Childhood & Early Life
Channing Tatum was born to Glenn and Kay Tatum in Cullman, Alabama. His father worked in a construction firm while his mother worked for an airline.
When he was six years old, his family moved to Mississippi. Throughout his childhood, he played many sports like football, baseball, track etc. and was also trained in martial arts.
Next, he moved to Tampa in Florida where he studied in ‘Gaither High School’ and later in ‘Tampa Catholic High School’.
He earned a football scholarship to ‘Glenville State College’ in Glenville, West Virginia, but eventually lost interest in pursuing football and hence dropped out of college.
He then worked in a variety of jobs, such as construction worker, stripper, mortgage broker and salesman, soon after which he moved to Miami.
In 2000, he was approached on the street by a talent agent in Miami, who convinced him to pursue modelling. His first stint was with a Ricky Martin music video titled ‘She Bangs’.
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Career
Tatum signed with a modelling agency in Miami and represented major brands like ‘Armani’, ‘American Eagle’, ‘Abercrombie and Fitch’, ‘Pepsi’, etc. He featured in both print ads and commercials and subsequently signed with two other modelling agencies in Milan and New York.
In 2004, the commercials earned him a role in an episode of the TV show ‘CSI: Miami’, which was his first acting role till date.
In 2005, his athletic physique helped him to get supporting roles in the films ‘Coach Carter’, ‘Supercross’ and ‘Havoc’. By now, he was pursuing acting as a full-time career.
In 2006, he had three more releases, with the high school romance ‘Step Up’ being the most notable among them. The film, made on a small budget of 12 million, grossed more than 119 million at the box-office which also gave Tatum a chance to show-off his dancing abilities.
Tatum delivered an intense performance in the 2006 acclaimed drama ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints’, where he played a hot-blooded boy. The film won awards at various film festivals.
His next significant film was ‘Stop-Loss’ in 2008, where he portrayed an American soldier fighting the war in Iraq. The film was well-received by critics.
In 2009, he featured in the hit crime drama ‘Public Enemies’, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. The same year, he acted as the lead in another big commercial success, ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’, which collected more than 300 million at the box-office.
He played the lead in the romantic drama ‘Dear John’ in 2010, which was based on a novel by writer Nicholas Sparks and also starred Amanda Seyfried in the lead.
In 2011, he portrayed a variety of roles in films of different genres, including a short but notable role in the comedy ‘The Dilemma’ and the lead in ‘The Son of No One’, which also had Al Pacino in the cast.
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2012 was a great year for Tatum as he starred in three box-office successes, These were ‘The Vow’, another romantic film adopted from a Nicholas Sparks novel, the award-winning action comedy ’21 Jump Street’ and the comedy ‘Magic Mike’, which was loosely based on Tatum’s own experiences as a stripper. Tatum was also a producer for the last two films.
He continued to deliver hits in 2013, with films like the political thriller ‘White House Down’ and the psychological thriller ‘Side Effects’. He also reprised his role as ‘Duke’ in ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’, the sequel to the 2009 movie.
He also hosted an episode of ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 2012 and appeared in the promotional music video ‘I Wanna Channing All Over Your Tatum’ the next year. He has also done a voice-over for the popular cartoon ‘The Simpsons’.
His upcoming movies include ‘Foxcatcher’, based on the autobiography of Mark Schultz, an Olympic Wrestling champion, ’22 Jump Street’, which is the eagerly-awaited sequel to ’21 Jump Street’ and ‘Jupiter Ascending’, a science-fiction film co-starring Mila Kunis.
Major Works
Tatum’s 2006 film ‘Step Up’ was an unprecedented success. The film ushered a new genre of dance-oriented films and allowed Tatum to display his slick dance moves. ‘Step Up’ earned more than 119 million at the box-office.
His comedy film ‘21 Jump Street’, which he also produced, garnered great appreciation from the critics. Tatum’s performance in the film was also praised. The film had a good run at the box-office too, collecting more than 200 million.
Personal Life & Legacy
Tatum was afflicted with ‘Dyslexia’ and ‘attention deficit disorder’ (ADHD) as a youngster.
He began a relationship with his ‘Step Up’ co-star Jenna Dewan after the film’s completion. He married her in 2009, and four years later, had a daughter Everly from the marriage.
He set up two production companies in collaboration with his wife and friends, ‘33andOut Productions’ and ‘Iron Horse Entertainment’. ‘33&Out Productions’ produced a documentary titled ‘Earth Made of Glass’, which is about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
