Channing Tatum has been a prominent face in Hollywood for his good looks and memorable performances in films like Step Up, Magic Mike, and 21 Jump Street. However, the actor also had a minor yet memorable role in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. Interestingly, he was so determined to bag the role that he was even ready to threaten other actors to ensure his inclusion in the film.
Channing Tatum had a very minor role in The Hateful Eight. He played the role of Jody Domingre in the 2015 Western thriller film, centering around eight strangers with questionable morality seeking sanctuary in a stagecoach stopover during a blizzard.
Channing Tatum took a very unconventional route to get his The Hateful Eight role
While Channing Tatum is a notable pop culture figure, it is a bit unnatural for the Magic Mike star to feature in a Quentin Tarantino directorial. During a visit to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (via The Hollywood Reporter), Tatum shared that he shamelessly wrote a mail to the Kill Bill director every day to land a role.
The Step Up fame was so desperate for the role that he was ready to threaten any other actor who would have been a potentially tough competition for the role.
I basically sent about an email a day for about a month just threatening any other actors that might be up for the role. I was just praying that no one really tough was up for the role.
Channing Tatum also joked that he was willing to lock himself in a room with no windows or doors with other actors and whoever came out of it would have grabbed the role. Although the Logan Lucky actor was mentally prepared to take up any battle to land the part, he was grateful that Quentin Tarantino did not say ‘Well Mike Tyson is up for this role.’
Channing Tatum was initially nervous after getting his part in The Hateful Eight
Besides Channing Tatum, The Hateful Eight consisted of an ensemble cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern. Most of these actors had already been familiar with Tarantino after working on his previous films. The Deadpool & Wolverine actor claimed that he was too nervous being the newcomer on the set.
Speaking to Access, Channing Tatum confessed that The Hateful Eight was both a shocking and “nerve-racking” experience.
So, it was definitely nerve-racking. Even the table read was nerve-racking, man. [Samuel L. Jackson] was the only person who I’d worked with before. I met Kurt [Russell] very quickly one time. And that’s really it.
Jenna Dewan’s ex was initially so nervous that he almost killed his co-star Bruce Dern during their first table-read. Channing Tatum revealed to Jimmy Fallon that when he had to shake Dern’s hand, he pulled him so hard that the Nebraska actor shouted “You jerk! You almost pulled my arm out of the socket!”
The Gambit actor also added that the role was originally planned for an older actor. But looks like Quentin Tarantino was so impressed by his desperation that he improvised it to match Tatum’s personality.
The Hateful Eight can be streamed on Netflix.
