Channing Tatum dishes on one of his biggest movies since he started out in Hollywood. In an interview with Howard Stern in his SiriusXM radioshow Tuesday morning, the "Magic Mike XXL" actor opens up about his early starring roles and bluntly tells the host just how much he loathed the films he was forced to do in the past, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While landing the lead role in a blockbuster is a dream for most actors nowadays, Tatum reveals that he "hated" his part in "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra." He says, "Look, I'll be honest. I f-king hate that movie. I hate that movie," referring to the 2009 film which starred him alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller, David Murray, and Rachel Nichols. Explaining his decision to take part of a project he so clearly hates, Tatum shares that his contract with Paramount required him to take on the film.
"I was pushed into doing that movie [G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra]," Tatum confesses. He goes on to say, "[After] Coach Carter, they signed me for a three-picture deal. And as a young [actor], you're like, 'Oh my god, that sounds amazing, I'm doing that!'"
Tatum then narrates that following the contract signing with the studio, he went on to pursue other projects. However, his luck with bagging good films and roles ran out as soon as Paramount called him in to discuss a movie they wanted him to star in, according to People Magazine. He shares, "So time goes by, and you get other jobs...and things happen and you have a dream job that you want to go do, and the studio calls up." The 35-year-old actor continues, "And they're like, 'Hey, we got a movie for you. We're gonna send it to you.' And it's G.I. Joe."
As a child, Tatum admits that he had been a huge fan of G.I. Joe and was actually excited when the studio called him up for the film. However, his giddiness over the movie did not last long as Paramount refused to give him the role he coveted - Snake Eyes. This part was later on taken on by Ray Parks and Tatum portrayed G.I. Joe himself.
Adding to the entire debacle was Tatum's hesitance to actually take part of the film. He explains, "The script wasn't any good." Tatum adds, "I didn't want to do something that I thought was 1) bad, and 2) I just didn't know if I wanted to be G.I. Joe." Nonetheless, he knew he had no other recourse due to the three-movie deal he signed with the studio earlier in his career.
Although Tatum has regrets in terms of his career decisions, he remains thankful for the opportunities. He says the project was still a great experience despite the issues he faced. "I could have been given...I don't know, Scream 5," Tatum jokingly says to Stern. He continues, "I'm super lucky and blessed to have been given that film. That was really not all that bad."
