Channing Tatum, the star of the recently premiered film The Eagle, was in Boston on Jan. 31 to promote and answer a few questions about his role in the new period piece set in classical Roman times. The story details the journey of a young Roman general named Marcus Aquila, played by Tatum, who attempts to retrieve the golden emblem of an eagle from the savage, wild lands of northern Britain. Dressed in a casual sweater and jeans, Tatum had a likeable personality and he kept the atmosphere of the round-table interview light and casual throughout. Many know him from his role in popular dance movie Step Up, during production of which he met his present wife, Jenna Dewan. Several times he has played soldiers but never one set in such an archaic time period. When asked about why he enjoyed playing such a specific role, he expressed his general respect for soldiers.

"I think being a soldier is one of the most noble things that you could possibly ever do, no matter what your politics are. . You get a glimpse of what [being a Roman soldier] would have been like. You can't even imagine it, though. I couldn't breathe afterward; I was exhausted. I wish I could say I was that tough. They were just different men back then." In addition to Tatum, screen legend Donald Sutherland also has a role in the film. Whereas Tatum has worked in the film industry for only a few years, Sutherland has been an actor for decades. When he was asked whether he felt intimidated by Sutherland, Tatum replied, "Of course! I'm even intimidated with Jamie Bell [who plays Esca]. They're all top-notch; I look around in the movie and I think 'I'm the weakest link here. Everyone's been nominated for something here.'"

Bell is Tatum's on-screen partner for most of the film. Tatum's and Bell's characters embark on the journey together to retrieve the Golden Eagle standards. JustArts asked how he and Bell prepared for their dynamic on-screen relationship, to which Tatum replied, "We just hung out. We just spent every waking moment with each other. It was hard to have the tension because we were such good friends. It was a hard ride, the movie in general. There's nothing that you can do but forge a friendship throughout that type of thing." But don't think that because Bell's on-screen character is serious that the austerity carries over to his real-life personality. "He's such a ham," Tatum laughed.

Together, Tatum and Bell worked to try and get a realistic feel for their characters. Bell kept his natural Scottish highlands accent and learned Gaelic for his role. Tatum also prepared a lot to understand the history of the period. The director, Kevin MacDonald, threw a lot of information at them to help them get into character.

In addition to being Tatum's first true period piece, The Eagle was also his first film in which he played a lead role. In most of his films, he plays the love interest or a supporting character. Taking the lead comes with certain risks, about which Tatum expressed some reservations, "You try not to think about [being the lead in a film]. Because if you're not good in the movie, then you hurt your career. You really put your life in the hands of the director. [But with MacDonald], you feel really taken care of."

There were a lot of laughs shared during the interview; Tatum was a genuine person with interesting and insightful things to say from his point of view of the Hollywod industry. As the interview wound down, a reporter asked Tatum if the actor had advice for new actors or those trying to get into the film business.

"If you think you might want to go do something, don't wait. Just start failing early. If you want to sculpt and you don't know how to sculpt, go buy some clay and just do it," Tatum said with a twinkling smile. "Set yourself up to fail . so that you know where you're not supposed to be.