channing tatum connection
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 The Vow (2012)
21 Jump Street (2012)
Haywire (2012)
The Son of No One (2011)
Dear John (2010)
Fighting (2009)
Stop-Loss (2008)
Step Up (2006)
She's The Man (2006)
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 How long does it take to do those five castings?It can take you all day, especially when you don't know where you're going. So you really start to question what you're doing there.
Does your agency give you anything to live on?
Nothing. Sometimes they'll front the hotel cost, but you end up paying for it out of your fees anyway.
What else do you have to overcome?
Not being able to get food. Store hours are really limited there. You're tied up in lines all day, and then when you want to get something to eat at eight o'clock at night, you are shit out of luck. There is nothing you can do about it except pray to God that your hotel has something in the mini-bar or you will die. And there are no gyms ...
I remember David Fumero talked about lifting boulders in a park to stay in shape.
It's just the whole vibe. You're all alone, you miss home but you can't call because it's so expensive.
And I guess this is the first time away from home for a lot of the guys?
Exactly. You learn to survive by asking as many questions as possible. I was pretty burned out by the time I finished up in Paris, but the clients that booked me that first year still book me today. After that I just spent four months traveling. I went to Spain, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia ... no one knew where I was.
So you kind of checked out for a while?
Yes. In the meantime Metro Models, my old agency closed, so I had to track Jason (Kanner, director of Major Models) down at Major when I got back. He told me to come back and he'd get something going for me.
How did you first connect with Jason?
I met with him the very first day I arrived in New York for the shoot with Tony Duran. Jason arranged the meeting. It turned out that in one day he'd heard my name from Greg Lotus, Al David, someone at Bloomingdales and then from Tony Duran, all in that same day. So he called my Miami agency and arranged to meet me. He was totally positive and promised to back me 100% and he already had six appointments for me. I really couldn't believe my luck. I was like: "This is great, this is just awesome."
Jason is my manager too. There's no one I'd trust my career with more. He is a total confidante. And he always has words of wisdom when I'm going through a tough time. He's like the quintessential big brother — that scolding, constructive criticism that's really tough on you, the sort of guy that won't take any shit. That's what I need.
So he's made a big difference?
I am where I am because of him. You've got to have a very good relationship with your agent — a personal relationship. But don't get it screwed up to the point that he can't tell you the bottom line about what's really going on.
So how did you get the Mountain Dew Commercial?
First I auditioned for this Pepsi commercial. It was called "Scratch" and it was directed by Tarsem Singh, the guy who directed "The Cell," and it featured a DJ. Every DJ in New York was up for that audition and they had records with them, mixers, everything. They were really tearing it up and I didn't have anything. I had to borrow a record from one of the DJs. But I went up there and tried to look like I was really killing it. The other guys were saying "You sure can't scratch for shit, but you can dance" and they were laughing, man. (laughs). I was spinning on my back, scratching with my elbow, just dumb stuff. Afterwards I told Jason it was pretty bad, but a month later I got the commercial.
And that lead to the Mountain Dew ad?
After "Scratch" for Pepsi was released they asked me fly out to LA to audition for Mountain Dew. I was a little intimidated — the casting was full of people I recognized from TV shows and I'd never even taken an acting class. But finally they called me in, gave me some direction, and I just did it exactly the way they wanted me to. Basically they just sat me in a chair pretending to drive and I said "Gotta have my Dew" and that was it. A day later they gave me the part and we started shooting. It was crazy.
How many days did it take?
Seven. Just sitting in the car and saying the lines took the first day. The really tough part was being strapped in the car on a flatbed truck and then driving while the car flips upside down, this guy steps under and I grab the can out of his hand.
You were actually moving when you grabbed the can out of the guy's hand?
Yeah. Some shots I'd just pretend I was grabbing it, but then they'd put him under and I had to grab the can as we moved past him, while we're rolling and then I had to pour it down my throat practically upside down. That's why it spills out of my mouth.
That's the sexiest part of the commercial.
(laughs) It's funny — that wasn't planned at all, it just happened.
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