Why Channing Tatum nearly turned down Magic Mike 3 role

Channing Tatum has opened up about the gruelling reality of his Magic Mike role, revealing why he almost turned his back on the franchise.

Channing Tatum almost stripped his resume of a third Magic Mike credit.

While the 41-year-old is known for taking on physically demanding films such as Step Up and the Magic Mike series, he recently revealed that he had to undergo a very long and hard fitness regimen for the third and final film of the stripper trilogy, reports the New York Post.

Tatum appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and explained how he was initially hesitant to play the role of male stripper Mike Lane for Magic Mike’s Last Dance given his prep diet for the film.

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Supplied Channing Tatum in Magic Mike.

The Dear John actor explained to Clarkson, 39, that he didn’t want to do a third film at first because he felt that his body wasn’t quite right.

“It’s hard even if you do work out to be in that kind of shape.

“You have to starve yourself,” he said. “I don’t think when you’re that lean, it’s actually healthy for you.”

Tatum admitted that training for the role took up a lot of his time and said it’s harder for him to lose weight now than when he was younger.

However, the star said he would be open to doing another Magic Mike film when he hits old age. He spoke to IndieWire about how director Steven Soderbergh persuaded him to do the third film in the franchise.

“The only one I said I’d actually do – before we decided on this version – was the Grumpy Old Men version when we’re like 70,” Tatum joked. “When we’re 70, I want to get the team back together, for sure.”

Well world, looks like Mike Lane’s tapping back in. @hbomaxpic.twitter.com/V9Ce62n710

— Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) November 29, 2021

Grumpy Old Men was a 1993 comedy film that starred screen legends Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as two feuding elderly men who become friends.

Tatum also said he thought there wouldn’t be any more Magic Mike movies after the first movie premiered in 2012.

“In my opinion, we had chewed up all the meat on the bone, story-wise. Pun intended, I guess. They’re essentially movies about guys made for women. We didn’t plan on making a second one,” the former model said.

The sequel, Magic Mike XXL, came out in 2015.

“Then all of our ancillary characters were so good and fun that we felt like, ‘Let’s do another movie and give those characters more real estate that we didn’t have before,’” he said.

“Once we did that, we felt like there was no other story. Let’s just like get out of jail. I actually like the second movie more than the first one. It’s more fun and I think more of what people expected the first film to be.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission