Channing Tatum Busts Out A Cajun Accent To Prove He's The Perfect Gambit
by Brett White
In a new interview with Total Film, "White House Down" duo Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum both open up about a few comic book movies. Yeah, Jamie Foxx does have a few words to say about the possibility of the Sinister Six popping up in a later "Amazing Spider-Man" film, which is something that co-star Paul Giamatti has mentioned as well. "They actually talked about doing the Sinister Six, so fingers crossed," says Foxx. But maybe this shows my X-bias a bit, but the real interesting part of the clip involves Channing Tatum and the charismatic X-Man, Gambit.
"I would like to play Gambit," said Tatum. "Gambit's my favorite, cause I'm from New Orleans—or around that area, my dad's from New Orleans—and I like to do the Cajun accent, and I can do it for real."
Tatum goes on to say he enjoyed Taylor Kitsch's portrayal of the character, as seen in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," and added that he's always been around Cajun culture and would enjoy bringing that sensibility to the big screen.
"Gambit was always, like, the woman lovin', cigarette smokin', drinkin'—he was the punk rock of all the superheroes. He's a thief. He kinda rode the line."
First, I'm pleasantly surprised to hear Tatum talk that accurately and eloquently about a character as underrated (yes, underrated) as Gambit. And while Tatum doesn't immediately spring to mind for Gambit, hearing him bust out a Cajun accent and talk about injecting more of that flavor into a portrayal of the character makes him seem like the perfect fit. Plus, Tatum's actually an actor that Hollywood likes building films around. If Tatum wants to play Gambit, Fox should figure out a way to make it work.
Of course the X-Men Cinematic Universe version of Gambit is a man in his mid-to-late 20s circa 1981, thanks to his involvement in the prequel "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Maybe the events of "X-Men: Days of Future Past" could reboot things enough to explain Gambit's new Tatum-face and appearance in the present day? It's a longshot, but now it's something I'm interested in seeing.
Check out the entire video below.
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