Channing Tatum Biography

Channing Tatum was born on April 26, 1980 in a small town called Cullman outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Growing up he was full of energy and somewhat troublesome, so his parents decided to enroll him in different sports such as Track, Baseball, Soccer, Football to keep him out of trouble. In the ninth grade he was sent to military school. It was there that he discovered his passion for football and his hopes became centered on earning an athletic college scholarship.

Channing's goal was finally met and in his senior year in high school, he was recruited and earned a full athletic college scholarship to a school in West Virginia. He is also skilled in Kung Fu and Gor-Chor Kung Fu a form of martial arts, in which he has earned belts in both. Channing later left college, and in the meantime worked as a construction worker and mortgage broker and salesman. He has modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch, Nautica, Gap, Aeropostale, Emporio Armani, and has been featured in television commercials for American Eagle, Pepsi and the very popular mountain dew commercials.

Channing can now be seen on the big screen as a featured actor in Coach Carter in which he plays a high school basketball player. He was also in the very popular TV series CSI Miami where he played the role of Bob Davenport.

Tatum has branched out into a professional acting career, first appearing in a 2004 episode of CSI: Miami. His first feature film role was in 2005's high-school drama, Coach Carter, playing Jason Lyle, a basketball player opposite Samuel L. Jackson; Tatum also appeared in Twista's "Hope" music video, which accompanied the film. In the same year, Tatum had an uncredited bit role in War of the Worlds, as well as supporting parts in the films Supercross and Havoc. Although Tatum has said that he "love[s] modeling", he has taken a break from the profession to concentrate on his acting career, saying that he prefers making movies.

Tatum unsuccessfully auditioned for a role in X-Men: The Last Stand. The film's producer, Lauren Shuler Donner, noticed Tatum and cast him in the film She's the Man, where he plays the love interest of a character played by Amanda Bynes. The film opened on March 17, 2006.

Tatum's next role will be in director Kimberly Peirce's Stop-Loss, about a soldier returning home from the Iraq War.