Every Channing Tatum Movie Performance, Ranked

Hollywood's favorite himbo is back in a big way with two of this year's highest-grossing films.

Kathy Hoang / BuzzFeed, Everett Collection: Universal, Kimberley French / Paramount Pictures, Scott Garfield / Sony Pictures Classics, Scott Garfield / Screen Gems, United Artists

Unlocking the secret to a star's ascent is usually complicated and sometimes downright unknowable, but in the case of Channing Tatum, the secret is pretty easy to locate: He represents the platonic ideal of the himbo.

For the uninitiated, this portmanteau (him + bimbo) is generally used to refer to a classically handsome man who, instead of weaponizing his good looks, maintains a simple kindheartedness and is blissfully unaware of the neurosis that curses the rest of us. For this reason, himbos can often be perceived as dumb, when really it's more of a naiveté at work. No star captures that spirit quite like Tatum. 

With the benefit of hindsight, it seems obvious that Tatum would eventually become one of our biggest movie stars, but it actually took Hollywood a while to figure him out. Early on in his career, studios lazily cast him as the star in a slew of bland action flicks and romantic dramas, which resulted in him delivering competent but forgettable performances. The real turning point was when people finally learned how to use his himbo persona in movies rather than just slot him in as a generic lead.

In Tatum's best roles, he uses his really, really, really, ridiculously good looks as a Trojan horse to trick the viewer into expecting a machismo-infused performance. Instead, what they get is a surprising sensitivity, pathos, and even humor. Tatum was blessed with just enough self-awareness to toy with his public persona without being cloyingly "in on the the joke," and his latest film, The Lost City, is a masterclass in this exact balancing act. Even Dog (his other concurrent new release, which he also co-directed) successfully challenges our expectations of a heavy "life after war" movie (and Tatum himself) with surprising notes of levity throughout.

Below, we ranked every Channing Tatum movie performance to date, including these two recent entries. 

39. Morgan & Destiny's Eleventeeth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo (2010)

hitRECord

While we strive to evaluate performances on their own merits with these rankings, sometimes it is impossible to do so outside the context of a film's overall quality. Such is the case with this seven-minute silent short directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an incoherent twee mess that is doing Channing Tatum's Lionel (the ex-boyfriend rival to Gordon-Levitt's Morgan) no favors. And how could it with a JGL voiceover that includes the word "hornified"? I am begging you to tell me a single thing that happens in this sepia-toned nightmare. —Colin Gorenstein

Watch it on Vimeo. 

38. Public Enemies (2009)

Universal Pictures / AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Spoiler alert for Public Enemies 

What can be said for our dear Channing’s brief, redheaded appearance in Public Enemies? Well, if I were to keep it to as few words as he speaks in his role as “Pretty Boy” Floyd, I'd already be over my limit. My condolences to any Tatum fans who were swindled into theater seats back in 2009. Public Enemies tells the story of notorious 1930s bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his associates during the Great Depression’s crime boom as they attempt to escape from authorities — or The Feds, if you will. Unfortunately, the apparently infamous Floyd is relegated to a barely in the background role, getting just one shining moment onscreen before he perishes (beautifully, I might add). But as the life drained from Floyd, so did my investment in the film as a whole. Even by his cameo standards, this one’s a real disappointment. —Danica Creahan

Watch it on Netflix. 

37. The Trap (2007)

Produced by Rita Wilson

The jury's still out on whether the titular "trap" is shorthand for "trapeze" or "thirst-trap" in this Rita Wilson-directed short film, which finds a high-strung woman surprised with an elaborate trapeze class for her birthday, instructed by none other than a shirtless Tatum. He is the voice of reason and reassures the nearly hyperventilating woman with his measured speech and bedroom eyes inches from hers that this is nothing she hasn't done before. He holds the keys to the short's thesis (and possibly our protagonist's heart?) as he breathily explains, "it's not about hanging on; it's about the letting go." Yes, much like the swing, the whole thing soars to unimaginable heights...of corniness. But that's nothing to blame Tatum for, who is serving $69.99/year Calm app realness. —Colin Gorenstein

Watch it on Daily Motion.

36. Free Guy (2021)

20th Century Studios

It's always a joy to see Channing pop up in in a movie, do a quick little breakdance, and be on his merry way. I'd honestly describe it as a relief. Writers, casting directors, and literally everyone else responsible for making movies must also be aware of the Channing Cameo Effect, since this is just one of many in his list of credits. As "Revenjamin Buttons" in Free Guy, he's the perfect embodiment of a video game avatar, moving smoothly through space and acting as the confident mouthpiece of some 22-year-old living rent-free in his mother's house somewhere. I wish this was the part where I beg for a whole movie of Tatum in a video game, but honestly three minutes was enough. Like baking with nutmeg, a pinch of Channing will go a long way. —Rachel Dunkel

Watch it on Disney+.

35. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

20th Century Fox Licensing / Merchandising / Everett Collection

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is the second installment in one of my least favorite movie series of all time. I was expecting Channing Tatum to bring a much-needed lift to a movie I otherwise find unbearable and was left largely disappointed. As Tequila, a member of the spy group "The Statesman," Tatum lacks a sparkle in his eye that could have added to this movie's over-the-top camp (that's being very generous). Not quite going for it and not quite grounded, it's a brief and stagnant performance in a film that would desperately require one or the other. Even at peak "There's a snake in my boot," he can't quite break through the sheer noise that is The Golden Circle. In watching all of his works, we learned that casting Tatum in an action role often seems like a good idea, but just isn't — and even with the added element of "comedy," this is no exception. —Rachel Dunkel

Rent it on Prime Video.

34. Havoc (2005)

New Line Cinema

Havoc is a disaster of a film about a group of wealthy, white teens in Los Angeles who channel their angst in the form of pretending to be gangsters, which ends with them getting in way over their heads just as they start to realize their actions do, in fact, have consequences. This was only the second film of Tatum's career, and by my count, his character Nick has less than five audible lines throughout the entire movie. He is mostly there to silently sit in the background as the third member of the wannabe gang, which makes sense, as he is the only one who actually looks like he has been in a fight in his life. Usually, being a glorified extra is a bad thing, but this turns out to be a blessing in disguise for Tatum, as Havoc's clumsy attempts to handle topics like sexual assault and racism are so tasteless that the more dialogue an actor has, the more embarrassed you are for them. —Blake Harper

Rent it on Prime Video. 

33. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

This movie is really bad. Don't believe me? Well, maybe Channing Tatum can convince you, as The Rise of Cobra star explained to Howard Stern that he only did the movie because of a contractual obligation. "I fucking hate that movie," he told Stern. And it's not hard to figure out why Tatum feels this way, as the entire thing feels like a shameless, cynical attempt to cash in on nostalgia. When Paramount told Tatum he was required to be in the movie, he expressed his interest in playing Snake Eyes, but the studio cast him as Duke, the bland face of the franchise, instead. The result is arguably one of the worst non-cameo performances of Tatum's career, as Duke has no real depth or substance beyond looking like Channing Tatum. Usually, even when Tatum isn't given much to work with, he's able to elevate any part through sheer charisma, but that is not the case here, as his portrayal of Duke is one of the only times he is actively unwatchable. —Blake Harper

Watch it on Netflix. 

32. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

Spoiler alert for G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Given his well-documented feelings about The Rise of Cobra, the fact that Tatum showed up for Retaliation seems surprising. But while Tatum's first go-around as Duke was a contractual requirement, his appearance in the G.I. Joe sequel feels like a paycheck performance. Duke basically shows up in the opening 10 minutes of the film to hand off the franchise baton to Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson) before getting killed so that Tatum can rest easy knowing that he would never have to return to this role. The performance is so small that it's hard to really judge, but when it comes to the G.I. Joe films, less is more, so it lands one spot ahead of his leading role in the first movie. —Blake Harper

Watch it on Paramount+.

31. The Hateful Eight (2015)

Weinstein Company / Everett Collection

Channing Tatum gives his role as Western gang leader Jody a fair shake in this divisive Tarantino release, but is slogging through nearly three hours of heinous material to get to his arrival worth it? Absolutely not. Call me soft, but listening to three hours of slurs with seemingly no end goal is not my idea of art or a good time, and even if Tatum had swooped in with his greatest performance to date, I would still be wary of recommending it. That he reportedly emailed Tarantino every day for a month begging for the role makes me say, "Huh," but I suppose the prospect of playing Jennifer Jason Leigh's brother is compelling. As for his merits as Jody, he plays a convincing cowboy here — quiet, confident, and proud. He's solid in a standoff and even has a few sweetie-cutie family man moments to shine when playing across Leigh from across the room. —Rachel Dunkel

Watch it on Netflix. 

30. This Is the End (2013)

Sony Pictures Releasing

In this self-referential, apocalyptic comedy filled with cameos of celebs playing heightened versions of themselves and meeting their grisly deaths, it makes some (twisted) sense that when Channing Tatum is finally introduced an hour and a half into the film it is as "Channing Tat-Yum," a leashed "gimp" who has been taken in off the highway by Danny McBride. The joke here, of course, is predicated on our culture's continued fixation on Channing as a sexual object and is established within the film's first few minutes, when Seth Rogen tells Jay Baruchel that Tatum lives in the neighborhood, and, "I think he's attractive!" While it's always great to see Tatum in assless chaps, being that he only utters two lines in this entire film ("Hey, what's up guys — we all cool?" [to Rogen, Baruchel, and James Franco] and "I love him" [to his owner, McBride]), we're placing this one toward the bottom of the heap. —Colin Gorenstein

Rent it on Prime Video. 

29. Don Jon (2013)

Relativity Media

When Channing Tatum appeared roughly 19 minutes into Don Jon, I was flooded with a familiar relief akin to when Robert Pattinson graced our screens during The King. I thought, finally, he has arrived. Unfortunately, Channing’s silent storyline plays out in under 60 seconds, and I was left wishing I’d been assigned to watch Special Someone, the fictional idealistic romantic movie inside the movie Don Jon, instead of Don Jon. The actual movie follows Jon, a New Jersey bartender who cares about his body, his pad, his ride, his family, his church, and most of all, his porn. But Jon’s porn addiction is no match for blonde bombshell Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), who aims to mold Jon into her ideal man, like the one in Special Someone. Don Jon is famously Gordon-Levitt’s directorial feature-film debut and marks the occasion with a handful of hilarious celebrity cameos (including Emily Blunt and John Krasinski on another romantic movie poster for a film I’d also probably watch). I often wonder if Channing’s eclipsing talent ever acts as a wedge between he and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s once-flourishing bromance… Anyway, the two-second clip of the fictional movie star Conner Verraux (Tatum) crying (on his knees? It’s unclear) moved me more than anything Don Jon’s actual leading man did. I also think it’s unusually cruel to tease an Anne Hathaway/Channing Tatum rom-com and NOT deliver, so I guess this is my public plea to make Special Someone for real. —Danica Creahan

Rent it on Prime Video. 

28. Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)

Walt Disney Studios

It's February 2008, and our national obsession with dance crews is at a fever pitch with the hit TV show America's Best Dance Crew and this film premiering in the same month. Step Up 2: The Streets is a masterpiece in its own right, especially with ambitious direction by Jon M. Chu in his mainstream directorial debut. But the only bridge between this essentially stand-alone story and the original Step-Up is a brief but wholly welcome cameo by Channing Tatum reprising his role as Tyler Gage, a troubled teen (a Tatum classic) turned janitor turned dance prodigy who found himself — and love! — at the Maryland School of Arts. In just one scene, Tatum reminds us that he's one of the best in the game, if not the GOAT when it comes to combining screen presence and sheer talent on the dance floor, delivering a routine that was jaw-dropping to me when I first saw it in theaters and still is revisiting it to this day. Tatum continued to define onscreen dance in the aughts with this brief but iconic performance that was memorable enough to buoy fans until he entered his Magic Mike era a bit down the line. —Rachel Dunkel 

Rent it on Prime Video. 

27. Battle in Seattle (2007)

Redwood Palms Pictures / Everett Collection

Say it with me, folks: Stop casting Channing Tatum as a cop (unless it’s for 23 Jump Street)! This performance gets just enough screentime to disqualify itself as one of Channing’s many cameos, and that is frankly very unfortunate. Battle in Seattle follows fictional characters throughout the mass protests that took place during the 1999 World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in, you guessed it, Seattle, Washington. The ensemble film explores the roles of protestors, both peaceful and otherwise, as well as police, journalists, politicians, and bystanders and features a ton of familiar faces including Martin Henderson (Grey’s Anatomy), Michelle Rodriguez (Fast & Furious), Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, and, once again, Ray Liotta (The Son of No One). Channing Tatum plays Johnson, a police officer who is practically fed up with the protests before they even really begin. Later on in the film, he’s tapped to go “undercover” as a protestor himself, and gets beat up by a bunch of his cop buddies who don’t recognize him. Unfortunately, Johnson’s experience doesn’t prompt any dramatic character arc or even a shift in perspective, making this one of Tatum’s most basic police officer performances — which is really saying something, considering… —Danica Creahan

Watch it on Prime Video.

26. The Son of No One (2011)

Phillip V. Caruso / Anchor Bay / Everett Collection

Spoiler alert for The Son of No One 

I don't know who signed off on Tatum touting a skinny 'stache as part of his Good Cop identity for the duration of The Son of No One, but they're certainly no son of mine (sorry). This movie is a lot of things — one could even argue too many things — but worth watching isn’t one of them! Channing is still the best part, but that just isn't saying much. The movie follows Jonathan White, who grew up in the Queensboro projects and is now a rookie cop assigned to that very same neighborhood. Jonathan is a family man, he wants to be good at his job, AND he harbors a dark secret from childhood: Back when he was a kid known as Milk, he semi-accidentally killed a few people (in self-defense!). Now, a reporter is threatening to unearth this bloody secret held by Milk and a few of his close friends. This movie boasts an utterly stacked cast, which includes Al Pacino, Ray Liotta, Katie Holmes, and James Ransone. These names do not save this wretched film, in which even Channing’s consistently compelling contemplation between action scenes comes across as blank and devoid of emotion. Oh, and spoiler alert: A dog dies. And when the dog dies, the noises are disturbingly realistic enough that my own dog got off the couch and went whining into the other room in search of the injured party. How’s that for a red flag? —Danica Creahan

Watch it on Tubi for free. 

25. Supercross (2005)

20th Cent. Fox / Everett Collection

Motorcycles! Daredevil-like stunts! Brotherhood! And Channing Tatum is…also there. Earning just a 5% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, Supercross is OK at fast-paced racing scenes — and absolutely nothing else. The movie follows two brothers who race off-road motorcycles competitively. The pair is pulled apart when one of them takes a lucrative racing deal, but an injury brings the boys back together again. If I'm being honest, I don’t think of Channing Tatum as an actor who fades into the background easily, but Supercross is certainly an exception to that rule. In his defense, it was probably hard to play his typical three-dimensional-tough-guy-often-lost-in-thought act against the constant roaring of those dirt bikes. Also, Aaron Carter is in this movie, if that sways you one way or another… —Danica Creahan

Rent it on Prime Video. 

24. White House Down (2013)

Reiner Bajo / Columbia Pictures / Everett Collection

There’s no doubt Channing Tatum looks like an action star, but his skills as an actor don’t always translate in the genre, like in the case of White House Down. Yes, Tatum is a statuesque megahunk who looks completely at home protecting the president from mercenaries invading the White House, but he’s not given much to do beyond that two-dimensionality. John Cale (Tatum) is written as your run-of-the-mill action hero without any real depth beyond having a daughter, which is one of the laziest action movie shortcuts to get you to root for the protagonist without having to actually deal with pesky character development. Tatum is not bad in White House Down — it’s just that the movie doesn’t feel like it makes full use of his unique talents. As a performer, there’s a hidden delicacy to him that makes him feel out of place in generic shoot-em-up movies like White House Down, and compared to his best performances, it’s a misfire. —Blake Harper

Rent it on Prime Video. 

23. Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Warner Bros / Everett Collection

Jupiter Ascending was a critical and box office failure at the time of its release, but I think that like many of the Wachowskis' films, it is much better than it gets credit for. Sure, the plot is a bit ridiculous, but it’s a space opera; it’s supposed to be over the top! And once you adjust your expectations, watching Jupiter (Mila Kunis) discover she is secretly galactic royalty is a rip-roaring adventure (I’ll even go to bat for Eddie Redmayne’s unhinged villain performance). Unfortunately, Tatum is the one actor that feels like he was miscast. Caine Wise, the half-human, half-canine who tracks down Jupiter to tell her about her true destiny, is written like a Han Solo-esque renegade who is willing to toss the rulebook out the window and figure out his own way to get the job done. But that kind of roguish energy is inherently out of sync with Tatum’s earnestness, resulting in Caine never quite coming together as a character despite being one of the film’s leads. —Blake Harper

Rent it on Prime Video.

22. Fighting (2009)

Rogue Pictures / Everett Collection

Admittedly, Fighting is NOT my kind of film. But by the end, I was personally fighting to keep myself from liking it just a little, and that is due entirely to the film’s lead performance. What can I say? Channing’s got charm, and Fighting allows him to reveal just enough of that ol’ rom-com razzle dazzle to coax me into sitting through three epic (both in action AND in length) bare knuckle(?) boxing scenes. Fighting follows Shawn MacArthur (Tatum), a counterfeit seller who works on the streets of NYC. After Harvey Boarden, a con man with a potential heart of gold, sends his goons to chase Shawn off Harvey’s block, he discovers the subpar seller has some above par fighting skills. With the promise of making some real money, Shawn steps into the unsanctioned ring of underground fighting. Also, of course, there’s a girl: Zulay. You could cut out all the bloody politics and high stakes betting, and I'd happily watch the remaining half hour between Zulay and Shawn. Fighting confirms my theory that Tatum can have downright electric chemistry with basically anyone. Unfortunately when the pair aren't together, it's a tad tougher to chew on Tatum’s tough guy from The Streets™ bit. Fighting is certainly not a knockout performance, but merely mid. —Danica Creahan

Watch it on Prime Video.

21. Side Effects (2013)

Barry Wetcher / Open Road Films / Everett Collection

Spoiler alert for Side Effects

Nothing is really as it seems in this steamy psychological thriller from Steven Soderbergh. Well, except for one thing: Martin (Channing Tatum) is absolutely dead within the first 40 minutes, stabbed with a kitchen knife by his seemingly devoted wife Emily (Rooney Mara) mere weeks after being released from a four-year jail sentence. We are initially led to believe that Emily has done this during a sleepwalking episode, a "side effect" of a new-to-market antidepressant her psychiatrist (Jude Law) prescribes her, but by the film's end we learn there is something much more sinister at play. While the film has drawn obvious comparisons to Gone Girl, I wish I could say Martin's aloofness is as well employed as Nick Dunne's (Ben Affleck). Here, in his third time working with Soderbergh, Tatum is just a measly chess piece that must be knocked over for Emily to carry out her masterplan. And yet, as is the Channing way, he really makes the most out of his limited screentime, giving us arguably the best moment in the entire film when he asks Emily's psychiatrist what an SSRI is. Textbook himbo behavior! —Colin Gorenstein

Rent it on Prime Video. 

20. The Vow (2012)

Kerry Hayes / Screen Gems / Everett Collection

Memory certainly isn’t always reliable. This has been proven to me time and time again when I revisit The Vow and expect an enthralling romantic experience. I’m not sure why my brain has decided to erase the fedora-clad Tatum’s only OK performance as what should be a swoonworthy romantic lead, but I set myself up for disappointment every time. The Vow follows newlyweds Leo and Paige (Rachel McAdams) in the aftermath of a car accident that causes Paige to experience total memory loss from the last few years, forgetting the entirety of her relationship with her husband. Now Leo has to make his wife fall in love with him all over again, but this process is further complicated by her ex-fiancé and vaguely problematic parents coming back into the picture. It should be a good movie, a great one even, and opposite the rom-com royalty that is Rachel McAdams, The Vow should be one of Channing’s most compelling romantic performances. But it just isn’t. And I’m not just saying that because of the fedora thing, although really, what could be more 2012 cheeseball than SHARING a fedora on the first date…anyway. As Leo says in the movie, “Life is all about moments of impact…,” and not a single moment of this performance significantly impacted me. Rachel, I’m so sorry, queen… —Danica Creahan

Rent it on Prime Video. 

19. The Eagle (2011)

Focus Features / Everett Collection

I must admit I was rather excited to see Tatum in a period piece — another rarity for him — as it seemed he could be a great fit for a 120 AD Roman military leader like Marcus Flavius Aquila. Sadly, for most for the film I couldn't shake the feeling that this man definitely knew about cellphones, and perhaps had even been looking at a 2011-era Blackberry right before he heard "Action!" He is quite effective in fight sequences, which isn't always the case even for such a skilled physical actor, so props for that. I can't quite diagnose what more Channing needed to bring to the table here, but is anyone out there really wondering? As this is a middling performance in a film I don't think is widely remembered, I doubt it. The era of trying to shove Tatum into leading action roles because he Looks Like That was about to end at the time that was released, and ya know what? It was a valiant effort by all, but not quite on the money. Luckily, there was much more to come. —Rachel Dunkel

Rent it on Prime Video. 

18. Haywire (2011)

Claudette Barius / Relativity Media / Everett Collection

From the minute Tatum started appearing in movies, Hollywood wanted to make him an action star. It’s an understandable impulse, as Tatum is built like a tank, incredibly handsome, and his dancing background makes him a natural fit for the choreography required to convincingly fight onscreen. Unfortunately, most of the action movies he was cast in were, to put it nicely, not very good. But Haywire was a departure from the mediocre slog he had been stuck in before, as Tatum proved to be a natural fit with director Steven Soderbergh (who he has gone onto work with extensively). Tatum plays Aaron, a member of a secret intelligence firm who is tasked with hunting down his former associate Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) after being told she has gone bad. But as he gets closer to tracking Mallory down, Aaron starts to wonder if he's been given the whole story. It may not be one of Tatum’s all-time performances, but his natural charisma is put to good use here, and Haywire features some of his best movie fighting to date. —Blake Harper

Rent it on Prime Video.

17. 10 Years (2011)

AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Spoiler alert for 10 Years

It's hard to know what to make of Tatum's performance in this aggressively mediocre (Tatum-produced) high school reunion dramedy. Compared to the rest of the ensemble film's characters — an alcoholic class bully (Chris Pratt), a suave indie-folk singer (Oscar Isaac), and two competitive city slickers (Justin Long and Max Minghella) — Tatum's Jake comes off as a bit of a cipher. The very few humanizing details we do get about our leading man are obscured by the glowing halo that hovers over his head for much of the film. He's sensitive, romantic, and always says the right thing. Was I surprised to learn that the same writer who helped bring Tatum's saintly John from Dear John to life was responsible for crafting this similarly idealized vision of Tatum? Absolutely not. Jake is a former prom king who we eventually learn skipped out on the big night to spend time with his then-girlfriend Mary (Rosario Dawson) in a hospital. When the two meet again at the high school reunion, instead of doing the thing that most other movies would have their leading hotties do and rekindle the old flame, he uses this encounter to clarify his intentions to marry his current girlfriend, Jess (played by Jenna Dewan, his then-real-life girlfriend). And! When he learns that Mary is pregnant, he comforts her and tells her that she's going to be the best parent anyone could ask for. Wow. A real upstanding guy, ex, and boyfriend, I'm sure, but unfortunately a much less desirable character to see onscreen. —Colin Gorenstein

Rent it on Prime Video.

16. Stop-Loss (2008)

Paramount / Everett Collection

As Sgt. Steve Shriver, a soldier who returns from his tour with post-traumatic stress disorder, Tatum is...fine! He's definitely the standout of the main cast (also featuring Ryan Phillippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt), exhibiting the potentially dangerous energy the role requires both in flashback sequences from this tour, as well as in the present back home. At this point in Tatum's career, he was moving on from teen roles and was slotted instead into what America at large perceived as the platonic ideal of a soldier. Stop-Loss shows that while he looks the part and can rise to the occasion when needed, soldier roles are far from the best use of him and his talents. I'll take a goofball Tatum over a serious one any day of the week. —Rachel Dunkel

Rent it on Prime Video. 

15. Coach Carter (2005)

Paramount / Everett Collection

Even without knowing exactly when Coach Carter came out, it's evident that it's pre-Step Up since there's an extended dance sequence to "Get Low" in which Channing is barely featured, if ever. "Troubled teen" is one of the early Tatum tropes, and he honestly does it well here as Jason Lyle and elsewhere. I truly believe that this was an ideal situation for him, getting him a ton of early work while leaving him wiggle room to redefine himself a bit later in his career as he aged up, surprisingly enough, through dance. He's fine in Coach Carter — a classic inspiring sports coach movie — but it's fascinating to watch a young Tatum play as part of an ensemble, which he rarely ever does anymore, usually sticking to solid leading man or microscopic cameo roles. It also makes me wonder if casting him in sports movies instead of the action movies he got slotted into throughout the middle of his career would have been a better move. While he is often surprisingly dull when fighting, he looks pretty good on the court! —Rachel Dunkel

Watch it on Netflix. 

14. The Dilemma (2011)

Chuck Hodes / Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

By 2011, Tatum had shown signs that he had a knack for comedy, but The Dilemma was the first time he truly took on a comedic role as Zip, the guy who Geneva (Winona Ryder) is cheating on Nick (Kevin James) with. The movie itself has been all but forgotten by the culture at-large and for good reason (it’s not very funny). But Tatum’s performance is the best part in an otherwise mediocre comedy, as he subverts the usual tropes of playing the “other man” by giving Zip a layer of vulnerability to balance out the fact that he’s a bit of a moron. Whether he is lamenting the death of his fish or crying in the middle of delivering a beatdown on Ronny (Vince Vaughn), there’s a sweetness to Zip that makes it tough to root against him despite knowing he’s destroying a marriage. —Blake Harper

Rent it on Prime Video. 

13. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

First Look Pictures / Everett Collection

Spoiler alert for A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Tatum plays Young Antonio in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, which is far and away the most depressing of the movies in which he plays a "troubled teen." That said, I find it to be one of his most successful roles working in the trope, bringing a surprisingly realistic and grounded energy to what could have been a melodramatic turn. He's good throughout, often making the scenes where he and his friends are running around the streets of Astoria watchable, but if you're a Channing-head it's worth watching for the scene in which he watches his brother get hit by an oncoming subway train. The reaction shot (not as gross or sad as you would expect) is perhaps one of his greatest, and reminds me that beneath all of the dancing and movement and winking is a naturalistic, incredibly talented actor. —Rachel Dunkel

Watch it on Peacock for free. 

12. Dear John (2010)

Screen Gems / Courtesy Everett Collection

I'm going to declare a potentially unpopular opinion here: Channing Tatum in Dear John is giving what we all wanted from The Vow. It’s Channing at his romantic best. Look beyond the tired war content (I promise you there isn’t a lot of it) and focus in on those picturesque surfing sequences. Maybe Dear John isn’t the seaside Nicholas Sparks adaptation we wanted, but Channing is giving us the crushworthy lead performance we deserve. John the soldier meets Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) the bleeding heart college student who builds houses for charity on her spring break in a classic purse-falls-into-the-ocean scenario. The pair have instant chemistry that unfortunately causes the Tatum/McAdams dynamic to pale in comparison and spend the two weeks they both have left in their South Carolina hometown in an intense situationship. John’s only got a year left in the military, and so the two decide to date long distance via love letters — obviously. But then, September 11, 2001 happens, and John feels called to extend his deployment, several times. Eventually, Savannah moves on with Tim, her unfortunately much-older neighbor whose son she’s already been helping raise, because proximity is everything in the world of Nicholas Sparks. But don’t worry to the maybe two people who read this book and DIDN’T see the film — the movie changes the ending to be significantly less sad. Despite its formulaic (or classic, depending on how you look at it) plot and having to put on yet another stoic soldier performance, Channing Tatum is really, really good in Dear John. And they didn’t even rely on him taking his shirt off…that much. —Danica Creahan

Watch it on Netflix. 

11. She's the Man (2006)

Dreamworks / Everett Collection

The love interest in a movie like this is typically a one-dimensional part and, in all likelihood, Tatum was chosen to play soccer stud Duke Orsino mostly due to his good looks. But rather than resign himself to woodenly reciting lines like many teen heartthrobs before him, Tatum fully dove into the role and gave some real depth to Duke. When Viola (Amanda Bynes) is assigned Duke as her roommate (while disguised as her brother Sebastian), you assume that he is going to be the Big Man on Campus who can get any girl he wants. But it turns out that Duke is incredibly awkward around girls, which leads to some fantastic physical comedy from Tatum (and, I would argue, a subtle examination of the performative nature of masculinity). To me, this is the performance that laid the roadmap for Tatum's entire career as a movie star, as he gives Duke unexpected layers of abnormality and sensitivity that make him more than just the object of Viola's affection. —Blake Harper

Rent it on Prime Video. 

10. Dog (2022)

Hilary Bronwyn Gayle / United Artists / Everett Collection

I really wish someone would have described Tatum's directorial debut to me as a “PNW road movie” (my favorite genre) because I would have been much less apprehensive going in. Dog is not the bleak “life after war” meditation you might expect from its logline. (Though, like the one-word animal movies that have preceded it [Lamb, Pig], it does use its titular furry companion as a device for understanding a human's profound emptiness.) Playing Briggs, an adrift former army ranger who is looking to get back on his feet after a serious head injury, Tatum brings a surprising levity to the heavy material, helped by the fact that more than half of his scenes are shared with a sassy Belgian shepherd. And yet, Tatum perfectly embodies the ambivalence of a traumatized war vet, which ends up saving the film from veering into dangerous pro-war territory and glamorizing the disturbing acts of violence committed back in Afghanistan. Is this yet another movie where Tatum gets to show us he is not just a hunk but, in fact, a sensitive hunk? Yep. Is he working one of four jobs he is legally allowed to work in a movie? Mhmm. Does his shirt come off 30 seconds into the movie, and then, later, does it cling to his distractingly rock-hard abs when he is caught in a rainstorm? You bet! And the fact that he is still able to win our affection by the time the credits role is an achievement that I don't think should be understated. Briggs has a binder with a "give war a chance" sticker on it, and I now have a binder with a "give Channing Tatum a chance" sticker on it after watching this movie. —Colin Gorenstein

Buy tickets. 

9. Step Up (2006)

Touchstone Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

This was my very first time watching Step Up, and I assumed, without the rose-colored glasses of childhood nostalgia, that I would find it to be lacking, or at the very least, painfully outdated. But despite the laughably baggy clothes they’ve got him swishing around in, Channing’s performance in Step Up elevates the whole film, and I found myself having a thoroughly good time watching it. Tyler (Tatum) is a troubled teen in foster care who, after a harmless night of goofing off with his best friend Mac and Mac’s little brother Skinny, winds up with 200 hours of community service at the scene of his somewhat accidental crime: trashing the theater of a prestigious arts school. Tyler dons his appropriately baggy janitor’s jumpsuit and goes to work, where he meets Nora (Jenna Dewan), a senior dance major who desperately needs a new partner to practice her choreography for the senior showcase, aka her one and ONLY shot at getting a professional dancing job (for some reason). The pair learn from one another and inevitably fall into a deep, dance-chemistry-fueled love onscreen (and as we now know in hindsight, offscreen as well). Though not technically his debut performance, I’d bet Step Up is where a lot of viewers, alongside Dewan, fell in love with a young Channing Tatum for the first time. And I don’t blame any of them — the man can really move. I can’t imagine anyone else working so exceedingly well in this role, to the point that over 15 years later, the cheesy ballet-hip-hop fusion tracks laid underneath every other scene don’t take me out of the film entirely. Suspend your concept of cringe and just enjoy Channing progressively putting on tighter and tighter clothes in Step Up. You’re welcome. —Danica Creahan

Watch it on Prime Video.

8. Foxcatcher (2014)

Sony Pictures / Everett Collection

Given Tatum’s penchant for playing magnetic leading men, it’s fascinating to remember that the closest the actor ever came to securing an Oscar nomination was for his quiet, dissonant performance as Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz in this Bennett Miller film. Tatum is excellent at playing the everyman, and his experience as a dancer is put to great use here as he masters the physicality of an athlete while expertly embodying the paradox of someone much more in tune with their body than their mind. But opposite a big performance from Steve Carell (John du Pont) and his (hotly debated) prosthetic nose, he's unfortunately not what you end up remembering from the film all these years later. I’m guessing Tatum's Mark, who spends the entirety of the movie trying to get out of his older brother Dave’s shadow, would not be thrilled to learn that Mark Ruffalo, who plays his brother, earned an Oscar nomination for this role alongside Carell, leaving him yet again overlooked by history. —Colin Gorenstein

Rent it on Amazon. 

7. 22 Jump Street (2014)

Sony Pictures / Everett Collection

Picking up where Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's surprise-smash hit 21 Jump Street left off, Tatum plays one half of an undercover cop duo assigned to a drug bust — this time at a college campus. Whereas 21 smartly flips the script and has Jonah Hill become the popular kid at high school and Tatum the ostracized misfit, 22 takes a decidedly more conventional approach to teenage politics with its decision to make Tatum's "Jenko" a beer-guzzling, football-playing frat bro. Drawing upon his skillful comedic work in She's the Man, Tatum is luckily able to add some nuance to this stereotypical meathead role with hilarious moments of pseudo-intellectualism. He takes a human sexuality class and apologizes for being a "homophone." He drops a Q-tip in a guy's sandwich and calls it a "meat-Qute." He shouts "TAMPON" from the crowd during an improv show. (Another nod to She's the Man? We'll never know.) Every line is delivered with an expertly observed dopiness. And the biggest magic trick Tatum pulls off? Getting me on board with a sequel about two incompetent cops that thinks "bromances" are just about the funniest thing in the world. —Colin Gorenstein

Rent it on Prime Video.

6. Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Universal / Everett Collection

Hail, Caesar! is a hidden gem in the Coen brothers’ filmography, a screwball comedy that feels like a love letter to movies (and specifically the Golden Age of Cinema) from two of the greatest filmmakers of the last 40 years. The film is packed with incredible sequences that encompass the old studio system of movie-making, but the best is "No Dames," an elaborate musical number led by reliable studio star Burt Gurney (Tatum). It will come as no surprise that Tatum is a phenomenal dancer, but this is less like Magic Mike and more like a routine straight out of a Gene Kelly movie. Plus, who knew that he could sing?! And while Tatum is not in Hail, Caesar! much outside of this scene (though his character turns out to be much more important to the main plot than you might initially suspect), this show-stopping routine is unquestionably one of the highlights of his prolific career and proves that if he was born 70 years ago, he would still have been one of the brightest stars in Hollywood. —Blake Harper

Watch it on Netflix. 

5. Logan Lucky (2017)

Claudette Barius / Amazon/ Everett Collection

Tatum delivers redneck with aplomb in the heist film Logan Lucky, something we'd never seen him *fully* lean into. Likely in part thanks to growing up in Florida (which I can say because I, too, grew up in Florida), it fits him like a glove. As down-on-his-luck construction worker turned robber Jimmy Logan, he's as tender as he is strong — and shooee, that's really when Tatum shines. While his back and forth with his cool and collected veteran brother Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) is the stuff dreams are made of, his best moments are the ones he shares with his daughter, a wee little thing being put into beauty pageants much to his chagrin. While we've seen a lot of Tatum as a himbo, a strong and silent type, and a confident bachelor, we've almost never seen him play a father, and Logan Lucky should be his calling card for the father roles that hopefully get slated for him in the future. "Put a baby in me" is a thing a bunch of us think when watching him in other movies, but seeing him be a kind and playful dad in Logan Lucky makes us really mean it. —Rachel Dunkel

Watch it on Hulu. 

4. The Lost City (2022)

Kimberley French / Paramount Pictures / Everett Collection

Not since the Jump Street franchise has Channing Tatum brought this much unbridled goofiness and physical comedy to the movies. He dons a Fabio-esque wig as the cover model of a romance novel, gets leeches pulled out of his bare ass, and takes spill after spill on his way to rescue Loretta (Sandra Bullock) from a kidnapping in the middle of the jungle. At this stage in his career, it isn’t surprising to see the actor take on the role of the himbo who, deep down, is just a big ol' dork "looking for same." It also isn’t surprising to see him as a character wracked with self-doubt as he pursues the more self-assured female protagonist (She’s the Man). This is likely why some of the Tatum scenes that jumped out to me most were those playing off of the larger-than-life mercenary Jack Trainer (the incomparable Brad Pitt), instead. Seeing Tatum as the fumbling mentee, offering “backup and awesomeness,” was a treat, and it added something new to the usual Tatum repertoire. The Lost City is popcorn movie-going at its finest, and regardless of how you feel about the fairly paint-by-numbers story it tells, it is an undeniable fact that we would be in deep, deep water (rash-inducing water, even) without Tatum’s incredibly magnetic performance at its center. —Colin Gorenstein 

But tickets. 

3. Magic Mike XXL (2015)

Warner Bros / Everett Collection

Yes, the body-ody-ody on display in Magic Mike XXL is far and away some of the best ever seen on the silver screen — we'll get that out of the way right now. But it's that in conjunction with Tatum's dramatic chops, sheer charisma, and ability to use his skilled movement in service of the movie rather than just himself that make him undeniable in this sequel. It's such a joy to watch him run this film, effortlessly moving between road trip comedy to strip tease and back again, palpably enjoying every moment. It's rare for an actor to truly be used to their full potential, but XXL is an exercise in using every piece of a performer to a film's advantage, turning what could have been an average blockbuster pseudo-comedy sequel into a tour de force. The film begins with Mike having opened his own furniture shop, and I sure am happy for that sweetie-cutie for achieving his dreams, but when he rolls up to a party with his old crew from the club and "Crazy Train" comes on as he walks in — goosebumps. And it only goes up from there. The chemistry he has with his fellow "male entertainer" friends is enchanting — who wouldn't want to be friends with this guy? — but it's the chemistry he's able to create with an audience while he dances, in the movie and at home, that's his absolute superpower. I've heard XXL described as Magic Mike but made for the female gaze, and ultimately I think I agree. Thanks both to excellent choreography and skilled execution, the lap dance sequences in XXL put the celebration of women (granted, straight cis women) at the forefront. Anyone can dance. Anyone can bang. But using your craft to celebrate female pleasure? Nobody does it better than Tatum. —Rachel Dunkel

Watch it on HBO Max. 

2. 21 Jump Street (2012)

Columbia Pictures / Everett Collection

Usually, when an actor who isn’t known for being funny ends up in a comedy, their performance is graded on a curve. Someone like Dwayne Johnson will be praised less for actually getting laughs and more for not being aggressively humorless. And it was understandable to think the same of Tatum when he was cast as the co-lead in the movie reboot of a TV show from 30 years ago. But Tatum surpassed all expectations by delivering one of the best comedy performances of the last decade in 21 Jump Street, so much so that he arguably outshined his co-star and comedy superstar Jonah Hill. Just by looking at them, you might assume that Tatum would take on the straight man role, but instead he gets to play Greg as a socially inept outcast who can’t figure out why he isn’t as popular as Morton (Hill). This turns out to be a brilliant choice, as Greg’s feelings of betrayal at being abandoned by Morton are simultaneously hilarious and genuinely heartbreaking. Along with Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street helped Tatum escape playing boring leads in forgettable movies and skyrocketed him straight to superstardom. —Blake Harper

Rent it on Prime Video. 

1. Magic Mike (2012)

Claudette Barius / Warner Bros./ Everett Collection

Very often an actor's best film is the one that no other actor could carry, and Channing Tatum as the titular Mike Lane in Magic Mike is no exception. Marketed as a dirty, sexy romp, Magic Mike shocked audiences less with well-oiled groins but more so with impeccable direction by Steven Soderbergh, and a deft, nuanced performance by Tatum at the center. Don't get me wrong — the meaty thighs and shimmering pecs are present, accounted for, and *chef's kiss*. But in conjunction with an expert performance, this role cemented Tatum not only as a sex symbol for the millennial generation (the likes of which we hadn't yet seen), but also as one of our greatest actors. He's given tons of opportunities to show his range in this script by Reid Carolin, moving from flirtatious to sweet to withdrawn easily and with just the twinge of his ultra-square jaw. The naturalistic feel could partially be due to the story being loosely based on the time in his life when he himself was a stripper in Tampa, but I chalk it up to real chops. He's magnetic. It cannot be overstated how important movement is to Tatum's draw as a screen presence, and it's difficult to think of another actor of his caliber for whom that's true. In its way, Magic Mike is to millennials what the movie musical was for our grandparents — an undeniable spectacle putting some of the brightest young talent front and center to wow us with practiced agility and pure, unadulterated talent. There are so few other actors like Tatum working in the mainstream today, for which his skill as a male dancer only adds (for better or for worse, culturally) to the idea of his manliness. He's our Gene Kelly. Our Fred Astaire. A once-in-a-generation performer who traded a suit and taps for a tank top and cargo pants, and it won't be long before even those come off. Magic Mike is so much more than a dirty movie about a Tampa strip club. It's a reintroduction to an icon who had been right under our noses in thankless action roles for years, and an artifact of his early life and talent he can truly be proud of. —Rachel Dunkel

Watch it on HBO Max. 

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