All his life, Channing Tatum has set out to prove those who doubted him wrong. Now that he’s at the top of his game, he continues to look for ways to evolve.

Channing Tatum has always looked at the bigger picture.

That’s why, when it comes to selecting movie roles, he’s always chosen the stance of quality over quantity. For him, contentment comes from a place of feeling useful, rather than busy.

Perhaps that’s a consequence of having attention deficit disorder and dyslexia in his youth. As a teenager, Tatum was pushed by his family to excel at sports in order to combat the disability—he later became a highly touted football player at Tampa’s Gaither High School and received a full scholarship to Glenville State College in West Virginia. However, he soon found himself overwhelmed by life on campus and dropped out of college, returning to Florida and working as a male exotic dancer to make ends meet (an experience that would serve as inspiration for the series of Magic Mike films).

After being discovered by a modeling talent scout, Tatum began a new career path with an eye toward acting. He slept on friends’ couches while taking acting classes and trying to perfect his craft in hopes of getting noticed in an overcrowded field. In 2005 he got his first big break, making his film debut in Coach Carter alongside Samuel L. Jackson.

Fast forward to today and Tatum has become a household name and one of Hollywood’s marquee actors. After making his mark as a hunkish star, he added to his talents by becoming a producer, with some of his credits including the hit films21 Jump Street, the aforementioned Magic Mike, Logan Lucky and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

In recent years, Tatum came back into box office focus with Dog, a road trip comedy from the K9 stable; The Lost City, alongside Sandra Bullock; and a short cameo in Bullet Train—the latter two both exemplifying the actor’s penchant for humor as well has huff and puff.

Now, he returns in the romantic comedy Fly Me to the Moon alongside Scarlett Johansson. Tatum plays Cole Davis, a NASA employee who links up with marketing specialist Kelly Jones (Johansson) to create a fictionalized version of the Apollo 11 moon landing as a precaution in case the actual mission was not successful.

Moviegoers will also find Tatum popping up on screen in the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Soon he will also appear in Blink Twice, a film that tells the story of sinister events unfolding at a tech tycoon’s private island. The movie is the directorial debut of Zoe Kravitz, Tatum’s fiancée, and it’s one he’s eager to share with the world.

“[Zoe] directed the hell out of this. I’m so proud of her and I cannot wait for everyone to be able to see just how talented she is. I’m in total awe of her, I really am,” he says.

We spoke to Tatum about his latest roles, the dynamics of fatherhood and how his ambitions have evolved over the course of his career.

What do you think you would have done if you hadn’t become a successful actor?

Good question. Acting wasn’t really on the agenda for me, if I’m totally honest. I was modeling in New York before any of this actually came about and I was using the money I was getting from those modeling jobs to save for what I really wanted to do.

What was that?

Open up a thrift store in Tampa Bay, Florida [laughs]. Honestly! No, I’m not kidding. That was the plan and it was something I had my heart set on, because I never in a million years thought I would get as far as I have gotten. I’m very fortunate, I know!

Fly Me to the Moon is a nice diversion from some of the action roles you have been taking on recently. Does it surprise you that, all these years later, some people still think the moon landing didn’t happen?

I think we know that at any given time there are conspiracy theories being passed around, and they’ve only become more prevalent with the advent of social media, right?

This one predates all that and has stuck around for a while, perhaps understandably. Given what’s out there in modern society I find it one of the least worrying, to be honest.

In preparation for the role, you spoke to someone who was in the control room on the day of the Apollo 11 landing. Surely that’s proof enough that it happened?

 [Laughs]. Well it’s only proof in the sense of it’s one person’s word, but having made this movie I am content that what happened, happened.

The guy in question was in a scene we were filming.

What did you like most about working with Scarlett Johansson?

She’s just great and I don’t mean to be blowing smoke, but honestly, what a great professional. She blows me away.

Despite the nature of the film, most of the scenes between us were pretty straightforward and I love her approach to emotion and dialogue. You know when you’re opposite an accomplished actor because they make your own job so much easier. It’s like they’re setting up your own contribution.

More than that, though, she made the whole thing fun. We would be laughing together between takes or whatever … yet when it’s time to go, she nails it. She cries a tear at the exact right moment it’s needed, she immerses herself into the character and I actually thought it was a completely different person. Honestly, [I was] blown away.

There is lots of talk of us going back to the moon. It’s overdue, right?

It’s overdue alright, and it does seem strange that something we were able to do 60 years ago we now can’t do.

However, the world has changed and the priorities of this generation are different. There is so much else out there that’s more valuable for us to explore, and the moon is really no longer the priority—that’s my take on it anyway.

For your upcoming role in Blink Twice, you said that you had to go to a place that you’ve never been to before. How much of a challenge was that?

Yes, playing Slater King was really a case of stepping outside of my comfort zone, as was being directed by Zoe.

Then you had the location, the film genre and a really slick, cool, challenging cast. Everything for me was about getting out of my comfort zone and doing something different, and that’s really important to me as an actor to ensure I can keep on moving forward. You’ve got to be unsettled and on edge in order to produce your best.

Zoe said you were the first person on her list to play the role of Slater. How great was it that you had a leading role in her directorial debut?

Yeah, absolutely amazing and again, we’re together, but I never want for Zoe to think she has to choose me for work she directs.

Maybe it was better for her to ask me to do the first one and then other people, better than me, can work with her after that [laughs].

The plot is intriguing and moves along at pace.

Yeah, Slater meets a woman called Frida, played by Naomi Ackie. He’s beyond rich and he invites her to his private island for a [big] party with tons of his friends.

It all starts off great and she’s relaxing, having a good time … but then strange things start happening and in order for Frida to survive, she needs to find out exactly what’s going on and uncover the truth.

It’s a superb suspense thriller full of twists and the type of tension I think modern audiences have come to expect.

What do you mean by that?

I think cinemagoers and movie watchers are a bit more demanding in getting the meat off the bone quicker than they were before.

Maybe it’s because we all have a lot going on in our lives, but it feels to me the days of the long, drawn-out movie are probably done. People want instant impact and this movie definitely offers that.

We can’t chat without mentioning your cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. Thinking of the likes of Bullet Train, The Hateful Eight, The Lego Movie, This is the End … what is it about a cameo that really appeals to you?

Well, it’s a lot less effort that doing the whole film [laughs]! Some make sense, others are a little strange. I’m thinking there about The Gimp in This Is the End! I was emailed late at night by Seth Rogen—which, by the way is not a regular thing, at all. However, I think I was maybe drunk or whatever and I opened it up and read what he was saying.

It read something like: “Hey man, we’ve had a thought here on set and as you know, we’re already filming … but we wanted to ask you and Danny McBride to do a scene with you as a cameo. Stay with me on this … it involves a Mexican wrestling mask and a leash. What do you think?”

So, as I said, I’m drunk and it’s about 3 a.m. and I’m just going to go with it. “Yeah, sure man—what the hell. I’m in,” or whatever.

I’d never met Danny before, so here’s me thinking it would be hilarious to go and say hello by bursting into his trailer, in my outfit and tackling him onto something soft, so he doesn’t get injured, right.

That didn’t go well. I think he was quite scared and weirded out. I don’t think we’ve actually spoken since that, so … yeah [laughs].

To answer the question, I think it’s the element of surprise for audiences and that usually heightens their emotions. It’s quirky, it’s funny, it’s edgy.

It’s also nice for an actor who is maybe a long time between films to stay in the consciousness of the film-watching audience. It makes a lot of sense on all sides.

Cameos aside, you seem to be taking a much more emotional, intellectual and philosophical view toward your movies in the current era.

It’s a learning process, and you evolve what you do every step of the way.

It’s interesting, I think I learned more on Logan Lucky than I did on any other movie. It was almost a line in the sand for me, because it gave me a bigger appreciation of what movies should represent, and that was only heightened by the global pandemic, when the whole thing shut down.

Logan Lucky taught me that good moviemaking isn’t about the cameras, the sets, the directors or even the actors. It’s about the people and the characters that you’re
able to discover through them. That’s what is genuinely important.

Who has impressed and inspired you most along the way?
I would have to say Steven Soderbergh. Without his advice and guidance, I don’t know whether I would still be acting today. I’ve known him for a long time and he’s taught me so much about filmmaking and so many aspects of the creative process.

When I met him, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my career and he helped to rethink a lot of things and that enabled me to go in a different direction to where I wanted to be. He’s a very smart and generous man and also one of the best directors in the business.

What struck me is he doesn’t micromanage you. Instead he gives you the freedom you need and he empowers you to bring whatever ideas you have to your work.

He’s the kind of director who allows you to use your inspiration and let that flow into your performance.

How ambitious do you feel these days?
I think I’m becoming more ambitious the more movies I’ve been able to do, and seeing what the potential there is to be creative and imaginative.But I’m not wasting my time. Every time I work on a movie, especially when I’m the producer, is an education. Making movies is a very difficult job. To get it right is even harder and it can take several years before you’ve got a story and script that you feel is right.

You have a massive female following. Do you ever think of yourself as a sex symbol?

I think it’s important to be interesting and do interesting work as an actor. Even with the Magic Mike movies, the idea was to combine humor with the sexy side of the story. You always want to be part of a good story and to entertain audiences.

How’s fatherhood treating you now?

Fatherhood has been one of the most important events in my life. Maybe that’s an obvious kind of thing to say, but you definitely do feel a different sense of responsibility toward everything. I’m a very ambitious person and my life has been so involved with my work and trying to develop projects as well as find the best films to be part of as an actor, but now I’ve definitely adjusted my focus.

I want to experience everything about my daughter’s world and be fully involved in watching her grow and discover things.

You’re 10 years into fatherhood now, yet you have said parenting is about making constant adjustments, right?
That’s true. Mostly, though, you need to learn patience! Yet it’s still the most beautiful thing in the world to hold your child in the air and look at her and just enjoy the moment of watching her smile and laugh at you. Those days are gone now for Everly—she’s way too big for that and it would be way too embarrassing … for both of us!

We ask the ladies this all the time, but it’s the same for the men—how are you balancing work with home?
You know, it’s very much impacting on my choices. Now I think, “Is this job worth being away from the people I love?” That’s the only consideration. I want to be there as much as I can; home is the priority.

I am just glad that, after all these years, I still love my job. I love the creativity and response but I liken it to a treadmill that you’re always on and you don’t get to enjoy the spoils. There was one point where I did four movies back-to-back, and you start to question if you gave your all to each of them. And I don’t want it to get to that place again. I want to spread it round a little more.

Just step off the treadmill and take a breath, which is definitely something I’m looking toward.

That’s the only way you can begin to point yourself in the direction of deeper and more challenging roles. All my life I’ve tried to learn step-by-step and build from one film to another, trying to raise my level each time out. I’ve always had the desire to keep evolving as a man and as an actor, and I feel I’m just starting to reach some of the goals I’ve set for myself.

You’ve overcome a lot in your life. Where do you think things stand right now for you?
I’m very happy and very grateful for what I’ve been able to achieve. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years thinking that I wasn’t smart and feeling very isolated in a lot of ways because I didn’t do well at school. Then after I had worked as a stripper and model and started working as an actor, people would put me in a certain category, and I wasn’t given much respect.

All my life I’ve been underestimated. All my life! That instils in you this desire to prove everyone wrong and show the world what you can do. I like being seen as an overachiever [laughs]!