Channing Tatum |
The 'Magic Mike' star, whose wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum welcomed their first child, Everly, in London on Friday (31.05.13), admitted before her birth that he wasn't worried about being under-prepared for fatherhood even though his own parents "weren't perfect" and he went through "wild bouts of depression" as a child.
The 33-year-old star told Vanity Fair magazine: "I don't think you can prepare.
"(My own parents) weren't perfect. I don't know anyone who did have perfect parents. It's provided me with lessons I'll try to improve upon when I'm up to bat. I'm just going to be a good friend to my kid."
Channing, who has a learning disability, revealed that his own father put him under a lot of pressure to get an education even though he was very unhappy in school.
He said: "That whole 'I don't want you to make the same mistakes' mentality. My dad didn't have much money growing up; he didn't have much of an education. He forced that on me, and I didn't want it.
"I [still] read so slow. If I have a script I'm going to read it five times slower than any other actor, but I'll be able to tell you everything in it. It kills me that there are standardized tests geared towards just one kind of child."
The actor added that he was medicated against his will for his learning disability, comparing drugs such as Dexedrine and Adderall to "coke, or crystal meth," and it proved to be a traumatic experience.
He explained: "I truly believe some people need medication. I did not. I did better at school when I was on it, but it made me a zombie. You become obsessive. The more you do, the less it works. For a time, it would work well. Then it worked less and my pain was more. I would go through wild bouts of depression, horrible comedowns.
"I understand why kids kill themselves. I absolutely do. You feel terrible. You feel soul-less. I'd never do it to my child."
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