The failed audition that changed Channing Tatum’s approach to acting: “You’re not allowed to move”
With a career stretching back to the early 2000s, Channing Tatum has played some truly amazing roles.
Some of his most popular characters include Jenko in the Jump Street films, Duke in She’s the Man, and the eponymous stripper in Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike series. He received acclaim for his portrayal of wrestler Mark Schultz in Foxcatcher and, in his greatest onscreen appearance, he played a dancer in the music video for Ricky Martin’s ‘She Bangs’. Where was his Oscar nomination for that?
As with every actor, however, Tatum has missed the train for plenty of roles that would have changed his career. He turned down the lead male role in Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine. It eventually went to Ryan Gosling, and his turn as the balding husband, desperate to hold on to his crumbling marriage, is equal parts devastating as it is raw. Maybe his regret over that led him to pick up a somewhat similar role in The Vow opposite Rachel McAdams, but that one has a more hopeful fade-to-black.
He also rejected an opportunity to appear in a Guillermo del Toro adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, which he has expressed regret over, but as is with the ideas man that the director is known to be, the film hasn’t materialised, sparing Tatum an even more serious case of FOMO.
Another role that the hunky star failed to lift was that of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Tatum was one of many actors who lined up for their chance to play one of the original big-screen Avengers. His competition included Josh Harnett, Alexander Skarsgård, Joel Kinnaman, Charlie Hunnam, and, weirdly, former WWE wrestler Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque. As we all know, the part went to Chris Hemsworth, who subsequently became a huge star. Tatum might not have gotten the chance to wield the Mjölnir, but that didn’t really bother him. He was only interested in getting in front of the man who directed the superhero blockbuster.
“I didn’t really want to be Thor, but I wanted to audition in front of Kenneth Branagh,” he told Vanity Fair. “After I did one take, [Branagh] was like, ‘You’re not allowed to move. Put your hands on this chair.’ And I froze. He nailed my crutch. I spent the next five years really trying to learn stillness.”
It’s easy to forget that esteemed Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh directed one of the first big Marvel movies. Matthew Vaughn, who would go on to direct X-Men: First Class, among other things, was originally slated to helm the project but left once his holding deal expired. Guillermo del Toro was considered, but the opportunity passed him by. Branagh eventually signed on and helped get the series off the ground. He passed the character over to Alan Taylor for the follow-up, The Dark World, before the sub-franchise fell into the quirky hands of Taika Waititi.
Though the ‘God of Thunder’ slipped through his muscular fingers, Tatum would eventually get the chance to play an iconic Marvel character. He turned up in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, playing a version of beloved ‘X-Man’ Remy ‘Gambit’ LeBeau, and is set to reprise the role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. This was a reference to the axed solo movie that would have seen the ‘Ragin’ Cajun’ strike out on his own.
Even though he didn’t get the part, auditioning for Kenneth Branagh helped Tatum garner advice from one of the best to ever do it on and behind the screens, which undoubtedly paid off big time in the long run.
