Channing Tatum says he wants to 'get better at acting' so he doesn't have to keep getting naked in movies
Sorry, "Magic Mike" fans: Channing Tatum says he wants to "get better at acting" so he doesn't have to take off his shirt in every single movie he stars in.
The actor, whose abs were famously on display when he played a male stripper in the 2012's "Magic Mike" and its 2015 sequel, opened up about working out and getting naked for movie roles during an appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" on Tuesday.
"As someone who has to work out as for a job," Tatum told host Kelly Clarkson. "I promise you I would not look like this unless I had to be naked in most of my movies."
"At some point, I got to get better at acting so I don't have to be naked in all of them," Tatum joked as Clarkson laughed.
Of course, it's not just in movies — Tatum is sometimes naked on social media as well. In May 2019, on a supposed dare from his then-girlfriend, singer Jessie J, Tatum famously posted a very revealing Instagram photo of himself in the shower that has racked up over 3 million likes at the time of writing.
Tatum has an intense fitness regimen
While talking to fitness influencer Meg Boggs and Clarkson on Tuesday, Tatum praised people who carve out time in their day to exercise while balancing work and family obligations.
"Where do they get the time and energy to focus on themselves?" Tatum, who is dad to 7-year-old Everly, told Clarkson and Boggs in the segment about fitness.
Tatum's personal trainer, Arin Babaian (who has worked with the actor to get him in shape for "Magic Mike," "Foxcatcher," and "Dog"), told Esquire in February that Tatum's typical workout includes push and pull circuits with weights, jogs on the treadmill, bench presses, sit-ups, and ab roll-outs.
"Channing is a full-on athlete," Babaian told the publication about his high-profile client and friend, adding that the two started each day with a run while quarantining together in Ojai, California, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Babaian added: "I have a lot of friends who are stunt performers and they have all said that [Tatum] could definitely be a stuntman if that had been the profession he chose. He'll always attempt his stunts if he's allowed to."
To prepare for one of his most well-known (and least-clothed) movie roles as Michael Lane in "Magic Mike XXL," Tatum went on several long runs every day while following a strict diet filled with vegetables and grilled chicken.
Despite his grueling workout routine, Tatum told Clarkson that he's not particularly fond of cheat days filled with meals he wouldn't normally consume.
"As I'm getting older, it's really like everything I pick up, I just go, 'oh that's like two more miles that I have to ride,'" Tatum said. "I just start looking at meals like they're actual miles."
He added that despite his general lack of enthusiasm for cheat meals, he makes an exception for one treat: "I love cakes."