The Big Interview Channing Tatum Naked ambition Young gun: Channing Tatums role as GI Joe may just catapult him on to the Hollywood A-list igh. Im instantly disappointed when I meet Channing Tatum, purely because hes wearing clothes. Having admired his sweaty yet sensitive dance moves in breakthrough hits Step Ups 1 and 2, his raw, muscularly defined intensity in recent drama Fighting, not to mention his early shirt-off work in high- school comedy Shes The Man, Id fondly imagined probing the former Abercrombie & Fitch models inner shallows while maintaining an unprofessional distance from his bare torso. However, the fact hes spiffed up today, making him look like an uncomfortable waiter, doesnt stop this courteous 29-year-old from being one of Hollywoods hottest properties. Landing the hero lead in new action franchise GI Joe means hes just one make-or-break movie away from A-list. Its scary, he exhales, tucking into a non-starlet lunch of chicken nuggets and fries. I try to leave the worrying about how the movies going to do to the director, Stephen [Sommers, who also directed The Mummy], and the producers. But its crazier than anything I could ever try to explain to you. Its not within my realm of scope. So is Channing Tatum (yes, it is his real name) gunning to be the new Bruce Willis? Bruce Willis? he giggles with girlish modesty. Hey, hes the man! But I think those times are gone. Films changing. I cant do the same career path as the guys who came before me. Nowadays theres either gonna be really small films or really huge tent-pole movies like GI Joe, with very few pictures in between. Come on, modesty doesnt maketh the megastar, I press. Do you reckon youre as big as Jason Statham yet? Look, says Tatum earnestly, hes done some really cool, really, really great work. I dont know if I can compare, you know? I only hope that I can be up to where he is one day. That the posters of GI Joe have Tatum playing second fiddle to Sienna Millers s bum suggests he still has some way to go. A kid with the sweetest mom on the planet from a small Alabama town, Tatums life has been oddly like the clich-stocked studio flicks that made his name. He was the typical all-American jock who attended private school because they had a great football team and gained a full athletic college scholarship (experience he drew on for 2005 sports flick Coach Carter). He was offered a modelling contract by a talent scout, then, always a keen dancer, made his big break after being cast in the pop video for Ricky Martins She Bangs. From then on his career trajectory was on a seemingly effortless upward glide, culminating in last years wedding to his Step Up co-star and fellow former model Jenna Dewan. No wonder hes currently tipped to play Captain America in the 2011 slated blockbuster. Cut into him and youd probably find apple pie. But does Tatum really have the extra drive to thrive in Hollywoods upper echelons? I would rather be an actor, he declares, and its actually worth taking him seriously. Though he admits GI Joe was the smart business move for me and despite never wanting to be an actor growing up, Tatum has done his own share of small, passion-led pics. As well as the critically acclaimed 2006 indie film A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, he recently impressed in another proper role in Stop-Loss, the war drama by Kimberly Peirce, director of the Oscar- winning Boys Dont Cry. I just got to do a love story and it was really amazing to just sit and talk after GI Joe, he says. I really got to explore just being still in a movie and trying to grow in my acting. OK, I can drive a motorcycle now, I can do a backflip, I can dance, I was blessed with a very able body I nod in agreement but Im running out of physical things to do. I dont know whats left bullfighting or something? Heres hoping he keeps his shirt off for that one. GI Joe (12A) is in cinemas from Friday. Nowadays, theres either gonna be really small films or huge tent-pole moves like GI Joe, with few in between The Hollywood star tells Larushka Ivan-Zadeh why hes looking beyond merely flexing his muscles in the likes of new film GI Joe If flatpack is our new god, then Ikea must be our new place of worship. Gone are the days when Sunday mornings meant another dull sermon in another draughty church. Since last week, we Irish are more likely to spend the Sabbath pushing an oversize trolley through a certain D11 warehouse, arms akimbo to ward off competition for the last remaining melamine side-table, praying not for our souls but that our fellow believers are too hungover to stick the pace. The last time we came together as a nation in such numbers was for John Pauls visit in 1979 so its fitting then that Ikeas promotional vans, replete with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, pay more than a passing resemblance to the popemobile. When one such vehicle careered round College Green last week, Abbas Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! blaring from the Tannoy, many resisted the urge to bow their heads in reverence. Young furniture dealers of Sweden I love you... Daragh Reddin 30 SECOND RAVE Ikea Bubble: Dont Burst It In Town Tonight Ever wanted to stand inside a giant bubble? Nows your chance at this ever-evolving exhibit that explores the physics of foam and froth, plus Michael Borans Palace Of Bubbles art show Until Sep 25, Science Gallery, Trinity College, Pearse Street D2, Tue to Fri noon to 8pm, Sat & Sun noon to 6pm, free (suggested donation 5). Tel: (01) 896 4091. www.sciencegallery.ie Randy Travis Youve got to hand it to anyone whose parents, on looking at their baby boy, call him Randy. Travis has many CMA, Grammy and Dove Awards under his belt having shifted from country to gospel in the 1990s Tonight, Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co Dublin, 7pm, 62. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.randytravis.com Riverdance The Celtic dance show is still going strong nearly 15 years after first appearing as the interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest. Its since hoofed its way across the globe to an array of misty- eyed paddy-fanciers Until Aug 29, Gaiety Theatre, Sth King St D2, 8pm (Sat mat, 3pm), 20 to 55. Tel: (01) 677 1717. www.gaietytheatre.ie metro Arts & Entertainment life Book Now Jack Peate Mocked by blogger LDN Is A Victim for his public school rocknroll crew, Peate has the last laugh with current album Everything Is New, a sophisticated melange of mariarchi brass, raging guitars, Afrobeat and house which had critics, having earlier dismissed him as a glorified busker-cum- hanger-on, eating their hats. (Peate is pals with Lily Allen, Kate Nash and Adele, and his grandfather was Gormenghast writer Mervyn Peake). But the South Londoner is a star in his own right not least when hes on stage and oozing charisma Oct 17, The Village, 26 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, 18.95. Tel: 1890 200 078. www.jackpenate.com 12 metrolife Tuesday, August 4, 2009 The hoTTesT TickeTs in Town We have two pairs of tickets to see JACK PEATE Oct 17 at The Village, 8pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to life@metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. Include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18 or over. Q. What is the name of Peates debut album? A Matine B Premiere The winners of Fridays tickets to see George Clinton are: Conor Gaffney & Danny Greene index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html