Avengers: Doomsday actor Channing Tatum opens up on his failed Thor audition – and the main lesson he learned from the underwhelming experience

He may be cutting cards now as Gambit in the MCU, but Channing Tatum once auditioned for Thor – and it didn't turn out well.

"I didn’t really want to be Thor," Tatum told Variety of his headspace heading into the reading for the first Thor film. “But I wanted to audition in front of [director] Kenneth Branagh.”

While Tatum was nonplussed about landing the role of Thor, it did leave him with an invaluable note from Branagh over his use of movement.

"After I did one take, [Branagh] was like, ‘You’re not allowed to move. Put your hands on this chair.’ And I froze. He nailed my crutch. I spent the next five years really trying to learn stillness."

Thor, of course, went to Chris Hemsworth – and the rest is Marvel history. Tatum isn't the only familiar face to fall short at the audition stage. Famously, Tom Hiddleston auditioned to play the MCU's God of Thunder, ultimately ending up playing his trickster brother, Loki.

Tatum is back in the superhero space as X-Men's Gambit. After years spent trying to get a solo project involving the card-dealing Cajun off the ground, Gambit emerged from the shadows in the Void during Deadpool and Wolverine – with a scrapped post-credits scene revealing he lived to fight another day.

From there, Tatum is next set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday alongside a who's who of superhero actors past and present, including several legacy X-Men actors. And wouldn't you just know it, Chris Hemsworth's Thor is there too, with the Australian actor denying that his recent tribute to the character was a farewell message.

For more, be sure to dive into our complete guides on upcoming Marvel movies and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.