Makin MAGIC!

THE MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE ACTOR IS INLOVE AND AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME

- Jennie Noonan

Returning after an eight year hiatus, Channing Tatum is stepping up and stripping down for what he says is the final time in Magic Mike’s Last Dance. “To be honest, I can’t believe we’re here with the third movie,” he tells WHO of the latest instalment in the film franchise based initially and loosely on his own experiences as an 18-year-old bartender and stripper in Tampa, Florida.

“Magic Mike was only ever supposed to be one movie telling a small story based on an experience I had when I was younger, but then it became something far bigger – three movies and the Magic Mike live shows. I had no idea we would end up here, but this is the right time to end it. My stripping days are over!”

At 42, getting into stripper shape was no easy feat. “It takes a lot of working out and a lot of dance rehearsals, which were really tough. I do try to keep in shape, but to be in Magic Mike shape is just not natural,” he says. “It’s a lot of bulking-up muscle and dieting, which is hard because there is a lot of stuff you can’t eat.”

So, does taking your clothes off in front of people ever get easier?

“It’s still scary – scary and humbling at the same time,” says Tatum, who also worked as a producer on the film. “But you just have to commit and put yourself out there. But yeah, it’s weird because I got out of stripping for a reason and now, here I am back doing it all again.”