Channing Tatum to star in stripper film

G.I. Joe star Channing Tatum will play the lead role in a new film inspired by his life as a 19 year-old male stripper.

Tatum, who has previously said that he is not ashamed of his stripper past, will play the titular character in Magic Mike, a film that will see Tatum reunited with his Haywire director Steven Soderbergh.

"This was a wild and pivotal time in my life and I couldn't be more thrilled to go down the rabbit hole with Steven [Soderbergh]," Tatum said in a statement announcing the film.

"When Channing talked to me about this I thought it was one of the best ideas I'd ever heard for a movie," Soderbergh explained, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I said I wanted in immediately.

"We're using Saturday Night Fever as our model, so hopefully we're on the right track."

Soderbergh recently announced plans to retire from the film industry after his next few projects, which include a remake of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. starring George Clooney and a biopic of eccentric pianist Liberace starring Michael Douglas.

No start date has been announced for production on Magic Mike.