The actor turned 39 on Friday.
Happy birthday, Channing Tatum!
Born on April 26, 1980 to parents Kay and Glenn Tatum in Cullman, Alabama, the Hollywood heartthrob has now been gracing this planet for 39 years. In honor of his special day on Friday, ET has pulled together 39 of the actor's most swoon-worthy pics, sexy quotes and silly videos, proving once and for all that he's the OG Internet "daddy" (sorry John Boyega, Zachary Levi, Mark Consuelos and anyone else we've recently given the title to).
So, without further ado, please join us in celebrating this handsome, talented, smart, charming, athletic, impeccable human.
1. When we first met bae.
Remember this phase? Cute then, and even hotter now! This photo was snapped in 2006, when Tatum landed his breakthrough role as Tyler Cage in Step Up, and the same year he starred opposite Amanda Bynes as Duke in She's the Man.
2. Red carpet hottie.
At the film's Los Angeles premiere, Tatum served up plenty of sexy expressions (like this one!) while posing for pics on the red carpet.
3. Never shy.
In 2012, Tatum won our hearts all over again when he starred opposite Rachel McAdams in The Vow. Exclusively speaking with ET ahead of the film's release, he joked about stripping down for the camera.
"I'm not shy about being naked, obviously, as you can see in most of my movies," he exclaimed.
4. Magic Mike.
Who knew that Tatum's real-life stripper past would one day inspire a movie franchise? The first one was so successful (making $167 million at the worldwide box office) that a sequel, Magic Mike XXL, was made. "There will be a lot more skin showed in this one, I can guarantee it," he teased to ET in October 2014. "There's no real reason to do a sequel to a stripper movie without more of that." Needless to say, he wasn't lying!
5. Black-and-white-and-gorgeous.
Let's just take a moment to marvel over the fact that Tatum is photogenic in any pigment.
6. Food is the way to his heart.
"I'm a fat kid on the inside. I love food so much, and I fluctuate about 25-30 pounds between movies," Tatum told Cosmopolitan in 2013. "I feel like I have to do a chess movie that requires very little movement at some point, just so I can eat pizza and play chess on the beach all day. And then eat more pizza and cheeseburgers and drink beer. That'd be amazing. I'd give anything for that. I gotta figure that movie out."
7. He'll happily dance with you (and your grandma).
In an interview with Esquire, Tatum talked about his early dance days and how he learned the art form by "hanging out" and "grinding" in the clubs. He also revealed he stole a few moves from some older women he was introduced to.
"I wanted to dance. I just didn't know anything," he admitted. "Neither did the girls I was seeing. But their moms did. I figured out the fastest way for me to learn to dance was to grab up some abuela and get her moving on the porch."
8. Those muscles...
Need we say more? We still can't get over Tatum's hotness as Cale in White House Down.
9. ... and those abs!
We understand why Tatum was placed front and center in a poster for Magic Mike XXL -- look at that sexy core!
10. Music video star.
Now, this is a throwback. To promote White House Down, Tatum and his co-star, Jamie Foxx, teamed up for a hilarious song and music video titled "(I Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum" that premiered on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in June 2013. It featured stars like Olivia Munn and Miley Cyrus swooning over the birthday boy.
11. No filter.
During interviews, Tatum is never afraid to get a little inappropriate. He once spent an entire sit-down with Ellen DeGeneres basically talking about dancing in thongs for Magic Mike XXL. "There's nothing -- there's very little left to the imagination," he joked. "I waxed last time and I promised myself I was not gonna do it again. And then [co-star] Matt Bomer goes, 'No, no, you just didn't have the right lady. She just wasn't doing it right.' And then I went again and it sucked just as bad."
"After they started they said, 'Oh, no, you're a ginger.' I have, like, a little red, and they're like, 'It's always the worse for them,'" he continued. "And I'm like, 'Then why did you start?! Why didn't you tell me this beforehand?!'"
12. A doggone cutie.
Tatum + a puppy? What's not to love?
13. He has a pretty adorable nickname.
"People called me Channimal," Tatum revealed in a video with Vanity Fair in 2015.
14. No. 1 dad.
We may have joked about Tatum's "daddy" status, but we have to bring up the fact that he's an actual great dad to his 5-year-old daughter, Everly (whom he shares with ex-wife Jenna Dewan). "She cool AF!!" he captioned a photo of her at school. "And that I will never even come close to how f**king cool she is. I'm proud and feeling some pangs of dad dork growing."
Now that is hot!
15. A self-proclaimed "queen."
"You know just drinking my morning affirmations."
16. Those twerking skills.
When Jennifer Lopez asks you to twerk, you TWERK! Tatum showed off his amazing skills at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, and we're still not over it. The moment went down after the Boy Next Door star requested a dance from Tatum, who presented her with the award for Best Scared as S*** Performance.
17. Hi, hottie.
ET captured this sexy snap of Tatum in September 2014, while he was filming Magic Mike XXL in Savannah, Georgia.
18. HI AGAIN.
We're starting to run out of words... but who needs them? Here's another hot pic of the Channimal:
19. Man crush every day.
ET has interviewed Tatum plenty of times over the years, but sometimes we wonder HOW we don't faint when he looks at us like this:
20. Always ready for fun.
One of the things we love most about Tatum is that he is seriously down for anything. In 2015, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to act out "scenes" from Magic Mike, as written by children. It's a must-watch!
21. He has nicknamed his manhood.
Yep. During an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, he candidly revealed its name is "Gilbert." However, he later jokingly told ET that Gilbert actually "needs no name," because it's "just a symbol."
22. He's his own critic.
In that same AMA interview, Tatum was asked, "How many times is too many to see Step Up?" to which he replied, "I guess you need to see it as many times as it takes you to realize how bad my acting is in it. And fast forward to the dancing parts after that."
We love a humble man!
23. Looking good and goofing around.
Even while golfing, he looks perf. "Am I doing it right?" he recently captioned a photo of himself mid-swing.
24. A real-life hero.
Back in August 2015, Tatum revealed via Instagram that he adopted a rescue horse, which he named "Smoke."
"He loves beers!" the actor shared. "We're meant to be. (to be clear he just loves the smell)."
25. OMG, WE ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THIS PHOTO!
In June 2015, we learned that this epic pic exists of a younger Tatum in a bodybuilding competition at Tampa Catholic High School in 1998.
26. Onesies are his go-to.
If he's at home and just chilling, Tatum prefers to be comfy. "I realized I love onesies, like we all should," he told ET in 2015. "Why did we stop wearing them at whatever age we were babies? Onesies are dope!"
27. His singing skills aren't great, but we still love him.
Tatum has said in the past that when it comes to singing, he's not your guy. He told Vulture that even his daughter can't stand his vocals! "One, I don't sing, and two, I don't tap dance," he confessed. "I've sung to my daughter, and she cried every time. I've never been a singer."
OK, but you're still perfect in our eyes...
28. Just his whispers can make anyone swoon.
One very lucky person who was randomly selected off the street got the opportunity of a lifetime in February 2016 when Tatum whispered messages from candy hearts into her ear, for a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Who knew "TTYL" could sound so sexy?
29. Dirt bike daddy.
Just over here making our hearts go "braaap!" (Fun fact: In 2005, one year before Step Up premiered, Tatum played the role of Rowdy Sparks in Supercross, a movie about two brothers competing in the Las Vegas Motocross Championships.)
30. Backflippin' babe.
He's a man of many talents, clearly.
31. He respects all women.
Tatum penned a first-person piece for Cosmopolitan in May 2017, where he said that he hopes more women could realize their worth and feel empowered in their approach to love. "If there's one thing that I think men wish women knew, it's just that they alone are enough," he wrote. "When more women start to truly feel this power in themselves, the world will become so magical, it makes my head hurt."
*Cue all the feels*
32. Bad boy for life...
Not sure why we haven't framed this photo from the 22 Jump Street premiere in June 2014 yet...
33. ...but also, "princess."
Only Tatum could dress up as princess Elsa from Disney's Frozen and make it look this good. He rocked a platinum blond wig, crown, sparkly statement necklace and lavender prom gown for an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2017.
34. Drop it like it's hot.
He'll do pretty much anything for his fans... lap dances included.
35. Sexy selfie.
Give us more, please!
36. #FlashbackFriday.
We can't end this list without one more throwback pic of a sizzling hot, young Tatum in 2007. You're welcome.
37. When in doubt, just dance.
This pic of Tatum breaking it down with his White House Down co-star, Jamie Foxx, was snapped in Cancun, Mexico, in 2013, but we're still obsessing over it. The dance moves, the white suits, Tatum's subtle stubble... we're here for it all.
38. #Blessed.
Thank you, Tatum, for blessing us with your good looks all day, every day. We're forever grateful.
39. Cheers!
...to another fun-filled year. Although Tatum and Jenna Dewan (pictured together here, partying in the Bahamas in 2007) announced they were separating last April after eight years of marriage, the two have remained amicable for daughter Everly.
There's no love lost, and the former Step Up stars have since moved on with new partners -- Dewan with Steve Kazee, and Tatum with Jessie J. Tatum was recently spotted out and about with the British singer in London, holding hands and exchanging loving gazes.
Hear more (and see the cute pics) in the video below, as we patiently wait to see how Jessie will celebrate her our man's special day!
RELATED CONTENT:
