Channing Tatum Opens Up About His Acting Hiatus

A few years ago, Channing Tatum was one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. After starting out with a guest part on "CSI: Miami," he went on to land roles in feature films, including "Step Up," "War of the Worlds," "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" and "21 Jump Street" (per IMDb). But it was his role as a male stripper in "Magic Mike" that led him to leading man status and a nonstop work schedule soon followed.

During that time, Tatum welcomed his daughter, Everly, with his wife Jenna Dewan. As their marriage started to struggle, a source told People that Tatum started turning down roles to focus on his family. But in April 2018, the couple announced they were ending their marriage. After the split, Tatum's priorities shifted to spending time with Everly, although he admits he was scared about the prospect of being a single dad. "I was doubly afraid. Was I going to be able to do any of the stuff that a mother should do? That a mother, as a woman, can relate to her as? And then as that journey unfolded, I realized that all I really had to do was just go into her world and do whatever that is that she wanted to do," he told VMan Magazine (via The Hollywood Reporter).

The changes in his personal life — along with questions about the work he was putting out at the time — resulted in a four-year hiatus from acting.

Channing Tatum is opening up about taking a four-year break from acting. "Before I took some time off, I was on a pace that just was untenable," he told People. "It was not something that I could really sustain. I don't even know if some of the last stuff that I was making, if I was really and truly my best in it in some of the movies. I wanted to make sure that I still had something to offer, and I wasn't just doing it just for a career."

This year is already proving to be a busy one for the actor. Not only will he costar alongside Sandra Bullock in the comedy "The Lost City," but he makes his co-directorial debut with the film "Dog." He said, "Right now, I feel really in the pocket. I'm having fun," he explained. Tatum added, "I don't want to take too much on, so I can really enjoy my life and enjoy the actual projects that I do take on and just give it all I have."

Tatum has committed to the latest installment of "Magic Mike," reuniting with director Steven Soderbergh for "Magic Mike's Last Dance." Tatum said (via Deadline), "There are no words for how excited I am to blow the doors off of the world of 'Magic Mike' with Steven, Greg, Reid, and the amazing people at HBO Max. The stripperverse will never be the same."