Action star hones his comedy chops
NEW YORK — Channing Tatum grins sheepishly as he takes his seat in a Manhattan hotel suite.
Tatum’s reacting to a suggestion that he’s become a ready-forprime-time comedy player after refining his skills in the sequel 22 Jump Street.
“The movie’s not out yet so I don’t want to jinx it,” says Tatum, who declines to comment on the positive preview buzz for him and the movie. “I’m a little superstitious that way.”
The 34-year-old does admit he is becoming more comfortable with the genre thanks to his jokester workouts with buddy Jonah Hill.
In the latest movie loosely based on the 1980s TV cop show, Tatum and Hill return as undercover agents but this time they enrol at a university to bring down a dangerous drug ring.
Like the first movie, the action is fast and furious; the one-liners are quick and quipster-like while the tone is more self-effacing than self-serving as the cops lampoon the sequel mentality even as they make one.
OK, so besides being a cross-yourfingers kind of guy, the friendly Tatum reveals himself in five other ways with thoughts on subjects ranging from the Jonah Hill bond and the Gambit part to his best role yet as dad with Father’s Day just around the corner: 1. He continues to be unsure why he connects so easily with Hill.
“We got along really quickly right from the start,” Tatum says. “I don’t really know how to explain it. It wasn’t like a gestation period or anything. Jonah just seemed like a lot of the kids that I grew up with in Florida.” 2. He is still excited about doing his own stunts.
His efforts in 22 Jump Street were laid back compared to the hardcore running and jumping he did last year for White House Down and Jupiter Ascending, set for release early next year.
“They were by far the most physical movies I have done to date,” Tatum says. “In this (22 Jump Street) I was just worried about keeping my body together. I’d been banged up throughout those other films.”
That’s why he was disappointed with his scenes playing football in 22 Jump Street. “I had two bum wheels, so it was disappointing to do the football. I had a rolled ankle that was taped up and a torn ligament in my right foot.” 3. He’s thrilled about playing Gambit in the upcoming superhero film.
“I chose Gambit because it was my childhood,” Tatum says. “It’s the only real X-Men that I followed. He’s just the coolest one to me. He’s the smoking, drinking, womanchasing, cussing one … and he’s not even a good guy, he’s a thief.” 4. He’s an involved diaper-duty dad for his daughter Everly, who celebrated her first birthday May 30.
“If a guy isn’t good at changing a diaper, I don’t know what he’s there for, really,” Tatum says, “because the first seven months mom’s the end-all and be-all of everything.” Any mishaps? “There are always mishaps. The whole day is just a big ol’ mishap. I find it really fun.” 5. Despite his plans for a Gambit film, an Evel Knievel biopic and another Magic Mike movie, he’s committed to taking a family-values break.
“I want to slow down and I really don’t want to miss my child’s first 10 years of life,” the proud poppa says.
“It’s always a different thing every day. Watching her experience things for the first time is fun. Like she just saw a kite the other day and she was just like, ‘What is it?’ It was crazy.”