Action star tunes 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 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.
The friendly Tatum reveals himself in four other ways:
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.”
HE IS STILL EXCITED TO DO 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.
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.”
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 AN INVOLVED DAD FOR HIS DAUGHTER EVERLY.
“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.”