Channing Tatum Does GQ August 2009

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Though it’s about a man, it’s not really a Men of Style worthy subject. Because he has yet to prove himself as a man of style. For now he’s just Channing Tatum.

(and yes, we still have Ellington to thank for that, she gave me the idea when she qualified Channing with a “GRRR” … I’m not sure it’s a good or a bad “GRRR” but I’m going ahead with the subject – after all, he makes her forget herself!) Channing Tatum is high in the spotlight right now, he sells tickets, DVDs, magazines. So he’s GQ’s cover story for August 2009, as photographed by Mario Testino. (the story continues with more images right after the jump!)

When I realized there was a world of fuss around Channing, I took two minutes and searched the whys and the hows of Channing Tatum’s rise to glory and here’s what I put together so far. He’s the perfect example of “model pretty” athletic young man who has found his way in life through his looks (and physical qualities). Born on April 26, 1980 (in Alabama, US), Channing wasn’t very keen on academic performances, he remained true to his athletic passions and preoccupations (including Kung Fu, Gor-Chor Kung Fu) until he was picked up by a model scout in Miami while he was spritzing…ahem selling perfume behind Dillard’s counter at $10/hour.

A glorious model career was ahead for until-that-moment-disoriented Channing Tatum. He discovered the joy of traveling the world and making pretty poses in ad campaigns or magazines (he was even featured in Vogue, alongside Caroline Trentini). To our little surprise, Channing loved every minute of modelling. Until he discovered acting. His first acting gigs? Music videos (Ricky Martin’s She Bangs) and commercials (Pepsi, Mountain Dew). TV Series ensued (CSI) and few romantic roles inbetween dozens of various auditions. But where he really brought the spotlight on his model pretty face was the Step Up dancing (and less acting) performance. Stepping Up alongside Jenna Dewan (who became his wife this month, Saturday, July 11 2009 to be more specific), Chan promised to be more than a pretty face. He also had the moves to back his model pretty self!

As he is a very commercial actor right now, Channing cannot refuse the parts that are given to him. He now follows the same physical pattern in his acting career that guided him though his early life: he plays the soldier (Stop-Loss). The policeman (Battle In Seattle), the supersoldier (G.I. Joe, The Rise Of The Cobra), and so forth (his upcoming projects are The Stanford Prison Experiment, Pinkville – a Vietnam war drama and something revolving Parkour, the free running underground). I wonder if that has something to do with him having been to a Military School (from ninth grade)!

Despite of him being an all physical actor, there’s something about Channing Tatum. Something that makes him credible, something innate that places him next to Patrick Swayze in my agenda (until now, at least). He’s into his characters, he makes you believe he actually is the character. That’s acting. He may not be a composition genius, but he strikes the right chords. Underneath that fist-flavor, model pretty acting, his human warmth (he allegedly still spends his summers in Alabama, with his relatives, just like he was spending summers with his grandparents when he was growing up) makes him bendable, molding and empathetical taking the shape of the scripts portrayed characters he must impersonate…

Doesn’t he remind you of Ryan Philippe? I had a hard time telling which is which, especially since both of them have quasi the same acting repertoire.

If you would have to place Channing Tatum somewhere along the acting values Blv, at the corner of who and who would you pin him? I have him in the Flavor-of-the-Moment sandbox. Does he makes it into your Men of Style ranks? (via 1, 2, 3, 4)