Channing Tatum received the Trailblazer award at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday -- an inappropriate accolade, said presenter Jonah Hill.
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"They asked me to give this award to Chan tonight for the trailblazer award, and I started to think about it and said, 'Whose been more of a trailblazer than Chan?' said Hill of his 22 Jump Street co-star. "Think about the idea of a trailblazer: a super good looking guy who becomes the lead in movies. What kind of trail blaze? That is an amazing trail blaze!
"Think about a guy like me -- I've had it easy!" he continued. "An average-looking guy becoming a movie star -- that's easy! The trail is blazed for you! I didn't have any branches or twigs to step over in my trail; I didn't twist any ankles. What's a more trailblazing experience than a f----ing gorgeous man becoming a movie star?!" He then peered into the audience at a chuckling Tatum. "Is he laughing? Is he laughing? Okay, good!"
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Hill then recalled the first time he spoke with Tatum, pitching him to join 21 Jump Street -- an ask met with hesitance. "He said, 'Jonah, I'm not funny,'" he told the audience. Hill then said he had only seen Tatum in the 2006 film A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints at that point. "I said, 'Chan, you are one of the most truthful actors I've ever seen, and if you can bring that truthfulness to this character, and if you can just believe -- no matter how stupid the jokes I write for you are -- if you can believe that in your heart, it will be hysterical.
'He's the funniest person in the entire movie, one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life, and he is truly one of the best human beings I've ever met. i love him, I love his family, I love every single part of this person, and I'm proud to give him this award," concluded Hill.
Tatum then walked onstage to accept the accolade, which he told the audience that he thought he was a victim of the prank show, Punk'd. "I'm not really sure what I did to deserve this," said Tatum. "It's weird because ten years ago, I was sitting in front of my TV, watching this show just like people at home right now. I didn't have the faintest thought that I could be standing up here talking to you all."
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"I had no idea if I'd be good at anything, much less acting," he admitted, "and when I think about what's gotten me from there to here, it really has to do with you guys."
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