Michael Strahan, the former NFL star and Good Morning America host, is looking back at one of his most unexpected movie roles. While his cameo in Magic Mike XXL required him to strip down in front of a film crew, Strahan now admits that the experience was both nerve-racking and surprisingly thrilling.
Michael Strahan recalls feeling nervous and exposed before his stripping cameo in ‘Magic Mike XXL’
Speaking with Playboy, Strahan opened up about filming his memorable scene in the 2015 sequel. Although he had the confidence of a former professional athlete, he admitted that taking off his robe in front of everyone made him feel extremely exposed.
“I remember being so nervous,” Strahan said. “I take off the robe, and I felt so exposed, and I’m generally a pretty quiet and shy person.”
However, once he got through the first take, his nerves quickly turned into excitement. “I go and I did it, and they’re like, ‘You want to do it again?’ I felt good. I was like, ‘Man, this stripping ain’t bad.’”
Strahan also joked that some of the men on set appeared jealous of his physique. “I think guys were jealous. Most of them were trying to act like they didn’t see it. I know they saw it,” he said. “But they couldn’t hate because the abs were popping, the biceps were rippling.”
Still, the former New York Giants defensive end admitted the scene made him more nervous than almost anything else he had done. Wearing tassels on his biceps, he recalled that he “was more scared doing that than anything.” He also joked, “Good thing I didn’t slip on all that baby oil.”
Strahan played Augustus in Magic Mike XXL, making his big-screen debut alongside Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello. The role was not entirely out of nowhere, either. In 2012, Strahan had famously performed a stripper-style routine on Live while Tatum was promoting the original Magic Mike, eventually leading to Tatum asking him to join the sequel.
