Channing Tatum is one of the most versatile actors making movies today, jumping from the dance competition franchise Step Up to starring a buddy comedy with Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street to lending his voice in animated films like The LEGO Movie and Smallfoot. All this started with the 2006 rom-com She's the Man opposite Amanda Bynes, who recently said she helped get the actor his breakout role. Here's what she said:
I totally fought for Channing [to get cast in] that movie because he wasn't famous yet. He'd just done a Mountain Dew commercial and I was like, 'This guy's a star --- every girl will love him!' But [the producers] were like, 'He's so much older than all of you!' And I was like, 'It doesn't matter! Trust me!'
The trust certainly paid off! Since Channing Tatum starred in She's the Man, he's been busy on movie set after movie set. In the teen movie based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Tatum was a 26-year-old next to a 20-year-old Amanda Bynes, but let's face it, most teen roles are given to actors well into their twenties anyway. Considering the star power of Tatum, Bynes wasn't likely the only one eyeing him for a lead role, but who knows, maybe it was his big break?
Due to her time out of the spotlight due to her past struggles with substance abuse and mental health, it's been a while since Amanda Bynes has spoken out about her past acting career. In a recent buzz-worthy interview with Paper Magazine, Bynes talked about her time on She's the Man along with detailing her past struggles. In the 2006 rom-com, her character dresses as a boy to live out her dream to play soccer. Her roommate is Channing Tatum's character, who she falls for after quite the complicated web of identity mix-ups.
In her unfiltered interview, Amanda Bynes opened up about how she went into a depression after starring in She's the Man because she didn't like how she looked like as a boy in the film. The film came at a time when Bynes was a popular up-and-coming actress -- she had just starred in What a Girl Wants and was still famous for her Nickelodeon television series The Amanda Show.
After She's the Man, Amanda Bynes starred in some big hits such as 2007's Hairspray and 2010's Easy A, but her personal struggles and very public downfall in 2013 led her in a different direction. Bynes has picked herself up; she said she's been sober for almost four years and is currently studying fashion in Los Angeles.
So while She's the Man was a breakout moment for Channing Tatum, it was one of Amanda Bynes few acting projects. Tatum will return as the voice of Superman in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and is said to be playing Marvel's Gambit, coming in 2020. Bynes said she hopes to one day return to the business. so maybe her honest interview signals a potential comeback.
