Actor Channing Tatum has showcased his talent in a wide variety of films over the past two decades. He has made several cameos in his career in blockbuster hits like Free Guy (2021), Bullet Train (2022), and Don Jon (2013).
Tatum’s most memorable cameo came in 2013’s This Is the End. Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Tatum made an appearance as the gimp in the movie. The actor once revealed that he accepted the role in 30 seconds as he was extremely intoxicated, later regretting the decision. The movie also featured some big Hollywood stars like James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Emma Watson.
Channing Tatum explained how he got the role
In 2014, actor Channing Tatum appeared on Conan on TBS and talked about his iconic cameo in 2013’s comedy movie This Is the End. He explained that he got an e-mail from Seth Rogen and he accepted the role in 30 seconds,
“I probably had too much to drink the night that I got the email at like, three in the morning. I think they were already filming. I don’t know why I even picked it up and then I read the email and it was from Seth Rogen. It said, ‘Hey, I hope this isn’t insulting but we had this idea on set for a cameo. It involves you, Danny McBride, and Mexican wrestling masks and a leash.’ I think I must have been on Ambien or drunk or something, and I was just like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it, no problem,’ and then ultimately had to actually go and do it. It was a terrible idea, probably.”
What was a mistake as per Tatum, turned out to be one of the most iconic cameos in Tatum’s entire Hollywood career. Some sources claim that Emma Watson left the sets because she got uncomfortable while the scenes involved Danny McBride as a cannibal and Channing Tatum as his s*x slave was being shot.
Channing Tatum was dedicated to the role
Tatum was so dedicated to the role that Rogan had to tone down some of the scenes. In a past interview, Rogan recalled the filming of the scene,
“We shot it over two nights so it was like two nights, twelve hours each night, where he’s on his hands and knees, scurrying around in the dirt and we had to tone it down. That’s actually one of the scenes we had to tone down the most because he went so into it, like spreading his ass open,” adding, “When we tested the movie we actually found a limit where people were like it’s too much of Channing Tatum’s body. Like there is an amount of Channing’s ass.”
This Is the End achieved significant success, receiving generally positive reviews from critics, and also managed to gross roughly $126 million at the global box office on a budget of $32–41.9 million.
Source: Conan on TBS
