Back in 2009, Channing starred as Duke in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra — but he really didn’t want to do it.
In the past, Channing has gone as far as to say he “fucking hates” the movie, and now, he’s sharing just how much he tried to get out of it.
While recently taking a lie detector test for Vanity Fair, Channing admitted that he tried to turn down the movie multiple times.
“The first one I passed on seven times, but they had an option on me, and I had to do the movie,” Channing shared.
When it came to the sequel, Channing confirmed that he specifically asked to be killed off within the first 10 minutes.
“So, the second one, I obviously just didn’t want to do that one either,” Channing said, adding that he has no regrets about being killed off.
Channing has previously opened up about the films, explaining how he was “pushed” into taking on the role because of a three-picture deal.
“Time goes by [after signing the deal] and you get other jobs and you’re building your quote and you have a dream job you want to do,” Channing said. “And…the studio calls up, and they’re like, ‘Hey, we got a movie for you, we’re going to send it to you.’ And they send it to you, and it’s G.I. Joe.”
He added, “The script wasn’t any good…and [I] didn’t want to do something that was, one, bad and, two, I just didn’t know if I wanted to be G.I. Joe.”
While Channing wasn’t able to get out of the first film, he thankfully was able to avoid the majority of the sequel.
