Channing Tatum
Interview By: Andrea Tuccillo
AndreaTuccillo@TheCinemaSource.com
Channing Tatum is dancing his way to the top. Born and raised in New Orleans and a self-proclaimed “bayou boy,” Tatum has learned to appreciate the slow life, but with his star rising fast his quiet, lazy days may be far behind him.
With films like She’s The Man under his belt, Tatum is now taking on a whole new genre: the dance film. In this month’s Step Up, Tatum plays Tyler Gage, a troublemaking foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks. While doing community service at a Baltimore school for the arts, he meets passionate dancer Nora (played by Jenna Dewan) and the two form a fast bond over their love of dance. Through dancing with Nora, Tyler discovers an ambition and a drive that he never knew he had.
Tatum is no stranger to ambition and drive, two things necessary for the rigorous dance rehearsals and complicated choreography integral to Step Up. Tatum, a street dancer, found the classical components of each number particularly tough to master.
“It was something that was definitely foreign, and me and [director] Anne [Fletcher] had many talks where I’m like I just don’t get it,” Tatum says. “I didn’t enjoy doing choreography in the beginning because it was hard but the after a while I started to appreciate it. What these kids can do, and learn as fast as they do it and as good as they do it—it’s crazy to me. It’s such an underappreciated talent that these kids have.”
His admiration for dancers and their ability has carried over into the kinds of movies he enjoys as well. Tatum has loved dance movies for as long as he can remember and he singles out Footloose as one of his favorites. So when the opportunity arose for Step Up, it was an offer Tatum definitely could not refuse.
“It was kind of surreal thinking about doing a dance movie, not being a dancer, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of at least trying to do it,” Tatum says. “Then I met Anne and [producer] Jennifer [Gibgot] and we had lunch and we just all kind of hit it off. They’re two crazy gals that had this idea and really wanted to go and make it amazing and make it beautiful. I loved their concept and then after I auditioned it just got more serious.”
For the creators of Step Up, Tatum was the right person at the right time. Originally unsure if they wanted an actor who would use a dance double, or a dancer who they would teach how to act, Tatum turned out to be the perfect combination of both. After he demonstrated a bit of his freestyling at his audition, the choice was clear. Tatum went straight to work with choreographer Jamal Sims, a collaborative effort which he says was very comfortable.
“It was very easy to work with him, because by happenstance we move a lot alike,” Tatum explains. ...
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