Channing Tatum: G.I. Joe was tough

Channing Tatum found working on G.I. Joe intensely hard.

The handsome actor starred as Duke in the first movie The Rise of Cobra in 2009, then reprised his character in 2013 instalment Retaliation.

Although the franchise became a big success, Channing found production on the original flick a challenge, especially due to the industry's circumstances at the time.

"There was some political stuff going on. The studio was going through a transitional period, and, if I'm honest, I don't think they were ready to make that movie," he sighed to Empire magazine. "They made it because they didn't want to lose their option. And it was during the writers' strike - my character disappeared for 25 pages in the second act!

"That movie was hard for everybody. And I was tied to it by some contractual things that I don't want to get into. But hey, they could've asked me to do anything. I'm super-blessed it was a ginormous hit."

Luckily not every feature has been so tough on Channing and his role in 2012's Magic Mike saw him and co-stars Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer have plenty of fun on set as well as making women's hearts race.

The star returns as the title hunk in sequel Magic Mike XXL and while not all the of the original cast are back, fans will once again see Joe Manganiello and Adam Rodriguez shake their stuff.

"Yeah, it did," Channing said, when asked if the absence of Matthew and Alex made the new film go in another direction. "But I kind of love that. When you get painted into a corner, that's when the most creative decisions get made... things you never expected start to happen. Matthew is such a huge character in the first one, so not having him gave the other characters a little more space to breathe."