Channing Tatum is an American actor who had his breakthrough with Step Up. He broke Hollywood with his role in Magic Mike, in which he played a stripper. Whether it is being the master of seduction or an absolutely ruthless action hero, Channing Tatum has proved time and time again that he is more than just a pretty face. His action stamina would have been further established had he been cast in the role he was almost considered for Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift.
He previously claimed publicly that it was his worst audition ever. However, the audience and even he would probably be surprised to know how close he came to playing the role.
Channing Tatum owned Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift despite claiming it was the worst audition of his career
The famous Happy, Sad, and Confused podcast by Josh Horowitz had Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift as the topic of their recent discussion with none other than director Justin Lin, who has been behind many of the Fast and Furious movies, especially Tokyo Drift. The topic of Channing Tatum branding his Tokyo Drift audition as the worst one in his career came up and the host asked Lin whether there was any truth to the statement.
Justin Lin waved that off and was full of praise for Tatum. According to him, Channing Tatum was “awesome,” and at one point in the interview, he even says Tatum is probably joking around.
“I remember he came in and he was amazing. I like to kind of play around and give a bit of adjustment but he had a great audition.”
The host then asked if Tatum made it to the top three of his list, to which he said, “Oh yes.”
Why did Channing Tatum mark Tokyo Drift as the worst audition in his career?
Channing Tatum thought he had completely bombed his audition and blew his chances of being the lead in Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift. While he did not get cast in the end, he was pretty close, as one can read above. However, in his mind, it was the worst audition he had ever given.
When he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016, Tatum was asked about his worst audition experience and he did not take a moment of breath before uttering the name, Tokyo Drift.
“I wanted to go to Tokyo very badly. I wanted to drift Tokyo. I stopped in the middle of the audition. I was like ‘I think we’re done, right? This is terrible. I don’t even know if it was — I blocked it out, mainly so I don’t remember the specifics. I think it was a combination of me being just bad, not remembering the lines, totally freaking out, I was probably sweating a lot.”
He told Kimmel that even the people there did not try to stop him.
“They didn’t even try to stop me. They were like, ‘Alright. That’s probably a good idea,.”
He also told the late-night host that not only did he not remember his lines but his acting was just plain rubbish.
Tatum never disclosed which role he was auditioning for. However, it is a bit obvious that he was probably going for Sean Boswell, played by Lucas Black. Tokyo Drift also marks the first movie in the Fast and Furious franchise without the late Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor.
The Fast and Furious movies are available to watch on Netflix.
Frequently asked questions
Which Fast and Furious film did Channing Tatum audition for?
Tatum revealed he auditioned for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reportedly reading for the lead role of Sean Boswell that eventually went to Lucas Black. Despite his own harsh memory of the tryout, the audition became a story he later shared as one of the most uncomfortable of his career.
Why did Channing Tatum call it his worst audition?
Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016, Tatum said he forgot his lines, got extremely nervous and felt he performed terribly, even stopping mid-audition to suggest they were done. He described a combination of being bad, blanking on the lines and freaking out, recalling that he was probably sweating a lot throughout.
Did Channing Tatum actually do as badly as he thought?
Not according to the filmmakers. Director Justin Lin later said Tatum was amazing and actually had a great audition, revealing he made it into the top three candidates for the role. The gap between Tatum’s brutal self-assessment and Lin’s praise became the amusing twist at the heart of the story.
