Channing Tatum admitted that fatherhood sometimes forced him to drop the superhero act. The actor opened up about vulnerability after premiering Josephine at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The 46-year-old star played a father confronting trauma alongside his young daughter. His character’s struggle also pushed Tatum to reflect on his relationship with his daughter, Everly.
Channing Tatum recalls the difficult moment he told daughter Everly he was ‘not okay’
PEOPLE reported that Tatum discussed fatherhood during a TIFF Q&A. He played Damien, a father trying to help his eight-year-old daughter after a traumatic event. Damien encouraged his daughter to learn self-defense while his wife, Claire, took another approach. The role apparently mirrored Tatum’s own instinct to protect Everly from life’s harder moments.
“It’s a really tough thing to tell the little being that you love more than anything,” Tatum said during the Q&A. He admitted he once told Everly, “I’m just not okay right now.” The actor explained that parents often want children to see them as invincible. “You always wanna be like the strongest person, like the Superman in their life,” he said. “Sometimes you just can’t.”
Tatum shares Everly with ex-wife Jenna Dewan. The former couple welcomed her in 2013 before separating in 2018. He had also recently reflected on how quickly Everly grew up. During a January appearance on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, Tatum described returning from a two-week press trip.
He said Everly had started seventh grade while he was away. “I thought I was going to have three months or four months,” Tatum said. He expected to watch her childhood slowly fade. Instead, he returned to find “a full-on teenager.” Tatum called the change beautiful while admitting it also made him want to cry.
Meanwhile, Gemma Chan revealed how the Josephine cast built their on-screen family bond. She said Tatum and Mason Reeves spent time together away from filming. “We went to the park, we went on hikes,” Chan told PEOPLE. She also revealed that Tatum and Reeves got their nails done together.
Beth de Araújo wrote and directed Josephine. The film premiered at Sundance in January and won its Dramatic Grand Jury Prize. It later screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Josephine was scheduled for a November 20 theatrical release.
