NEW YORK
There's something about Channing Tatum that makes those around him spontaneously break into song.
Perhaps it's his presence, at once disarmingly genial and yet chiseled and physically imposing. Or maybe it's his rather illustrious moniker that leads Tatum and his buddy/White House Down co-star Jamie Foxx to tap into their inner Barry Manilows in the midst of an interview.
They're singing the song the two released online that puts a goofily perverted spin on Tatum's name. And it's one you've been hearing quite a bit lately: Tatum has been having a major moment since he, ahem, fronted last year's male stripper saga Magic Mike, based on his own male revue experiences.
Almost a year to the day Mike gyrated through theaters, Tatum is back, this time as a cop bent on protecting both the ambushed capital and his young daughter in White HouseDown, a thriller starring Foxx as the president.
REVIEW: 'White House Down' is a stately escape
VIDEO: Foxx, Tatum bring the House down
To think, as a youth growing up in Mississippi and then Florida, Tatum had no inkling of the value of his sobriquet. "I didn't know my name was Channing until 8 or 9, when I was playing Little League. My parents used to call me Chan. I hated Channing," he says. " 'Why did you guys name me this?' I love it now. It's cool just because it's different, but I absolutely did not think we'd ever be making a song about my name."
Nor did Tatum, 33, assume he'd be co-headlining one of summer's biggest releases with Oscar winner Foxx, 46, who's the pacifist president to Tatum's indefatigable warrior. While touring the White House, Tatum and his daughter are separated, and she's trapped by efficient attackers; he's left to rescue the rather hapless president and try to find his precocious child. "There's not a lot of people who can play the president and it doesn't feel dusty," Tatum says. "I couldn't see anyone else playing it."
The two actors met while on a press junket two years ago and hit it off after Foxx began DJing for the assembled actors and media. "Whenever Jamie gets on the tables, I feel compelled to put my dancing shoes on. He got on the tables two years ago, and me and my wife ended up dancing all night. We were soaking wet and sweating," Tatum says.
In person, Tatum seems loquacious, while Foxx comes across as more self-contained. But, says White House Down director Roland Emmerich, the two are truly tight.
"On set, I'd never seen two actors look out for each other more. They liked each other. You felt it," he says. "They'd have discussions about politics. They like each other because they're both humble, easygoing guys. Normally on a movie, everyone disappeared into their trailers, and this was not the case here. Jamie would play piano on set. He'd sit down and play piano for everyone."
No surprise there, given that Foxx is an accomplished musician who sang on Kanye West's 2005 smash Gold Digger and had two of his own four solo albums go platinum. He's also a double Oscar nominee, winning best-actor honors for 2004's Ray. Through his stand-up comedy, Foxx has met presidents Clinton, Bush, Bush and Obama and was struck by how normal they were in person. "They're all regular when you meet them," he says.
So, too, is Tatum. Yes, he's got a blue-chip career, and yes, he's married to an actress, but he strives as much as possible not to become one of those grotesque celebrities incapable of opening their own doors or getting their own waters.
"You go home and close your door, and you're still a normal person. I still stink when I work out. I'm no different than what I started out as," he says. "On set, there's a reason why there are people to get you coffee. You need to work. And then you can forget really easily that it's not like that all the time. You start expecting people to do stuff for you all the time. I was lucky enough to live a normal life before this."
If you think that's endearing, just wait until Tatum starts talking about his wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, whom he met on the 2006 dance flick Step Up. Their daughter, Everly, was born on May 31 in London, where Tatum is working.
He calls Dewan his "other half. I found someone who wants love and a family, exactly like I do. But we're very different people when it comes to it, so it's odd that we link up so well. I probably would not be as out there — especially in the beginning of my career, I would have been just as happy doing a movie a year and living out on a ranch away from people. But being with Jenna has made me realize that I want to produce and direct and stay around and with people. It's made me start a career and do the things I would never have done."
He's aware that, especially in his industry, his marriage is something of an anomaly. "We've been together for eight years, and I don't know how many years that is in Hollywood years. It's like dog years," he jokes.
As for their daughter's rather unusual name, it's all thanks to mom. "Jenna just heard it. She's a little fairy, and she hears things in her head. She just heard Everly, and it seemed kind of magical," Tatum says. " I like the Everly brothers, but I'm not a freak for them. It seemed perfect. There are so many little nicknames you can give. I'm all about nicknames. I have 25 for Jenna. Everly is going to have an embarrassing amount of them."
Fatherhood has come naturally for him, and he's relished his time with Everly. Soon, his wife will head to Vancouver, British Columbia, to film the series Witches of East End, and Tatum will be commuting in on weekends. He's not looking forward to the separation from his wife and daughter, but nor is he complaining. It's life at the moment, and he'll take what he can get.
"I get excited when I get to change a diaper or after Jenna has fed her, I get to hold her. I'm making sure I'm spending quality time with her," he says. "In the beginning, we weren't doing the bottle thing. We were doing the natural thing. Now, we're bottle-feeding, and I'm getting to do more.
"It's an awesome thing. Your life completely is now about her. I knew it was going to change, and I was excited about that. Everything else you're stressed about goes way away. Whenever anything gets weird or tough, I think about her. Nothing else is that serious."
That's not to say that Tatum has lost any of his focus at the office. "He has integrity when it comes to art," Foxx says. "You'll meet actors and actresses who are there to get checks. But we sit up and talk about the future and cinema. It's not about all making the money."
In White House Down, Tatum charges his enemies, unstoppable and single-minded, albeit quite human much of the time. Is he as ferocious and protective in real life?
"Ha! I don't know if I'd be running through the White House strapped up with guns. I'd love to believe I'd do everything that he did in this movie, but he dodges a lot of bullets," he says. "I'd love to believe so, but I would never say that, because there are real men and women who do this stuff and put their lives on the line."
Both guys are ready for a break. Foxx just wrapped The Amazing Spider-Man 2, in which he plays villain Electro, who has the ability to control electricity. And Tatum still has two months left on Jupiter Ascending, directed by the Wachowski siblings. He stars as a genetically engineered hunter and will spend two months filming in the Windy City. After that, he will head south to shoot 22 Jump Street in New Orleans, and the family will come with him.
"I definitely want to take some time off. I've been working a lot for the last four years. I want to take some time and be with my family and really evaluate what my next step is," Tatum says. "Each movie, I've gotten more and more involved in the development of the movie. You have more of an investment in the whole thing. I think directing is the next logical step, to own it totally and wholly. It's taken me 10 years to start to understand a little bit what I'm doing in acting and why I'm doing it."
Tatum plans to direct at some point soon, something Foxx also aspires to do. Given the breadth and length of his career, what's his key to staying focused?
Going by his given name of Eric Marlon Bishop while off the clock, for starters.
"You surround yourself with great people. People who actually tell you that your nose is running," he says. "My sister is very good at not letting me slip up and get a big head. She never called me Jamie Foxx. She always called me Eric. That's the best way to stay grounded."
And not basking in your own glory is key to staying somewhat normal. Which brings us back to the Tatum tune.
"It doesn't even make sense that that's my name," Tatum says. "I've forgotten that it's my name when I sang it. It's hilarious."
Foxx hums the song again. "It was magical. He does have a very interesting name. Enchanting Tatum.
News source:
www.usatoday.com
10:51 PM
shakir ali
