Channing Tatum Talks ‘G.I. Joe,' Success In Hollywood: ‘I Got Crazy Lucky'

Channing Tatum will graduate from teen heartthrob to action star when he takes the on the role of super-soldier Duke in "G.I. Joe," which opens August 7.

"This is, like, my first step out into the whole commercial realm," Channing, or Chan, as he likes to be called, told GQ magazine for their August 2009 issue. "I hope it does okay."

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Chan made a name for himself in youthful films like 2006's "Step Up" and "She's The Man," and his career has been a steady upstream ever since.

"I got crazy lucky," Chan told the mag of how things have gone in Hollywood. "Like, sometimes I think I won the lottery or something."

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While his good looks, fit physique and acting talents continue to help him excel – he most recently acted alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in 2009's "Public Enemies" — Chan said he sometimes has pangs of doubt.

"At times it feels like the bottom's gonna fall out. Just 'cause I don't really know how I got here," he noted. "But I just keep moving forward, and it just keeps getting better and better."

One way Chan moves forward is through reading. He told GQ he's currently engrossed in a book on the Roman Empire.

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"I think because I've had that history of not really being great in school, I probably try to overcompensate. That's why I try to read so many books. Just so I don't feel…uneducated," he said.

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