Channing Tatum Revealed Why He Almost Quit Acting In 2018, And It Makes A Lot Of Sense

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Channing Tatum is a superstar actor whose career includes tons of memorable movies — but maybe you've noticed that you haven't seen him in much over the past few years.

Tatum looks in the distance while at a red carpet event rocking a tuxedo
Sean Zanni / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

As it turns out, his not-unnoticeable absence from the silver screen has been very intentional.

Tatum waves to a crowd while standing behind bushes lining the red carpet of an event
Raymond Hall / GC Images / Getty Images

In a recent interview with Variety, Tatum opened up about why he stepped away from acting for a bit — and how he almost put it aside entirely.

Tatum smiles at an event
Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images

Tatum said that he considered giving up acting in 2018, shortly after his split from Jenna Dewan.

Tatum smiles while wearing a camouflage shirt
Kelly Defina / Getty Images

"Do I want to act anymore?" he recalled feeling at that time. "Was I going to direct? Do I want to be in the industry anymore? I got lucky. I won a creative lottery ticket. I made a little bit of money, so I could take a step back and figure out what life is.”

Tatum poses for a photo with his hand in his pocket while wearing a suit
Lester Cohen / Getty Images for The Recording Academy

“I really took time off. I sculpted. I took pictures. I wrote my own stuff, not like a script or anything. Just creating on different levels. I wanted to take a breather.”

Tatum poses for a photo
Charley Gallay / Getty Images

Tatum also cited a crushing work schedule that included 22 Jump Street from 2014 and 2015's commercial flop Jupiter Ascending as a reason for taking time off. “I took four movies back to back without any time off," he said. "I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be in those last two movies because I didn’t have the energy.”

Tatum leans over while sitting down in a scene from Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending was a nightmare from the jump,” Tatum said specifically about working on the Wachowskis' ambitious sci-fi tale. “It was a sideways movie. All of us were there for seven months, busting our hump. It was just tough.”

Murray Close / Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

If you've missed Channing during his hiatus, fear not — he's coming back soon! Very soon! Specifically: in the new action comedy The Lost City, which is out in theaters on March 25. Sandra Bullock's in it too. Here's the trailer.

Read the entire profile of Tatum here.