Channing Tatum covers the new issue of the New York Times’ T Magazine. He’s promoting Foxcatcher, the film that might earn our Charming Potato an Oscar nomination this year. How does that make you feel? I’m honestly okay with it. You can see the NYT photoshoot here, and you can read the full article here. As I always say, Channing is a great interview. He really tries (and succeeds) to give great quotes and reveal some interesting parts of his life. The way the NYT positions Channing is funny though – there’s a lengthy discussion about how all of the high school jocks never end up doing anything great… except for Channing. He’s the popular high school jock who ended up becoming the popular and acclaimed Hollywood big shot. The nerds at the NYT seem bothered by that! Anyway, here are some highlights:
His physicality: “I’ve always negotiated the world very physically, from football to tussling at the playground to taking my clothes off.My dad’s a physical guy. I think that’s how I wanted to see myself as a kid, how I won approval, and it’s no secret that that’s how I got into this business. But over time I’ve been able to develop other aspects of myself, sort of on-the-job training.”
His hobby is sculpting: “I could never carve away marble like the ancients. I’m more of an additive guy.”
Growing up with A.D.H.D. and dyslexia: “I have never considered myself a very smart person, for a lot of reasons. Not having early success on that one path messes with you. You get lumped in classes with kids with autism and Down Syndrome, and you look around and say, Okay, so this is where I’m at. Or you get put in the typical classes and you say, All right, I’m obviously not like these kids either. So you’re kind of nowhere. You’re just different. The system is broken. If we can streamline a multibillion-dollar company, we should be able to help kids who struggle the way I did.”
He’s drawn to artists: “When I started going out into the world, I was drawn to people who knew about movies, art, even fashion. I went to New York and did the whole modeling thing, and I just learned everything I could from anybody who knew something I didn’t. I’ve had a few John du Ponts in my life, to be honest. I think that’s one thing I’m pretty skilled at. I can look at a person and say, They’ve got something that I want up there in their head. I’m going to do my best to get in there and absorb it. My mom said, ‘Be a sponge.’ And so I’ve learned more from people than I have from school or from books.”
Stumbling into sculpting: “For some reason I was captivated. And I had this sort of feeling that I could do it. I don’t know why.” Tatum, who still prefers to work in clay, cites Auguste Rodin as one of his sculptural heroes. “My stuff ends up looking like his stuff,” he says, “although it’s crazy that I would even put our names in the same sentence…With sculpting, nothing is cloudy or mystical. It’s just about this object, and if you’re trying to depict reality, and you do it well, then the outcome is the truth.”
There’s a lot more about how he prepared for Foxcatcher and wanting to do right by the real people and the real story. I’ll admit, I found the sculpting stuff the most interesting part because… well, it just seems so random. Channing Tatum, sculptor. Channing Tatum: I make stuff that looks like Rodin’s stuff.
Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of the NYT.
Oh boo, no one did.
Maybe he is not the sharpest tool in the box but he is pretty (and he wears G-string). LOL.
Can’t argue with that.
*CLAPPITY CLAPPITY CLAPPITY*
*Happy Dance*
Not even reading. Yay!!! My Tater!
Haha! I only came here to see your CLAPPITY Happy Dance. 😀
You like potato and I like pahtato.. I don’t find him all that attractive but he gives good interviews.
Tatum’s comments regarding our education system are absolutely spot on. I work in special education in a public elementary school and the disservice done to ADHD kiddos is heartbreaking. I’m glad he was able to overcome that to become the successful confident man he is today.
I agree. I have ADHD, and his comments really hit hard for me. My grades plummeted in high school as a conbination of the restrictive learning style, bullying, an overtaxed single parent home situation, and teachers who didn’t want or know how to deal with a bright but neurologically atypical child. (Until then, My GPA had been second rank on the class.) It wasn’t until I hit college and could create my own routines that I started to realize how intelligent I really was and how privileged I was to have those abilities. I can’t imagine how much harder it must be for kids in worse home situations than mine or who aren’t as academically inclined. We could do much better by each other as a society if we stopped trying to make everyone conform to one system and tried working with kids to see how their abilities can be utilized.
(That’s not even getting in the increased defunding of schools or the outdated curriculum style.)
I’m the exact opposite. I have ADHD but am very intelligent. I was top of my class till college. At that point I lost the will power to stay focused. 15 mins into an hour and a half class and I had already understood the lesson. I just couldn’t sit through it any longer, especially core classes that I had no interest in. I did very well with online classes though. They allow you to work at your own pace.
Stephanie, most people with ADHD have above average intelligence, just FYI. Good luck with everything.
My middle child was just diagnosed with ADHD, non hyper type, and watching her struggle is heartbreaking. She works so much harder than my other 2 to get C’s while her siblings seem to effortlessly get A’s and B’s. And she is the most empathetic, caring child. She has more friends than my other two, but i have to limit play dates and other activities because her homework takes so long for her to do.
His words hit home for, me, too. I have ADD (no hyperactivity) and a mild form of dyslexia. When I was a child, very little was known about either. I did pretty well in everything but math, which I just couldn’t grasp, except for word problems. I had to work for good grades while my siblings all made straight As with very little effort, and I made some As but mostly Bs. I made the first D of anyone in our family. I was so, so ashamed, and it was just so confusing. I KNEW I wasn’t stupid. I could see that I grasped some concepts easily that other kids struggled with. But I was floundering and failing in areas that other kids found easy, so I felt inferior and ashamed. On top of that, my teachers kept telling me I wasn’t trying. “Does not live up to potential” should have just been stamped on my forehead, along with “could make better grades if she tried.” Luckily, my mother and father trusted and knew me, and they knew I WAS trying, but they couldn’t understand why I wasn’t able to get it, so they came to the only conclusion they could – I was just not very smart. They meant well, and were kind, but their belief that Cs were ok for me, but not their other kids just reinforced my belief that I was dumb. And to be honest, that never completely goes away.
My point is that while most schools are not doing a great job, and it’s still hard for kids with ADHD and other learning issues, at least they know what it is, and with support and help, maybe the child can come out of it thinking “I have challenges that I have to overcome” rather than “I’m not as smart as other people.” Or at least I hope so. I feel like if I had known that my learning problems were not “my fault” it would have changed my whole life.
I am going through this now with my daughter’s
grades. When her sister announced her A on a Lang Arts test yesterday, my other daughter called me into her room to show me her C.. I was proud of her because we studied for 2 days for that test, but she was ashamed. She wanted to know why I
was proud of a C. I didnt know what to say. Grades have become a touchy issue in our house.
Oh, that must be hard for you. I wish someone had been able to reassure me that good grades don’t necessarily show whether or not someone is smart. They show that someone is smart AND that their mind is set up in a way that allows them to take tests well, concentrate, focus and perform well in that challenge. Maybe they have other areas that are challenging for them, but studying and test taking come easier for them. It doesn’t mean you’re not proud of your daughter’s A. But you’re proud of this daughter’s C because she is very smart, but her mind is set up in a way that makes test taking hard for her. Her grades may not always reflect her intelligence. And she had to put forth a lot of hard work to get that C, and she did her best to meet that challenge, and when someone does their best, it makes people proud of them.
I’m trying to remember my fears – that I was dumb, that I disappointed my parents, that they wished I were different, that I could make them proud of me, that they knew I was trying, that they saw the things about me that were smart and good. I think it’s GREAT that you told her you’re proud of her. You’re obviously a loving mother, and she’s lucky. I really feel for you, but I think she’ll be fine with your support. Just keep loving and supporting her and reassuring her that you see the good in her. I’m no expert, but that’s what I needed when I was in her shoes. For what it’s worth, I turned out to have a happy life. Good luck to you.
Thank you for replying and for your kind words. Grades are new to my daughter since the elementary school has done away with them. Now that she is in middle school, they have become a big issue. She is intelligent, creative and can think ‘outside the box,’ but as you said, her grades do not reflect this. She really is a great kid, and I will take your advice and keep reassuring her that she is a smart kid , as well.
She’s lucky to have you, and I know she’ll be great with you by her side. I wish you both the very best.
But for a potato he’s positively brilliant.
And oh so Charming!
This guy is dumb as a fox! I really like him. He is much smarter than he lets on and I can believe that would really work in Hollywood. It seems like many of the HW talking heads looove to hear themselves talk and would reveal things to him they would not normally reveal to “smart ppl.” Good job. Go Channing. You succeed and show them.
Yeah don’t think anyone does, BUT a couple very successful people I know are not the brightest but they know that, acknowledge it and play to their strengths.
^This. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. Which, to me, makes him sound smarter than most of his fellow actors.
A raw potato can be carved into a sculpture, like a rock, while a mashed potato can be molded like clay.
And what happens to the limp French fry?
What about a knish? No one ever thinks about the knish.
You can use multiple French fries to build a sculpture.
And Channing, try alabaster; marble is really hard.
Soapstone. Nice, soft soapstone.
I like my potatoes baked
That’s a relief!
Good for him for getting into sculpting. Everyone needs a good hobby, and this is going to be a great way to connect with his kids, though he’ll have to swap Rodin for Play-Do!
Maybe he’s not book smart, but I think he understands people and he has good instincts. He made Magic Mike against the advice of his business manager, who thought it would flop for sure and Channing would lose all his money, of which he invested a significant portion in the movie. But he was adamant and of course it was a big hit.
I think this is an important aspect of intelligence that is neglected. Channing might not be smart enough for MIT. He has great instincts and smart people sense. It’s paid off for him.
I might not find him attractive looks wise, but the man can dance and most importantly, he’s a nice guy and the fame has not turned his head.
It’s very possible that he could be in the mix for an Oscar nomination for Foxcatcher.
He’s really likeable even though he’s not the most talented or attractive actor out there.
It makes me sad that as a society we value intellect and prestige so much over wisdom and kindness. They’re both important, but people like Channing shouldn’t be made to feel “pretty and dumb” simply because they don’t fit into our traditional model of intelligence. We still have a ways to go as a society in learning to appreciate and utilize everything human being have to offer.
It always irritates me when people assume someone is dumb because he or she “looks dumb”.
Love him.
And she is really pretty–that’s a great picture of them.
I don’t know, from the quotes he gave the magazine, he doesn’t seem like a “dumb” guy to me. He seems very self-aware and savvy. That is a big part of intelligence, in my opinion. And he’s always seem genuinely kind and humble, and true kindnesss is above brains for me personally. He has an A list career in Hollywood, he should be proud of himself!
When will we get the divorce news?
Aww I just want to give him a hug! I think it just reminded me of Forrest Gump when he says he may not be a smart man but he knows what love is. Obviously he is smarter than Forrest Gump. I actually think he is quite smart to be honest. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. There are other kinds of intelligence besides your basic reading, writing, etc. And he just has a different way of learning, doesn’t mean he isn’t smart.
He is just so damned likeable!
I don’t find him overly attractive or anything like that but he seems like a genuinely nice guy and he gives good interviews.
I wish him and his family much happiness and wish great things for him. Nice people should always come out on top 🙂
I came ready to say how untalented and not smart he is, but man, what a nice, cool guy. He may not be book wise, but surely he’s not even close to vapid. Besides, inteligence is such a complex concept.