Channing Tatum’s failed Thor audition left him with invaluable acting advice

Actor said director Kenneth Branagh ‘nailed my crutch’

Channing Tatum has revealed that his failed audition to play Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe left him with some good advice from one of his heroes.

The 45-year-old actor, who now plays Gambit in the MCU, admitted that he didn’t really want the part but “wanted to audition in front of Kenneth Branagh”, who directed the first Thor film.

The audition didn’t go well for the Magic Mike star, but Branagh’s feedback did leave Tatum with some invaluable insight about body movement.

“After I did one take, [Branagh] was like, ‘You’re not allowed to move. Put your hands on this chair.’ And I froze,” he told Variety. “He nailed my crutch. I spent the next five years really trying to learn stillness."

Chris Hemsworth would eventually be cast as Thor, a role the Australian actor has now played in nine Marvel movies, including the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

Tatum has since landed a part in the MCU as X-Men character Gambit, whom he first played in 2024’s Deadpool and Wolverine.

Channing Tatum spent years trying to perfect his craft after Thor audition (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

He is due to return to the role in Avengers: Doomsday, but recently suffered an injury on the set that forced his stand-in to take over for multiple stunts.

Tatum told Variety that the injury to his leg left him sidelined, shooting only close-ups while a double performed more elaborate scenes. “We had tons more shooting,” the actor recalled, including a “big fight” with Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom.

He is set to attend intensive physical therapy to aid his recovery as production continues, explaining: “It’s not about the pain I feel in the moment. It’s knowing I can’t take this back. And now I know what the next six months of my life will be like.”

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Prior to Deadpool & Wolverine, Tatum spent several years developing a standalone Gambit film for 20th Century Fox. However, the project fell through when Disney and Fox merged in 2019.

Tatum said he was glad the film didn’t come to fruition as he wasn’t ready to co-direct with producing partner, Reid Carolin.

“The universe just saved us,” said Tatum. “We would have failed so hard.”

Chris Hemsworth as Thor (Marvel Studios)

He also revealed that the Gambit character will be modified for Avengers: Doomsday, after the running joke in Deadpool & Wolverine that nobody could understand him due to his heavy Cajun accent.

Marvel executives, said Tatum, “really had to wrap their mind around the accent and how people are going to understand him.” He responded: “I’m not gonna go full Cajun.”