Channing Tatum: ‘I Know I’m Not The Best Actor’; Signs On For Romantic Dramas ‘To Learn’

Channing Tatum, the action hunk who wins over the ladies with his romantic roles in tearjerkers like “Dear John” and the upcoming “The Vow” with Rachel McAdams, says he has an ulterior motive when it comes to showing his soft side – polishing his acting chops.

“You gotta do the ‘Dear Johns,’ you gotta do ‘The Vow,’” Channing told Details magazine in an interview for their February issue, jokingly adding an apology to the men who’ve been dragged to the so-called “chick flicks.” “I’m conscious about why I did those parts, those movies.”

The 31-year-old star, whose career — after 12 years in the business — has recently hit the fast track with four films opening in the first half of 2012, said he signs on for films to learn from specific co-stars or directors in order to further his acting abilities.

“I wanted to learn from Rachel [McAdams] on ‘The Vow,’” he told the mag of his co-star in the upcoming drama about a man who is striving to win back his wife after a car accident leaves her with severe memory loss. “I wanted to learn from [director] Lasse Hallström on ‘Dear John’—he did ‘The Cider House Rules’ and ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.’

“I didn’t go to acting school, so my knowledge of story, filmmaking, and character comes from just being on set and doing it,” he added. “I know I’m not the best actor, but I hope my characters are getting better.”

While Channing is enjoying his time in front of the camera, the “Haywire” star said he wants to have a more vested interest in his films going forward.

“I really don’t want to be in any more movies that I don’t produce,” he said. “Unless it’s with one of the 10 directors that I really want to work with, I don’t have any interest in not being on the ground floor of creating it.”

See Channing in “Haywire” – which also stars Gina Carano and Ewan McGregor — when the Steven Soderbergh-helmed film hits theaters on January 20.

“The Vow” is slated for theatrical release on February 10.