‘Figure out what life is’: Channing Tatum almost quit acting in 2018

Channing Tatum almost quit acting.

The 41-year-old star — who is known for his roles in 21 Jump Street and the Magic Mike movie series — admitted that he was close to giving up his career back in 2018 in order to "figure out what life is."

He said: "[I remember thinking] Do I want to act anymore? 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."

Channing — who has eight-year-old daughter Everly with ex-wife Jenna Dewan, whom he divorced the same year — added that he took a hiatus from his career because he didn't "have the energy" after taking on a heavy workload.

Speaking to Variety, he added: "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. I felt like I was the fat kid at the buffet, just working and working and working.

"I took four movies back-to-back without any time off. I wasn't as good as I wanted to be in those last two movies because I didn't have the energy. Jupiter Ascending was a nightmare from the jump. It was a sideways movie. All of us were there for seven months, busting our hump. It was just tough."

Following a four-year break, Channing is gearing up to reprise his role of male stripper Michael Lane in Magic Mike's Last Dance, which is set for release on HBO Max later this year.

Speaking about the upcoming movie, he said: "I want this movie to be filled with joy and fun. Everybody is like, 'Less character, more dancing.' So I've listened."

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