Channing Tatum Biography

Summary

"Channing Matthew Tatum" (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and film producer, best known for his roles in "Step Up" (2006), "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009), "Dear John" (2010), "The Vow" (2012), "21 Jump Street" (2012), "Magic Mike" (2012), and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" (2013). He has also appeared in films such as "Coach Carter" (2005), "She's the Man" (2006), "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" (2006), "Fighting" (2009), and "The Dilemma" (2010). While known for his dramatic performances in "Dear John" and "The Vow", he has also ventured into more comedic roles. Earlier in his career he worked variously as a dancer, model, and stripper.

Early life

Tatum was born and raised in Cullman, Alabama. He is the son of Kay (née Faust), an airline worker, and Glenn Tatum, who worked in construction. He has a sister named Paige. His ancestry includes Irish, French, German, and Native American. Tatum's family moved to Mississippi when he was six, and he grew up in the bayous near the Mississippi River, where he lived in a rural setting.

Tatum was athletic while growing up, playing football, soccer, track, baseball, and performing martial arts; he has said that 'girls were always his biggest distraction in school.' As a child, he practiced wuzuquan kung fu under the lineage of 10th dan Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong. Tatum spent most of his teenage years in the Tampa, Florida, area, and initially attended Gaither High School, before going to Tampa Catholic High School.

He graduated in 1998 and was voted most athletic. Afterward, Tatum attended Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia, on a football scholarship, but dropped out. He returned home and started working odd jobs.

"US Weekly" reported that around this time Tatum began working as a stripper at a local nightclub, under the name 'Chan Crawford.' In 2010, he told an Australian newspaper that he would like to make a movie about his experiences as a stripper. That idea led to the movie "Magic Mike". He later moved to Miami, where he was discovered by a model talent scout.

Career

Early work

In 2000, Tatum was first cast as a dancer in Ricky Martin's 'She Bangs' music video, after an audition in Orlando, Florida; he was paid $400 for the job. His experience in the fashion industry began as a model working for such noted clients such as Armani and Abercrombie & Fitch. He soon moved into television commercials, landing national spots for Mountain Dew and Pepsi in 2002. He subsequently signed with a modelling agency in Miami, Page 305 (Page Parkes Modeling Agency), but later found success after being cast by Al David for "Vogue" magazine and soon after appeared in campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch, Nautica, Dolce & Gabbana, American Eagle Outfitters, and Emporio Armani. He was picked as one of "Tear Sheet" magazine's '50 Most Beautiful Faces' of October 2001. Tatum also signed with Beatrice Model agency in Milan, Italy and Ford Models in New York City.

Tatum has said that his modeling career has helped him with his life, specifying that 'It's made my life, and my family's life, a lot easier, because I never knew what I wanted to do and now they don't really have to worry about me anymore. I've been able to explore life, and through exploring it I've found that I love art, I love writing, I love acting, I love all the things that make sense to me. And I've been given the chance to go out and see the world, and to see all the things out there. Not everyone gets that chance'.

2008-present

Tatum and his wife Jenna Dewan at the 2012

In 2008, Tatum co-starred in director Kimberly Peirce's film "Stop-Loss", about soldiers returning home from the Iraq War, and in director Stuart Townsend's film "Battle in Seattle", about the 1999 protest of the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. Tatum played in the short film "The Trap", directed by Rita Wilson.

Tatum and Dito Montiel, who worked together on "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints", reteamed on the action drama "Fighting" for Rogue Pictures. Tatum starred as Sean McArthur, a young man who scrapes up a living scalping tickets in New York City. Tatum next appeared in writer/director/producer Michael Mann's 2009 crime drama "Public Enemies", playing the 1930s American gangster Pretty Boy Floyd. The same year, Tatum starred as Duke in "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", Paramount Pictures' live-action film based on the popular Hasbro action figures. He was initially reluctant to take the role as he feared the movie would glorify war. However, he overcame his reluctance when he read the script. He played a soldier in "Dear John", a Screen Gems film based on a popular Nicholas Sparks bestseller. He later stated that he accepted the role to learn from Lasse Hallström as he had never studied at an acting school.

, , Rwandan President , documentary subject Jean Pierre Sagahutu, producer and executive producer Tatum attend the premiere of "Earth Made of Glass".

In an interview with "Details" magazine, published in early 2012, Tatum said he wants to produce all the films he stars in, 'I really don't want to be in any more movies that I don't produce. Unless it's with one of the 10 directors that I really want to work with, I don't have any interest in not being on the ground floor of creating it.' He, his wife Jenna Dewan, and their production partner Reid Carolin signed a two-year production deal in 2010 with Relativity Media for any movies they may develop during that time.

In 2012, Tatum hosted "Saturday Night Live" and appeared in four films. He co-starred in Steven Soderbergh's "Haywire", "The Vow" with Rachel McAdams, and "21 Jump Street" (the film adaptation of TV series of the same name) with Jonah Hill. He also starred in "Magic Mike", a film about his eight-month experience as a male stripper in Florida. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh, was co-produced by Tatum and Soderbergh, and starred Tatum as Mike - one of the central performers at a Tampa, Florida, male strip club who takes a younger dancer (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing in hopes of showing him how to hustle 'on and off stage.' The film's cast also included Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. In November 2012 Tatum was named "People" magazine's annual Sexiest Man Alive.

2013 projects

Tatum appeared in Steven Soderbergh's "Side Effects", with Rooney Mara and Jude Law. He reprised his role as Duke in "G.I. Joe: Retaliation", the sequel to 2009's "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", in an ensemble cast that included Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis. Originally scheduled for a release on June 29, 2012, the film was pushed back to March 2013, in order to convert it to 3D and to add more scenes for his character, who was killed at the beginning of the movie.

He will co-star with Steve Carell in "Foxcatcher", about the story of John du Pont, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and killed Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. Tatum is attached to the movie "Peter Pan Begin".

Tatum reportedly will reprise his role from "21 Jump Street" in a sequel.

33andOut Productions

Along with friends Reid Carolin, Adam Martingano, Brett Rodriguez, and wife Jenna Dewan, Tatum has started production companies called 33andOut Productions and Iron Horse Entertainment. Their first production is a documentary called "Earth Made of Glass" that follows the Rwandan President Paul Kagame and genocide survivor Jean-Pierre Sagahutu. The film was selected to premiere at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.

Personal life

In 2006, Tatum met actress Jenna Dewan on the set of their movie "Step Up". They began dating shortly after filming had finished. The couple became engaged in early September 2008 in Maui, Hawaii. On July 11, 2009, they married on the grounds of Church Estates Vineyards, in Malibu, California. In December 2012, the two announced they are expecting their first child.

Tatum has ADD and 'something like dyslexia'.