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"I get one shot at life, and I can say that I've lived a crazy one, and I've pushed the limit almost at every turn, and I'm super proud of that." Channing Tatum started his career as a fashion model before deciding to pursue acting full-time. The decision was a good one: He has enjoyed both critical and commercial success while establishing himself as a bona fide heartthrob. 

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While Channing Tatum may be best known for his work in the Magic Mike franchise, he has enjoyed a varied career consisting of many different types of roles. Wondering how the famously chiseled actor attained icon status in Hollywood? Here's a closer look at all things Channing Tatum.

From Football Field to Fancy Footwork 

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Channing Tatum was born on April 26, 1980 in Cullman, Alabama. His parents were Glenn and Kay Tatum, a construction worker and airline worker, respectively. Tatum's family relocated several times as he was growing up, and he spent a significant amount of time in and around the bayous. He's said of his upbringing, "We moved to Mississippi for a little while, Pascagoula, Gautier, and then Florida. All around the South. Anywhere they say y' all. That's where I call home." 

Tatum has publicly discussed his struggles in school due to his dyslexia and ADD. He's also said that "girls were always [his] biggest distraction in school." In addition to playing football, soccer, track and baseball, Tatum also practiced the martial arts. Given his many talents on the sports fields, it's not surprising that Tatum was voted "Most Athletic" when he graduated from Tampa Catholic High School in 1998. He also received a college scholarship for football, but ended up dropping out to pursue other interests.

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After leaving college, Tatum held a series of odd jobs. He was working as a roofer when he began stripping at a local nightclub under the stage name, "Chan Crawford." His experiences during that time inspired the development of Magic Mike, although he's also made clear that the movie was not autobiographical. "The only thing that's factual is me being 18 and being in Florida, I dropped out of college and playing football, and literally started going into this abyss of a world and just sort of lived it up for about eight months...I don't think anybody would really want to see the autobiographical [version]. Like it would, ugh, that's just gross," Tatum explained. 

Tatum has also said that despite his killer moves, he didn't find stripping very fun. "You're just a guy taking off his clothes, looking like a fool in a stupid outfit. I never enjoyed the taking-the-clothes-off part. You are on a stage with people yelling at you and you feel like you're a rock star, but you're nothing,' he told Out magazine. 

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The Road to Magic Mike

Magic Mike was still just a twinkle in Tatum's eye at this point in his fledgling career, but he took a big step closer to fame when he moved to Miami and was discovered by a modeling agency. This led to modeling gigs with popular brands like American Eagle Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nautica and Gap. He also did commercials for Pepsi and Mountain Dew, and even appeared as a dancer in the music video for Ricky Martin's "She Bangs."

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Tatum segued to television acting in 2004 with a small role on CSI: Miami. He caught the bug, and decided to pursue a full-time acting career. Small roles in the feature films Coach Carter, Havoc, Supercross, and War of the Worlds followed that same year. 

2006 was a massive year for Tatum. He landed the lead parts in Step Up and She's the Man, along with a big role in the acclaimed A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, which not only won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, but also saw Tatum earning multiple award nominations. 

The subsequent years led to even bigger and more high-profile opportunities for Tatum, including G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Public Enemy, Dear John, The Dilemma, Haywire, The Vow, and 21 Jump Street. These parts were remarkably diverse, and allowed Tatum the opportunity to show off his acting chops across romantic, action, dramatic, and comedic genres. 

It wasn't until 2012, however, that Tatum and his frequent collaborator director Steven Soderbergh teamed up to bring Magic Mike to the big screen. This secured Tatum's hunk status leading to the ultimate honor. That same year, he was declared People's Sexiest Man Alive. His first thought when he heard the news? "Y'all are messing with me." 

Tatum has remained busy ever since Magic Mike with roles in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, The Bitter Pill, 22 Jump Street, Foxcatcher, Magic Mike XXL, Jupiter Ascending, The Hateful Eight, Hail, Caesar!, and Logan Lucky. He also expanded his epertoire to include animated fare, including The Lego Movie, The Book of Life, The Lego Batman Movie, and Smallfoot. All in all, Tatum has appeared in more than 40 feature films. 

But Tatum isn't content to be in front of the camera. He's also interested in producing. He told Details magazine in 2012, "I really don't want to be in any more movies that I don't produce. 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."

Tatum was married to actress Jenna Dewan, who he met on the set of Step Up. The two share a daughter, but separated in 2018 after nearly nine years of marriage. In an Instagram post announcing their split, the former co-stars wrote, "We fell deeply in love so many years ago and have had a magical journey together. Absolutely nothing has changed about how much we love one another, but love is a beautiful adventure that is taking us on different paths for now." Tatum is currently in a nearly year-long relationship with English singer Jessie J. 

When he's not working, Tatum enjoys car racing and motorcycle riding. "I ride motorcycles. All my friends ride motorcycles. That's what I got into." 

The future promises big things for Tatum with a remake of the 1980s classic Splash in the works. And while fans can expect to see plenty of Tatum in the coming years, there's one place they shouldn't expect to see him: social media. In August of 2019, Tatum announced that he was stepping away from social media. He wrote, "I'm gonna take a break and come off socials for a minute. I've been trying to get inspired to create again. And to be honest I don't really feel, or at least I haven't felt very creative on social in the last couple years now. I'm gonna go and be just in the real world for a while and off my phone."