Channing Tatum opened up about struggling with academics and growing up with ADHD and dyslexia in a recent interview.

Tatum, who stars in the new animated film Book of Life and the upcoming drama Foxcatcher, covers October’s T, The New York Times Style Magazine.

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“I’ve always negotiated the world very physically, from football to tussling at the playground to taking my clothes off,” Tatum told T.

Channing Tatum On ADHD, School

In the interview, Tatum revealed he struggled with ADHD and dyslexia as a kid, which helped push him into athletics and caused him to feel isolated at school.

“I have never considered myself a very smart person for a lot of reasons. Not having early success on that one path messes with you. You get lumped in classes with kids with autism and Down Syndrome, and you look around and say, Okay, so this is where I’m at. Or you get put in the typical classes and you say, All right, I’m obviously not like these kids either. So you’re kind of nowhere. You’re just different. The system is broken. If we can streamline a multibillion-dollar company, we should be able to help kids who struggle the way I did,” Tatum said.

After Tatum graduated high school and left college he famously worked as a stripper, an experience he used to produce the hit film Magic Mike, before becoming a model, and, eventually, an actor.

Tatum said that his movement away from academics never took him towards the arts while he was at school. It was only when he moved on from school that he became immersed in the world of art, specifically film.

“I went to New York and did the whole modeling thing, and I just learned everything I could from anybody who knew something I didn’t… I think that’s one thing I’m pretty skilled at. I can look at a person and say, They’ve got something that I want up there in their head. I’m going to do my best to get in there and absorb it. My mom said, ‘Be a sponge.’ And so I’ve learned more from people than I have from schools or from books.”

Tatum goes on to say that his life experience has acted as his own theatrical training. And he encourages all aspiring actors to meet as many different people as they can, saying, “I would have loved to learn things earlier than I did, but then maybe I wouldn’t have gone and done the things that gave me insight into what it is to be human – to have fears and wants.”

Foxcatcher

Tatum rose to stardom as a hunky heartthrob with starring roles in Step Up and GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but the actor quickly transitioned his career into more dramatic, serious roles, specifically through his collaborations with Steven Soderbergh, who directed Magic Mike.

In addition to a new animated film, The Book of Life, Tatum is starring in the Oscar-bait drama, Foxcatcher. In Foxcatcher, Tatum plays Mark Schultz, a wrestler who had a destructive and dangerous relationship with his sponsor, John du Pont, played by Steve Carrell in the film. The role gives Tatum a chance to do what he does best – be physical – while also providing him with a more introspective role.

Tatum is currently filming the sequel to Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL, and Foxcatcher will hit theaters on Nov. 14.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.