Director Michael Sucsy isn’t afraid to admit that Channing Tatum initially passed on his lead role in The Vow, his new romantic drama based on a true story co-starring Rachel McAdams.

The film follows Leo and Paige, a couple trying to rebuild their relationship after a car accident robs Paige of her memories – including those of her husband. So what was so wrong with the project, according to Tatum?

“When I read the first version of the script, it felt like Leo was just too great. He was too good, too perfect. He was so understanding that I didn’t believe him as a real person,” Tatum says, adding that he had trouble connecting with the character. “I wish I could say I’d be that understanding,” he says. “I think it would be more frustrating.”

So how did Sucsy lure his leading man back to the project? Having McAdams on board didn’t hurt.

“As soon as I heard that she was on it, I was like, ‘I’m in,’” Tatum admits – but first they had to make some changes to his character.

“We tried to put more frustration in there,” he says. “I think you would have to swallow so much, and that’s what we were trying to do with Leo. I even wish we’d have went a little step further with it, but I think it might’ve been too heavy.”

Of course, they could always refer back to Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, the real-life couple on whose story The Vow is based.

But the Carpenters made Tatum more nervous than anything else: “I was worried. I was nervous to meet [Krickitt] because I didn’t want him to hate what I was doing with their story,” he says. “But they were so positive. I think they were just so thankful that their story was going to be out there – or a version of it.”

Speaking of real-life situations, part of Tatum’s own life will be hitting theatres later this year with Stephen Soderbergh’s Magic Mike, which the actor co-wrote, focusing on a particularly revealing part of his young life.

“I was a stripper for about eight months between 18 and 19 years of age in Florida,” Tatum says. “It’s a part of my life that I’m not so proud of, but I’m not ashamed of it. If anything, I will stand by it because it was one of the most pivotal parts of my entire life. It was crazy.”

It’s also the kind of personal history most A-list stars would try to cover up – something Tatum admits he was pressured to do at first.

“[My publicist] was like, ‘No no no, we’re not saying anything about it,’” he says. “I’m like, ‘Look, it’s going to come out, I’m telling you. We should just say it, because I’m not ashamed of it. I’m telling you we should talk about this because I think it’s hilarious, and I’m not afraid to talk about it.’ I will tell you, though, after the film comes out I will never talk about it again. I’ll be like, ‘Enough said, watch the movie.’”