How Old Channing Tatum & Amanda Bynes Were In Shes The Man

Despite playing high school students in She's the Man, actors Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum were a little older than their characters.

Summary

Channing Tatum was in his 20s when he filmed She's the Man, despite his character being in high school.
Amanda Bynes was closer to her character's age when she played Viola in She's the Man.
Bynes fought for Tatum to be cast in the movie despite his age, insisting that he was a "star" and every girl would love him.

Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum co-starred in the 2006 teen comedy She's the Man, but the actors were a little older than their high school characters when they filmed it. A modernized adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the movie follows the soccer-loving tomboy Viola Hastings (Bynes), who poses as her twin brother, Sebastian, at his new school while he sneaks off to London, so she can play soccer for the boys' team. Upon her arrival at Illyria Prep, Viola-as-Sebastian meets her roommate and fellow soccer player Duke Orsino (Tatum). She starts falling for Duke as he helps her with her game as Sebastian.

She's the Man was filmed from June 6 to August 5, 2005 (via MovieLocate) and hit theaters on March 17, 2006. In the film, the elite boarding school, Illyria, feels more like a college setting, making the students seem more like adults than teenagers. However, the main characters are supposed to be high school students, and though their grade level is never explicitly stated, Viola's talk of playing for the UNC Tar Heels insinuates that she and her peers are meant to be in the senior class. Despite portraying teens in She's the Man, most of the cast were at least a couple of years older, including Bynes and Tatum.

Channing Tatum Was 25 Years Old When Filming She's The Man

Duke Was 17 to 18 Years Old In She's The Man

Though his character is supposed to be in high school, Channing Tatum was already in his mid-20s by the time he played Duke in She's the Man. Born on April 26, 1980, Tatum was 25 years old when She's the Man was filmed in the summer of 2005. That gives him a seven or eight-year age gap with Duke, who would be around 17 or 18 years old in the movie.

Tatum's age almost cost him the role of Duke in She's the Man. According to Amanda Bynes, the producers weren't sure about casting Tatum, who was relatively new to acting, because he was so much older than the character and the rest of the younger cast (via Paper). However, Bynes "totally fought for Channing" to be cast in the movie, insisting that his age didn't matter and that he was a "star" and "every girl will love him." Since She's the Man, Channing Tatum's movies have included the G.I. Joe movies, the Step Up franchise, the 21 Jump Street films, the Magic Mike trilogy, Foxcatcher, and The Hateful Eight.

Amanda Bynes Was 19 Years Old When Filming She's The Man

Viola Was 17 to 18 Years Old In She's The Man

Amanda Bynes was much closer in age to her character than Channing Tatum when they filmed She's the Man in the summer of 2005. Born on April 3, 1986, Bynes was 19 years old when she played Viola, who, like Duke, was supposed to be around 17 or 18 years old. She and Tatum even share April birthdays, with her earlier date and later birth year making her just shy of six years younger than Tatum.

What Happened To Amanda Bynes?

Amanda Bynes was in several big teen comedies in the 2000s, but since Easy A in 2010, she has disappeared from Hollywood. What is she doing now?

Unlike Tatum, Bynes was a child actor and had been working in the industry since she was seven years old. She got her big break at 10 years old with Nickelodeon when she was cast in All That in 1996 and her spinoff, The Amanda Show, in 1999. By the time she starred in She's the Man, Amanda Bynes had many memorable roles and 12 years of acting experience under her belt. Before Bynes retired from acting for good in 2010, she went on to star in such films as Hairspray, Sydney White, and her last film, Easy A.

Sources: MovieLocate, Paper