When you are caught in a tight situation, Jamie Foxx knows that it’s best to be in it with the sexiest man alive.
Channing Tatum suits up to play an all-American hero in White House Down.
WHEN he was 18, Channing Tatum earned a living as a stripper and used his tips (mostly crumpled US$1 bills) for his daily spending. Now at 33, he is said to be worth US$14mil (RM42mil), as his recent starring films, which include Magic Mike (a film based on his days as a young stripper), have each made more than US$100mil (RM300mil) at the box office.
He’s on a roll, too, what with four movies scheduled to open from now till 2014. Not bad for a guy who was really happy to be paid US$400 (RM1,200) for five days’ work as a backup dancer in Ricky Martin’s She Bangs music video, way back in 2000.
Despite the massive change in lifestyle and salary, one thing remains the same with Tatum. From the start, he has cultivated a reputation for being a super-nice guy. This leads to him making lifelong friends with folks he works with in every project. Today, Tatum is still very much a down-to-earth guy, and this comes through even via this webchat interview from Cancun, Mexico, for the film White House Down.
It’s this quality that convinced director Roland Emmerich to cast Tatum as John Cale, an ex-military man who finds himself against a force that’s terrorising the White House and President of the United States (played by Jamie Foxx). According to Emmerich, Tatum is perfect for the role as he embodies everything that Cale is, an ordinary guy who is funny, smart and knows what he wants, but is faced with an extraordinary situation.
Tatum has other traits of course, which his co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal has noticed. She spills at a press conference in Cancun: “Channing is sexy, funny and lovely. It was fun to play those scenes (with him). I would sort of think, ‘So many women wish that they could just touch him’ and I would actually touch him. Sort of to do it for everybody, you know?”
Channing Tatum released this picture of his baby girl, Everly, and wife, Jenna Dewan, on Facebook.
Needless to say – whether out of discomfort or simply his good nature – Tatum is only too willing to downplay any excessive compliment paid to him by cracking jokes at his own expense. Hence his reaction when asked about his “2012 Sexiest Man Alive” title from People magazine: “I would give it to (Foxx) any day of the week. Look, it’s happening. Whether it’s going to happen this year or next year, it’s coming.”
Refusing to keep quiet (or wanting to egg Tatum on), Foxx jumps in with: “Don’t let him try to get off the subject. He is the sexiest man alive! And what that means is, there is not a man breathing right now who’s as sexy as this man. You saw the way he was standing in the pose. I got the pose, I just didn’t get the cover.”
At that point, both try to up the other by striking the “pose”, only to have it end up comically. Emmerich, seated between them, sighs and deadpans: “See what I went through on this movie.”
Foxx adds: “I will tell you what my daughter says is sexy about him. My daughter’s 19 years old, and she flips out over him, for more than one thing. That he’s good looking. He dances, of course. Magic Mike went through the roof. I don’t know if he knows it, but she’s hooked on going to male strip clubs now. But what I think women find sexy about him is, when he’s in a movie, he has that quality where he, you know, really cares. I think that quality goes a long way. That, to me, is what people are really responding to. Not only women dig it, but men admire that too.”
It’s obvious Tatum has made yet another friend in Foxx over the course of filming White House Down. The two continued to hang out long after the project ended, and they even have a song called Channing All Over Your Tatum, which they performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live in February. It is also released as a proper music video on the show’s website recently.
This chemistry translates onto the film as well – two men trying their darndest to stay alive, save the day and everyone they love.
Foxx explains: “It’s about the relationship between these guys and everything that is pending – he’s at a crossroads, and (my character) is at a crossroads too. These two guys come together, and they figure it out ... and it’s a beautiful thing to see.”
Besides the relationship between their characters, White House Down also explores Cale’s estranged relationship with his young daughter, Emily (Joey King), who is caught in the middle of the mayhem unfolding at the White House. While Tatum responded to the film’s subject of terrorism, he also acknowledged the emotional aspect of the character and what he is trying to accomplish in that tough moment, especially as a father.
Tatum says: “Cale is a man who is trying to save the free world through the love of his daughter. And that’s sort of all he thinks about – patriotism and the love of his daughter. Every decision he made was because of his daughter; that was the thing that made me understand the movie.”
White House Down signals the first time Tatum tackles the role of a father on the big-screen. In real life, Tatum and his wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum have just become parents to a baby girl, Everly Elizabeth Maiselle Tatum.
At the time of this interview, it was just a month away before the Tatums were due to welcome their daughter. The actor shares his feelings at that point: “I don’t think anybody can really be prepared for fatherhood. I’ve gotten a lot of advice. I’ve read books. I’ve seen documentaries. I’ve watched movies. I’ve ultimately been like, all right, look, this is just going to happen and I’m terrified and excited. And, just ready, you know.
Someone told me that nine months is the perfect amount of time to go through all the stages that you’re going to go through. The whole thing, the lead up is very stressful. Extremely stressful. (But) I’m ready for it to happen.”
White House Down is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
Channelling Channing
Channing Tatum is on the up and up in Hollywood.
Step Up (2006)
Tatum’s first leading role, is where he plays a rebellious hip-hop dancer. Although he has an athletic background, the actor felt nervous about the role as he is not a professional dancer like his co-stars. The movie is also significant because it introduced him to his wife, Jenna Dewan.
Fighting (2009)
Like the title suggests, the film involves a lot of fighting. So much so that Tatum ended up with a broken nose during one of the more physical scenes. He plays Shawn MacArthur, who is just a little too good at bare-knuckle fighting.
G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (2009)
The actor plays Captain Duke Hauser, who is part of an elite military unit known as G.I. Joe. Tatum was offered the role after Sam Worthington turned it down. Tatum did not want it at first, as he felt it was “glorified war”, but changed his mind after reading the script and his buddy – Joseph Gordon-Levitt – encouraged him to take the role. Wise move.
Dear John (2010)
Tatum is still in soldier mode for this romantic drama based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel. He plays “a strapping Special Forces hunk” who falls in love with a student. This is his first serious tear jerker, which co-stars Amanda Seyfried.
The Eagle (2011)
We are beginning to wonder if he’s being typecast, as he plays yet another soldier here. This time however, it is set during the Roman Empire circa 140AD. This centurion named Marcus travels with a slave (Jamie Bell) to find out what happened to a missing legion and its symbol, a golden eagle. Here’s some interesting trivia: both Tatum and Bell had their breakthrough roles playing dancers (Step Up and Billy Elliot respectively).
The Vow (2012)
Another weepie romantic drama in which Tatum wears this really awful hipster straw hat while courting Rachel McAdams’ character. It becomes painfully obvious that Tatum is much better off playing hell-raising soldiers. Or a dancer. Someone should make a movie of Tatum as a dancing soldier!
21 Jump Street (2012)
Who knew Channing Tatum could pull off comedy? Jonah Hill must’ve, because he convinced Tatum to take on the role for this film even though Tatum passed on it twice. They play a pair of incompetent police officers who return to high school as teenagers to bring down a drug ring. Notice how often Tatum actually passes on roles that are good for his career?
Magic Mike (2012)
The film is loosely based on Tatum’s experiences as a stripper before moving to Hollywood to pursue acting. His character in the film is called Magic Mike, but the moniker he went by when stripping was Chan Crawford.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Get this; the release of this film was pushed almost a year as the studio wanted to include more scenes with Tatum. Apparently, test audiences wanted more scenes between him and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. You know you have hit big time when the studio wants more scenes of you.
White House Down (2013)
Tatum headlines this film with Jamie Foxx. He plays an ex-military man who goes to the White House for a job interview. He ends up springing into action when the President’s home is invaded by baddies. This movie sounds almost similar to Olympus Has Fallen (released earlier this year). Can Tatum entice audiences to the cinema? That will be the test of his star power.
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