I Was Just Scared: Channing Tatum On Why He Turned Down Ryan Gosling's Part In 'Blue Valentine'

Actor and film producer Channing Tatum recalled why he turned down a role in Derek Cianfrance's 2010 drama Blue Valentine, reported People.

"As I was just reminded, it was about 20 years ago that I did kind of one of my first real, I guess, acting roles, and Derek saw it and, and he believed in me, I think way before I ever believed in myself," said Tatum while accepting the Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Performer Award at the TIFF Tribute Awards, according to the media outlet.

"And that was why I think I couldn't go on that journey. I just ... I was just scared," he added, "I was absolutely terrified of that role specifically, and I didn't go."

After looking at Tatum's performance in the 2006 drama A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Cianfrance thought of casting him in his film. "He's got this physicality - this body that can tell stories," said the director about the actor.

Tatum added, "I think I blocked it out because I probably, on some level, regret it," he said. Looking "back on that moment. I was scared of it, because I hadn't really lived it."

Blue Valentine is the "story of a married couple - Dean and Cindy - that unravels throughout the course of the movie, which is told in a nonlinear fashion.

Tatum revealed that another reason why he turned down the intense role was because he "hadn't been in a relationship like that at that time".

"I didn't think I could do it. I was just starting to act," he said, adding that as he and Cianfrance began working together on Roofman, the director "reminded me of that."

"I was like, 'Yeah, I know.' I definitely ... I wish I would have done it. But I think Ryan killed that," added Tatum. "So I don't spiritually think that one was mine."

Roofman stars Tatum as real-life convict Jeffrey Manchester, who became notorious for robbing 45 McDonald's restaurants and once evaded capture by secretly living in a Toys "R" Us store. It follows Manchester's six-month stint hiding inside the store, including his falling in love with a divorced mom (Kirsten Dunst).

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