Channing Tatum has opened up about his iconic Magic Mike physique.

During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the actor said that he almost passed on appearing in Magic Mike 3 because of the grueling demands that come with playing everyone's favorite male stripper.

The 41-year-old has starred in both films in the hit franchise. In December, he sent fans into a frenzy when he announced that he and his topless teammates would be returning to the stage for a third installment: Magic Mike's Last Dance.

While Tatum chatted with host Kelly Clarkson about the upcoming sequel, a shirtless snap of him in Magic Mike XXL appeared on the big screen behind them.

Joking about the photo, Tatum said: "That might be the reason why I didn’t want to do a third one, because I have to look like that."

He then went on to say that the male body standards set by films Magic Mike were not only unrealistic - they were also unhealthy.

"It's hard to look like that. Even if you do work out, to be that kind of in shape is not natural," he said. "That's not even healthy. You have to starve yourself. I don't think when you're that lean, it's actually healthy."

The Step Up star added that even for an actor like himself - where staying ripped is basically his career - it's practically impossible to maintain that level of physique.

"I don't know how people who work a 9 to 5 actually stay in shape because it's my full-time job, and I can barely do it," he said.

As for what the grueling Magic Mike fitness regime entails, Tatum said he had to work out twice a day and eat "completely right" - which meant even cutting out salt.

He explained that "the thing I miss most probably is like, salt. Just everything tastes like, I don't know, tastes like water. It's nothing."

Not only is it an uphill grind to get in that kind of shape, but Tatum revealed that it's also completely unsustainable - as mere days of eating and drinking regularly will see you back where you started.

It's so difficult that Tatum questioned what the point was, saying: "Why—when it takes like, I don't know, two months to get really lean—in three days, you can lose it? It's gone."

Featured Image Credit: Sipa US / Alamy

Channing Tatum is an actor whose sex appeal has always been used to his advantage.

But now the Magic Mike star claims that he wants to work on improving his acting abilities so he doesn't have to rely on getting naked in movies to secure roles.

Appearing in a new virtual interview on Kelly Clarkson's talk show, the 41-year-old 21 Jump Street actor opened up about his career and how difficult it is to have to work out so intensely to maintain it.

In the interview above, Tatum says:

"As someone who works out for a job, I promise you I would not look like this unless I had to be naked in most of my movies mostly. At some point, I have to get better at acting so I don't have to be naked in all of them."

However, Tatum also had plenty of respect for ordinary people who are able to fit intense workouts into their everyday routines, despite juggling other work commitments.

The actor said: "I literally get to work out as a job, and it's still hard. I can't imagine people who have a 9-to-5 job, who have kids at home, and where do they get the energy and the time to actually focus on themselves?"

He also admitted that he indulged in some cheat days, adding: "As I'm getting older, everything I pick up, I go: 'Oh, that's like two more miles that I have to run or ride'.

"I start looking at things like they're just actual miles and time that I have to work out so I will pick the days and I will pick specific things."

But that's not to say that the actor has been shy about showing off his own body either.

Back in September 2020, he took to his official Twitter account to share a shirtless pic of himself with his 7.9 million followers, explaining that he had only managed to get back into shape again following an injury.

The actor captioned the image: "Been a long road back. Injuries, life s*** & insanity in general. Ha daddy’s finally back boooi!

"Gonna be a fun next 10 year run. To all that have been there for me & held me down. Love you. Gonna make ya proud. Let’s goo. & peep the purell. Keep it clean out there folks. Hahaha. [sic]"

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Moviestore Collection Ltd

Here's an Instagram story from Jenna, showing a little more of the costume's detail: 

It's just so perfect. Jenna dressed up as well, going as a "nature fairy", wearing an olive-green dress and a flower garland in her hair:

And little Everly was in on it too, also going as some kind of forest fairy:

Last year, the little family also dressed up to match in a family ensemble, going as "two belles and a beast":

But what's funny is that Jenna actually dressed as a unicorn to another different, girl's only Halloween party last year:

But it was Channing's interpretation of the mythical beast that really stole everyone's hearts, mainly because he did it for his daughter:

If you didn't know already, George Clooney is a bit of a prankster. Aside from his many leading roles and Oscar wins, Hollywood knows him as someone willing to the extra mile to dupe his friends and co-stars.

There are dozens of examples out there, from the time he found a painting in the trash and convinced his friend that he'd painted it for them, leaving them to hang it on the wall for years - to the time he drank a producer under the table by drinking water instead of vodka.

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His Hail, Caesar! co-star Alden Ehrenreich once recalled that the 57-year-old actor convinced him, Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin and Jonah Hill to turn their backs to the cameras at the film's premiere. "So we did it and George didn't," Ehrenreich said. "There's a great picture of George laughing at the camera with Josh and us looking like idiots."

Then there's the time that Matt Damon was staying at Clooney's villa in Italy, where he was hoping to slim down for a role.

Clooney convinced the wardrobe girl to take his Damon's trousers in an "eighth of an inch" every few days:

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"He was then just eating a grape and saying, ‘I don’t understand why I’m getting fatter,’" Clooney said on The Graham Norton Show. "I did that for about three weeks.”

It's weird to think this of such a prestige actor, but Clooney definitely has a peculiar sense of humour - and it hasn't left him as he's embraced fatherhood either. He and his wife Amal married in 2014, and now have eleven-month-old twins Alexander and Ella to look after.

He spoke about what it's like to have kids on a recent episode of Good Morning Britain, where he spoke to hosts Charlotte Hawkins and Kate Garraway. "I thought my life would be focused on my career, not relationships, and I'd sort of accepted that," he said. "And then. . . all of a sudden we have these two knuckleheads around who make me laugh every day."

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In the same interview, he shared a story that wasn't quite as sweet. He once played a trick on a housekeeper, where he pretended to eat from a dirty diaper. Yep, you read that right. But don't worry - it was just Nutella inside...

"I was shooting a TV show in Italy and I went and got a new nappy and I put Nutella in it and threw it in the trash can. I came in an hour later and there was an Italian housekeeper in this house that we were staying in.

"I said 'Amal wants to know if the Alexander did poo poo or pee pee, poo poo or pee pee?'. I opened up the trash and got the nappy, (holding it up) I rubbed it in my face and tasted it, and she screamed and ran out of the room."

Yeah, that sounds about right.

And it looks like the Clooney pranks aren't going to end with him, as he explained he hopes the kids will learn a thing or two from him as they grow up. "I'm going to teach my kids a lot of good tricks," he said.