Channing Tatum says he had to 'starve' himself for 'Magic Mike 3': 'I don't think when you're that lean, it's actually healthy'

Channing Tatum admitted his Magic Mike abs don’t come easy.

The actor, who is reprising his role of Michael Lane in the third installment of the male stripper franchise, titled Magic Mike’s Last Dance, spoke on The Kelly Clarkson Show about why he was initially hesitant to take the role. While his ultra-cut six pack may be infamous, Tatum admitted he wasn’t looking forward to getting ripped.

"It's hard to look like that. Even if you do work out, to be that kind of in shape is not natural," he said of the physical look. "That's not even healthy. You have to starve yourself. I don't think when you're that lean, it's actually healthy."

The look isn’t long lasting, either, Tatum — who said he nixed all salt before appearing on camera to avoid bloating — added.

"Why — when it takes like, I don't know, two months to get really lean — in three days, you can lose it?" he pondered. "It's gone. I was like, 'What happened?'”

Back in September 2020, Tatum showed off his newly super toned physique in a shirtless mirror selfie on Instagram, writing in the caption, “It’s been a long road back. Injuries, life shit, and just insanity in general. Ha daddy is finally back boooi!! Gonna be a fun next 10 year run.”

Lately, however, the actor — who is co-directing and starring in the new film Dog — said that he’s been focusing more on what he wears, and cultivating a personal style.

“I stopped acting for a while, life changed, and I really wanted to pay attention and figure out who I was —that was like four years ago. Look, I went on a little bit of a journey trying to do Balenciaga and all this s***,” Tatum explained to friend Jonah Hill in a new interview with VMan. “And I was just like, 'This ain't me either. I don't know what the kids are doing these days.' And then some friends of mine, like you and [Zoë Kravitz], were like, ‘Why don't you just wear what you wear? Why don't you just be you?’”

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