Over the years, I’ve grown to really like Channing Tatum. At first I dismissed him as a pretty-but-dumb kid, a decent guy with a sweet personality and not much else. But I misread him. He really is a sweet guy, I think, and a good ol’ boy from the South, but he’s smarter and he’s got more staying power than I originally thought. He sold a story that was turned into a screenplay which Steven Soderbergh just directed. He’s also moved into producing – he executive produced 21 Jump Street, and produced Magic Mike (his story about being a stripper in Tampa). Add to all of that this little fact: Channing is actually interesting and funny. He consistently gives great interviews, he doesn’t take himself too seriously, and he never thinks he’s “too good” for anything. It’s a great combination.

Anyway, Channing covers the new issue of Details, in support of his latest film, The Vow. He and Rachel McAdams star together as love interests, and the film looks super-sappy. I hope it’s a big hit, for both of their sakes. Oh, and he’s also in Haywire! I forgot that. Channing and Michael Fassbender, in the same film. YAY! You can read the full Details piece here, and here are some highlights:

Shootin‘: “When I was a kid,” he says, “we lived on the bayou in Mississippi. My dad would throw a beer can into the water and have me shoot at it. Once, when I was really little, we had this huge double-barrel shotgun, and when I tried it, it literally blew me off the dock.”

Wearin‘ dresses: “There goes Jesus,” Tatum said as we rolled along Sunset. And there He was in the crosswalk—latte in hand, robe flowing in His wake, fluttering across Fairfax Avenue. “I’d walk around in a man dress,” Tatum said. “It looks so comfortable. I’d do that all day long—walk around in a dress like Jesus.”

Artin’: He’s darker, deeper, more creative than his easygoing manner—and most of his roles—might suggest. These days, when he’s not attempting mock suicide, he spends a lot of time sculpting torsos from clay and drawing severe oil-stick sketches on butcher paper.

Romancin’: “You gotta do the Dear Johns. You gotta do The Vow… I’m conscious about why I did those parts, those movies,” Tatum says after jokingly apologizing for my having had to watch them. He says he took the roles for the sake of his education, which is, of course, an industry trope. But it’s one he delivers with such sincerity that it’s impossible not to absolutely take him at his word. “I wanted to learn from Rachel on The Vow,” he says. “I wanted to learn from Lasse Hallström on Dear John—he did The Cider House Rules and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. I didn’t go to acting school, so my knowledge of story, filmmaking, and character comes from just being on set and doing it… I know I’m not the best actor,” he says. “But I hope my characters are getting better.”

Producin‘: “I really don’t want to be in any more movies that I don’t produce,” he says. “Unless it’s with one of the 10 directors that I really want to work with, I don’t have any interest in not being on the ground floor of creating it.”

Hangin‘ with the dog: “Want to see dirty dancing?” Tatum asks. Lulu trots over to the far side of the patio. When Tatum snaps his fingers and commands “Dirty dancing,” the muscled pooch—in her rhinestone-studded pink leather collar—charges toward him. She leaps high into his arms, and he thrusts her upward until she’s suspended over his head in a balletic lift. Then the two twirl around, poolside, illuminated by twinkle lights. “You jumped the gun,” Tatum says to the dog. “We’ll do it over.” Which they do, again and again.

Workin’: Tatum’s office has 25-foot-high ceilings, a desk made from the wing of an old airplane, and an enormous chalkboard with ideas and stories blocked out all over it. A couple of leather saddles sit on sawhorses near the door. Tatum says he’s often there until 4 a.m., brainstorming or writing snippets of scenes or making clay torsos. “Jenna’s not always happy when I come home that late,” he says, “but I’ve just got to get it out.”

Toastin‘: “What are we toasting?” I ask. He looks up and meets me dead in the eye. “Isn’t it obvious?” he says. “We’re just getting started with our lives, just figuring out the rest of it. The creativity is in place, the sex is good. There’s really only one toast to make.” Tatum lifts the glass as high as he lifted his dog. “Live forever,” he says. “Just live like this forever.”

[From Details]

He’s so cute. When I think about the less talented, more entitled people who actually find success and acclaim in the industry, it makes me want to see Channing succeed even more. I especially liked what he said about why he’s made the sappy movies like Dear John and now The Vow – because he wanted to learn, because he wanted to work with those people, because Channing knows that there‘s always more to learn and you shouldn‘t denigrate those early experiences. I wish Rooney Mara was more like Channing Tatum. I can’t believe I just said that.

Photos courtesy of Details’ slideshow.