Channing Tatum Interview

<A class="APCAnchor" HREF="http://affiliates.allposters.com/link/redirect.asp?AID=246987&PSTID=5&LTID=16&lang=1">Buy Posters at AllPosters.com </A>

Does it seem at all incongruous to you, Channing, that you're this football star doing dance choreography? I think it's so cool you have both sides going on, but don't you find it just a little jarring?

If I was doing ballet I could see it more, but yes, I have changed tremendously since I got out of high school. By leaps and bounds. (laughs)

What finally got you into modeling?

Another girl I knew was down in Miami doing some modeling and really wanted me to meet with some agencies. At the time I was still getting over the platinum hair from "She Bangs," so I looked like this little club kid, which is what I was, and I thought she was nuts. I didn't think of myself as a model at all.

You mean you thought it was phony?

No, more like I'm not pretty. The truth is I didn't think I could be a model at all. I was looking at some of the guys on the walls at Irene Marie and I thought to myself "Jesus Christ. I can't do this. I don't look anything like these guys." But Paige Parkes represented actors too, and that was one of the things I thought I could really do, far more than modeling.

It's fascinating, Channing, there are so many twists and turns here -- martial arts black belt, high school football star, dancer, choreographer, actor ...

Acting has always interested me. You get to play all these different roles and I've always had a vivid imagination. I even had an invisible friend for years. I love games, I love role-playing — cowboys and Indians sort of thing. And I always loved movies: 'Goonies' was my all-time favorite movie! (laughs) ... that's what I wanted to be ... 'The Lost Boys,' 'Stand By Me.' all those movies I grew up with as a kid. I just knew I wanted to play those adventure roles out on TV.

So you signed with Paige Parkes?

I really liked them. They took the time to explain everything to me. They asked me what my goals were, what kinds of work I was interested in, and they told me what was involved and what I'd have to do if I was serious. So I moved to Miami, this is about two years ago, and I was down there for six months doing tests and stuff.

Were you worried about doing well?

I tried to prepare myself in advance and once I got there I asked my agent a lot of questions — "What makes a good model? Is it body? Is it face?" They'd tell me "It's modeling." And I didn't understand what that meant, 'modeling,' being comfortable in front of the camera.

What happened those first months?

In the beginning I didn't do very well. I did these little editorials, but no one knew what to do with me in Miami.

Why?

I was too edgy. I had this shaved head and I kind of looked like a skinhead or a thug. I couldn't do catalogue all that well, and that's all there is in Miami really. But then I did this fashion show for Danny Santiago in Miami. Danny was the one who really kick-started my career. He helped me get an editorial shoot with Greg Lotus for Spoon Magazine. It didn't run, but I still think to this day that they were some of my best pictures — pictures worth taking to New York, which is what I needed.

What was Greg Lotus like to work with?

He was awesome. I just love him. He's so interesting to work with. He's the kind of photographer that likes taking the picture. He likes you to be very still ... you just give it to him with the eyes. No running and jumping, more like portraits.

Then, Danny (Santiago) showed the Greg Lotus pictures to Tony Duran, and Tony wanted to shoot me for an editorial in Gentlemen's Options, so I got to fly up to New York. I was so amped. As soon as I got off the plane I was like: "This is it. This is where I want to be!" The fast pace, everything. And you actually get appointments here. For my look, Miami was a great place to get a book started, but not so much for work.

Next Page: Every photographer is different