Channing Tatum's past as a stripper has become an integral part of the actor's identity. His experience can be seen in his dance moves in movies such as "Step Up" and "Coach Carter," and even helped inspire one of the surprise hits of last summer, "Magic Mike."
The film tells the story of Mike, the stripper with the heart of gold who has big dreams for himself -- not unlike Tatum. The 33-year-old actor and recent father has been open about his dancing days, telling Glamour last year, "That’s kind of the whole point of male stripping. You go out and make a fool of yourself. That’s what girls and women want. It’s not really sexy. It’s kind of cheesy."
Tatum recently spoke to Vanity Fair about his past for the magazine's cover story, explaining how he came to audition for a spot as a male stripper. “They were like, ‘All right, ladies, these are our newbies," he told the publication about the club owners he danced for. "'We’re thinking about hiring ’em. What do you think?' They put on a song, and we danced.”
While it wasn't the song that he danced to that evening, Tatum made a point of telling Vanity Fair that his go-to song became Usher's 1997 hit "You Make Me Wanna" off of his album "My Way." Take a listen to the song above and check out a photo of Tatum from his stripping days here.
