Magic Mike Live, the stage show based on the 2012 blockbuster starring Channing Tatum, has just opened in London’s West End and has been a sell-out success
Magic Mike is inspired by Channing Tatum’s previous career as a stripper.
Tatum drew from his own experiences as a struggling male stripper in Florida during the 1990s for the film franchise, which has earned him millions.
Channing only worked as a stripper for eight months before transitioning to modelling and acting, but he had enough seedy encounters and wild escapades to fuel two films that grossed over £220million worldwide.
The Hollywood star has previously admitted that despite the films’ sexy storyline, if fans knew what his real-life stripping days were truly like they would find it “just gross,” reports the Mirror.
As the real-life Magic Mike, he actually despised disrobing and began drinking heavily and using drugs. Channing also admitted that he felt like “a nobody” when he was on stage.
While touring Florida venues with a troupe of male dancers, Tatum wouldn’t pocket more than $150 dollars (£115) a night for stripping and performing lap dances.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he revealed: “On a good night, 150 bucks… not as much as you think. On a bad night, 70 bucks – even 50 at times.”
Channing first dabbled in stripping age 19 after leaving school because he was “young, dumb, stupid and just wanted to make some money”.
In a chat with GQ magazine, he said: “You can work ten hours a day for minimum wage, that’s the opportunities for kids without a college education. Get some s**t job that you’re really going to have to bust your hump for, or you can try something else a little crazy.”
In a 2012 interview with IFC magazine he shared how at 18, he “dropped out of school and playing football, and literally started going into this abyss of a world and just sort of lived it up for about eight months”.
Despite strutting his stuff for crowds of adoring women, he revealed there was nothing glamorous or sexy about shedding his clothes for cash. Speaking to Out magazine, he said: “You’re just a guy taking off his clothes, looking like a fool in a stupid outfit.”
“I never enjoyed the taking-the-clothes-off part. You are on a stage with people yelling at you and you feel like you’re a rock star, but you’re nothing.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
