel in New York City on Monday, Sept. 8, Cianfrance, 51, spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about what it was like on set while directing the crime drama about a father who is living in the walls of a Toys “R” Us after breaking out of jail.
He revealed that he made many fond memories despite having to work “at the speed of light” to complete shooting in around 35 days.
“It seemed like every moment with Peter Dinklage, everything he did was interesting. His comic facility was infectious,” Cianfrance tells PEOPLE.
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In the crime drama, Dinklage, 56, stars as store manager Mitch alongside Channing Tatum as former Army Ranger Jeffrey Manchester, who falls in love with a divorced mom (played by Kirsten Dunst) while hiding in the Toys “R” Us.
Cianfrance says his favorite moment on set came when Dinklage and Tatum, 45, met for the first time as their characters.
“There’s this big scene in the movie where he catches Channing Tatum showering in the middle of the night,” Cianfrance says. “You can write that scene, but then you have to shoot it. And it’s… Channing had to show up.”
The Roofman director adds that Tatum was completely naked for the scene because “there was nothing to hide behind.”
“It was pretty fun having Peter and Channing interact that way,” Cianfrance says. “That was the first time they met because I tried to keep my actors apart because I wanted them to be surprised.
“So Channing and Peter never saw each other,” he adds. “The first time Peter ever saw Channing was full monty.”
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Cianfrance previously revealed that he spoke to the real-life convict, Jeffrey Manchester, “about four times a week for four years” while conducting research for the movie.
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Having robbed 45 McDonald’s restaurants and evaded capture by secretly living in a Toys “R” Us, Manchester is currently serving a 40-year sentence at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“The more I heard his story, the more I just couldn’t believe it was actually real,” Cianfrance says. “I talked to the police that arrested him, and sure enough, they said, ‘Yeah, that’s what happened.’ ”
Roofman is out in theaters on October 10.
