Arts & Entertainment
Channing Tatum: The ‘Magic Mike’ Interview
By Kam Williams
Special To The Skanner News
C
hanning Matthew Tatum was born in Cullman, Ala.,
on April 26, 1980. A mix of Irish, French, German
and Native-American ancestry, he was raised mostly
in Mississippi and then Florida before starting
out in showbiz as a fashion model and as a
dancer in music videos.
He recently co-starred opposite Jonah Hill in
the hit comedy “21 Jump Street.” The two also
served as executive producers on the project,
which has grossed $200 million at the box-
office worldwide, with a sequel currently in
development.
Earlier this year, Channing co-starred opposite Rachel
McAdams in “The Vow,” a romantic drama that grossed
$200 million, too. Additionally, he starred in Steven Soder-
bergh’s spy thriller “Haywire,” and will soon be seen in
“Ten Year,” a film he produced in collaboration with Reid
Carolin and Iron Horse Entertainment. The film’s ensemble
cast includes Channing’s wife, Jenna Dewan, along with
Rosario Dawson, Lynn Collins, Kate Mara, Anna Faris,
Brian Geraghty, Justin Long and Chris Pratt, and will be
released on September 21st.
Tatum is currently in production on the Steven Soder-
bergh crime drama “Bitter Pill” with Rooney Mara, Jude
Law and Catherine Zeta-
Jones which is set to hit the-
aters next February. Also set
for 2013 is “G.I Joe 2: Retali-
ation,” where he stars along-
side Bruce Willis and
Dwayne Johnson.
His prior film credits
include “The Son of No
One,” “The Eagle,” “Dear John,” “G.I. Joe,” “Fighting” and
“Stop/Loss.” In 2006, he received an Independent Spirit
Award nomination and a Gotham Award nomination for his
spellbinding performance in the powerful, coming-of-age
drama, “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.”
That same year, the versatile thespian starred opposite
‘This movie is really a
bit of an explanation
of my experience in
that world’
‘Magic Mike’
Amanda Bynes in the romantic comedy “She’s the Man,” as
well as in the surprise hit “Step Up.” Here, Channing, who
lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jenna, talks about pro-
ducing and playing the title role in the semi-autobiographi-
cal “Magic Mike.”
Kam Williams: Hi Channing, thanks for the interview.
Channing Tatum: What’s up, Kam? How are you doing,
brother?
KW: I’m great, thanks. Let me say right off the bat, Chan-
ning, that I really was pleasantly surprised by Magic Mike.
I wasn’t expecting such an emotionally-involving, charac-
ter-driven film. I thought it was just going to be one of those
superficial dance flicks.
CT: That’s cool, man. Thank you very much. I know that
they’re selling the “Showgirls” aspect of it, but it’s not just
about men stripping. There’s a little bit of a story there, too.
KW: I have a lot of questions sent in by fans who knew
I’d be interviewing you. Legist/editor Patricia Turnier asks:
What interested you in making a movie about male strip-
pers?
CT: I had a little experience in this world and, to be hon-
est, I had never seen it on film. So, when [director] Steven
Soderbergh and I started talking about it, we discussed
some classics like “Boogie Nights,” “Shampoo” and “Sat-
urday Night Fever,” and decided we ought to be able to
make a memorable movie about a subject that’s never been
covered cinematically before.
KW: Harriet Pakula Teweles says she read in Wikipedia
that you spent some time as a stripper. She’s wondering
whether that just might have been a joke that somebody
posted there.
CT: No, I did do it for about eight months of my life,
which is a relatively short period of time. It’s not like I
made a career out of it or anything. This movie is really a
bit of an explanation of my brief experience in that world. I
represented a new generation of strippers where it was no
longer about the long hair and all that, but about hip-hop
and kinda doing your own thing. When I went in at 18, all
See TATUM on page 7
Page 6 The Portland Skanner June 20, 2012