CHANNING TATUM FAN ENCOUNTER: Chan and His Fan’s on Vacation in Mexico

Recently, I posted a great Picture of the Week showing Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan on vacation at the LG Villa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Fans asked if I had any other photos from the trip and I had to tell them no, until now that is…

Thanks to Fabulous Channing Tatum Fans Brigette and Abby (who as luck may have it were vacationing at the same time as Chan), we have more pics.

The two fans definitely got a little more then they planned on their Cabo San Lucas Vacation two weeks ago. They not only came back with some nice tans, they also brought back some great pictures of Channing Tatum as he graciously took photos with them upon their arrival to the vacation spot.

Here’s what Brigette had to say about their unplanned encounter with Chan:

On Aug 16, 2008 some friends and I arrived in San Jose del Cabo and we had a few hours to kill before we could check into our hotel so we decided to walk down to the beach and then head to the Mega Mart (like Wal Mart) to get supplies for our stay. When we walked in my friend Abby said that she just saw Channing and I didn’t believe her, of course she made me go with her to where he was and sure enough it was him. We asked him if we could take a couple of pics with him and of course he said yes and began to pose while his driver took our photos. Of course we cut up and had fun, and afterwards Abby claimed that we could go home now that that was the highlight of her vacation. It was a very positive encounter and Channing is a kind soul.

Brigette K
Tomah, WI

Here’s some more great photos of Brigette, Abby, and Chan in Mexico:

New Photos of Channing Tatum and Girlfriend Jenna Dewan at the Opening of ROK Vegas

Thanks to Fabulous Chenna Fan Sonia for letting me know that new photos had been posted of Channing Tatum and girlfriend Jenna Dewan from this past Saturday’s MySpace Celebrity Presents Katy Perry at the opening of ROK Vegas at the New York, New York Hotel And Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In addition to Chan and Jenna, the star-studded event was also attended by celebs like Haylie Duff, Nick Zano, ‘Prom Night’ stars Brittany Snow and Jessica Stroup; One Tree Hill actor Michael Copon; Desperate Housewives actor and Jenna’s ‘The Jerk Theory‘ co-star Josh Henderson; John Wilkes, from Red Jumpsuit Apparatus; Sean Huze and Jamie Chung from MTV’s The Real World: San Diego.

TheVegasEye.com also says that later in the night, partiers at PURE Nightclub inside Caesars Palace were in for a treat as Haylie Duff, Nick Zano, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan swung by to soak in the scene at Sin City’s sexiest spot. The couples had a table on the main stage of the club where they danced and mingled with nearby fans for the majority of the night.

You all can check out more photos of Channing, Jenna, Haylie, and Nick arriving on the ROK Vegas event’s pink carpet and inside the event below:

CHANNING TATUM VIDEO OF THE WEEK: New Channing Tatum PSA for Rock4Change.org

Join Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, and many other celebrities at the upcoming benefit concert that is being held to help to put an end to the genocide, suffering and atrocities in Darfur & Uganda. Fans can show their support by attending the benefit concert and by helping us spread the word about it.

Even if you can’t attend the event, showing your support is really easy. In our latest CTU contest, fans can get a chance at winning Channing Tatum’s autograph if you go to Rock4Change.org’s MySpace profile and add them as a top friend. CLICK HERE to get all of the contest details before the quickly approaching September 1st entry deadline. I would also like to thank fans that are sending out bulletins to your friends on MySpace to help promote the event and the cause.

Another PSA has been released and fans can now check out Channing Tatum in the newest Rock4Change.org public service announcement that also features Randy Couture, Flea, Ludacris and James Denton. Enjoy!!!

If you haven’t seen the other video’s that also feature Jenna Dewan, you can CLICK HERE to watch all of the PSA’s that have been released by Rock4Change.org.

The goal of the Rock4Change benefit concert on Thursday, September 4th at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California is to fund the Reforestation Project in Darfur via the work of “Aid Still Required” and to also fund the Clean Springs Campaign in Uganda through the work of “Hands Across Nations”. These projects provide life saving and life changing solutions for the people of Darfur & Uganda. You can CLICK HERE to learn even more about the event and to read a really good article on how and why the organizers created Rock4Change.

Rock4Change empowers & inspires a new generation of activism through the entertainment industry, and in doing so will raise funds and awareness for important social issues that need our attention. Each one of us has the opportunity and the responsibility to use our voice to make a difference. Partnering with the biggest names in music, film, television, and sports, they shine a spotlight on worthwhile causes to motivate people across the globe to do their part to affect positive change. They invite all of us to be a part of the worldwide movement.

Fans can CLICK HERE to get your tickets and join Chan, Jenna, and I at the star-studded event!!!

Channing Tatum and Girlfriend Jenna Dewan Featured on People.com

Fans always love candid photos of our favorite couple Chenna, and I’m sure today’s cute pic of longtime couple Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan will be not different.

The happy couple was snapped by photogs out and about in Beverly Hills on Sunday, and People.com has decided to feature them in their Star Tracks article today.

Fans can click on the image to check it out for yourself at People.com and you can CLICK HERE to see and/or download the photo.

Thanks to my best friend Lis and CTU readers Jan and Brandi for the heads up on People’s post.

CHANNING TATUM VIDEO AND PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Thanks for the Happy Birthday Wishes!!!

Each week Channing Tatum Unwrapped will post one or more of our favorite pictures and videos of the uber hot Channing Tatum.

Today’s Video of the Week was submitted by Fabulous Channing Tatum Fans and longtime CTU readers Naz, Marlie, Kerline, Brad, Brandi, Alex, Jan, Vienna, Allison, Liz, Faith, Anita, Ayshi, and Erin and the Picture of the Week was submitted by Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan and resident CTU artist Brad as a birthday gift to me.

I really want to thank everyone mentioned above for the awesome drawing and video you see below and I’d also like to thank everyone who has taken the time to wish me happy birthday today. It really means a lot to me!!!

Before I go on, I would like to clear up one thing. Ever since I made my annual birthday/contest post earlier today, there has been some confusion. Some fans are thinking that today is Channing’s birthday. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page…Channing Tatum’s birthday is April 26th. The birthday we’re celebrating today is my birthday. In case you’re new to CTU, I am Q (aka CTU’s webmaster) and the girl on the left in the picture with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan and in Brad’s awesome drawing below.

Fans can also check out the incredible video that readers created for me below:

Thanks again to everyone for your wonderful gifts!! They mean the world to me!!!

CHANNING TATUM PICTURES OF THE WEEK: Chenna at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards

Each week Channing Tatum Unwrapped will post one or more of our favorite pictures of the uber hot Channing Tatum.

Today’s Picture of the Week was submitted by Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Angie and is one of the many photos taken of Channing Tatum and his beautiful girlfriend Jenna Dewan (aka our favorite couple Chenna) on the blue carpet at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards a few weeks ago.

Here’s why Angie chose this photo as her favorite pic:

“Well…when I found that picture on Irresistible Jenna Dewan, I felt that I must share it with you and with all of Chenna’s fans.

I love that picture so much because it’s so beautiful the way they look at each other. You can feel their love for each other in that picture - it pictures what you said about them during your dinner together ‘they would just look at each other and it was like there was no one else in the room.’ And, the way they are holding hands is so cute…awwww… They’re so lucky to have each other. Thanks for the good work Q.”

- Angie

Big thanks to Angie for submitting the great photo! Fans can CLICK HERE to see tons more photos of the couple at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards.

If you have a favorite picture from this blog, our photo gallery, a picture you have made or a picture that you have found on the net that you would like me to consider, send the picture or a link to the picture to potw@channingtatumunwrapped.com and tell me why you like it. I will post it and your explanation on the blog. If you like or don’t like today’s picture (for some completely insane reason), let everyone know that too by clicking on the comments link below.

New Photos of Jenna Dewan at ‘The House Bunny’ Premiere

Honestly, I think it’s impossible for Channing Tatum’s girlfriend Jenna Dewan to look anything but gorgeous, and her appearance at last night’s premiere of Anna Faris and Katharine McPhee’s new comedy ‘The House Bunny’ (which hits theaters this weekend) didn’t show anything to the contrary.

Since he has not shown up in any photos that I can find, it seems that Channing was not able to attend this particular premiere that was held at the Mann’s Village Theater in Westwood, California with Jenna, but we have tons of new ultra high quality pictures of his adorable girlfriend and her equally flawless best friend, ‘Entourage’ starlet Emmanuelle Chriqui, on the event’s pink carpet. Enjoy!!!

Fans can CLICK HERE to see a slideshow with a lot more gorgeous photos of Jenna Dewan from the premiere in the ever-growing Channing Tatum Unwrapped Photo Gallery.

CHANNING TATUM VIDEO OF THE WEEK: New Channing Tatum & Jenna Dewan PSA for Rock4Change.org

Check out Channing Tatum and his girlfriend Jenna Dewan in the new Rock4Change public service announcement that also features EMMY nominated choreographer Shane Sparks from MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” & FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance”, Layla Kayleigh from “ABDC” and Danielle Savre from “Bring It On 2″. Enjoy!!!

Here’s how you can help…

Fans can show their support by attending the benefit concert and by helping us spread the word about it. Go to Rock4Change.org’s MySpace profile to add them as a top friend and to see how you can join Channing, Jenna and many other celebrities at the upcoming benefit concert that is being held to help to put an end to the genocide, suffering and atrocities in Darfur & Uganda.

The goal of the Rock4Change Benefit Concert on Thursday, September 4th at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, is to fund the Reforestation Project in Darfur via the work of “Aid Still Required” and to also fund the Clean Springs Campaign in Uganda through the work of “Hands Across Nations”. These projects provide life saving and life changing solutions for the people of Darfur & Uganda.

Rock4Change empowers & inspires a new generation of activism through the entertainment industry, and in doing so will raise funds and awareness for important social issues that need our attention. Each one of us has the opportunity and the responsibility to use our voice to make a difference. Partnering with the biggest names in music, film, television, and sports, they shine a spotlight on worthwhile causes to motivate people across the globe to do their part to affect positive change. They invite all of us to be a part of the worldwide movement.

And don’t forget that you can still win a FREE pair of tickets to the event from Channing Tatum’s official site ChanningTatumUnwrapped.com. The deadline is less than 2 days away, so CLICK HERE to learn how you can quickly enter!!

CHANNING TATUM PICTURES OF THE WEEK: Chan and Jenna on Vacation in Mexico

Each week Channing Tatum Unwrapped will post one or more of our favorite pictures of the uber hot Channing Tatum.

Today’s Picture of the Week is a beautiful photo of vacationing Channing Tatum and girlfriend Jenna Dewan as they pose for a promotional photo at the LG Villa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this past weekend.

Since both of them are scheduled to start filming their next projects in September (’Dear John‘ and then ‘Parkour‘ after that for Chan and ‘Virgin on Bourbon Street‘ for Jenna), it’s good to see that they had a chance to get away for a little while before things get really hectic next month.

If you have a favorite picture from this blog, our photo gallery, a picture you have made or a picture that you have found on the net that you would like me to consider, send the picture or a link to the picture to potw@channingtatumunwrapped.com and tell me why you like it. I will post it and your explanation on the blog. If you like or don’t like today’s picture (for some completely insane reason), let everyone know that too by clicking on the comments link below.

CTU EXCLUSIVE: My Dinner with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan

Every time something amazing happens here at CTU, something else seems to top it, so I am now a true believer that anything is possible in this world. My dinner with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan last week definitely would fall in the category of the seemingly impossible, but it really did happen and as you can see on this post, I even have pictures to prove it!!!

Just to recap for any new readers…last week I went to Los Angeles, California to visit my best friend and while I was there, I hung out with ‘Stop-Loss’ director Kimberly Pierce, had a ball at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, spent an incredible day with Chan’s mom Kay, and topped off my trip with a fantastic dinner at a local LA hot spot with Channing Tatum and his girlfriend Jenna Dewan (aka Chenna).

Believe it or not, the dinner almost didn’t happen, because I was supposed to fly back home on Tuesday, August 5th. As luck may have it, an extremely small and fast moving storm decided to hit my hometown that day, so I postponed my departure to Wednesday to avoid any potential run ins with mother nature. Because of that day delay, it thankfully allowed me to have dinner with Chan and Jenna Tuesday night.

I had spoken to Chan the day before when I was hanging out with his mom, and he told me to call him the next day so we could try to meet up before I left. I called and left a message and Jenna called me back to see if I wanted to go to a restaurant called STK. Ironically, this was the same restaurant that I had taken my best friend to a couple of nights before.

Although I didn’t know when I made my reservations weeks ahead to make sure we would be able to get in, I learned from Jenna that STK is actually one of their favorite restaurants. If you’ve ever eaten there, then you totally know why, because the food and service are amazing. I went both with and with celebrities in tow and the people there were awesome. I’d like to give a shout to David and Chad! They were the best host and waiter EVER!!! OK back to the story…

Jenna offered to make reservations some place else, but since my best friend and I loved the restaurant so much, I was excited to go again. It was beyond surreal to think we would be going back to STK with Channing and Jenna.

Jenna had made an 8 PM reservation, and we arrived first. When I told the host that our reservation was listed under Dewan or Tatum, he looked up with a smile and said “Jenna Dewan?” and I happily told him “Yes” (trying really hard to stay cool and hold in my excitement).

We decided to wait outside in the restaurant’s small, trendy courtyard until Chan and Jenna arrived. Just a few minutes later we saw Jenna. We hugged, and she told us that Chan was running a little late from the meeting he had with the Hollywood screen legend I mentioned in my previous post. He was on his way, so we decided to go ahead and get seated while we waited for him to arrive.

We walked to the table and although I don’t think Jenna noticed, you could tell that people recognized her. One table in particular kept starring at us (and when I say US, I mean HER). We later found out why, because they came over to the table before they left. Jenna was carrying a bag and wearing a necklace she had gotten at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards gift retreat a couple of days before. The table of people actually worked for the company that provided them for the awards show, so they were totally excited that she had chosen their gifts and was wearing them.

As we were ordering our appetizers, Chan called Jenna to say he was a few minutes away. Jenna pulled out her phone to answer it, and I couldn’t help but notice the photo she used for Chan. She also turned the phone towards me so I could see the nickname. Again to protect the innocent, I’m not going to say what the name was. That’s between Jenna, Chan, and her phone, but I’ll just say that it was REALLY cute. As far as the picture she used is concerned, it seems that Jenna has the same taste in favorite Chan photos as many of us, because ironically, she chose the gorgeous ‘Stop-Loss’ promotional still to the left that fans have been drooling over since the movie released it. Seriously, can you blame her?

We ordered our appetizers and not too long after we got them, Chan arrived. The restaurant was all abuzz and people stopped him to talk to him while he tried to politely make his way to our table that was in a back corner of the restaurant. Jenna got up from the booth so they could give each other a hug and then he reached out his arms so I could do the same.

We had already received our salads, but we realized they had given me the wrong one. I had not touched it, so before taking it back, the waiter asked Chan if he wanted it. One of the things learned from Chan last year when I visited him on the set of ‘Fighting’ was that he really did not like veggies. Jenna reinforced that by quickly letting the waiter know that he did not eat anything green. Chan made what my friend and I thought was a joke by saying he was going to order beef as his appetizer and beef for his entree. We were surprised when he did just that by ordering a filet appetizer and rib eye for his entree. Needless to say, he was quite full by the end of dinner. We all were, because the food was so good.

We talked about a lot of different things during dinner, from Jenna and her family to Chan’s projects and his meeting that day to reality shows we have watched and are way too embarrassed to admit, all while Chan and Jenna sat close, holding hands. I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far without mentioning they are just the cutest and most loving couple ever. Every now and then, they would just look at each other and it was like there was no one else in the room.

At one point Chan mentioned that he often turned down chances to do talk shows or interviews, because he feels it’s important that people keep Chan the person separate from Chan the actor. Sometimes if you know too much about a person, it can be difficult to really see the character they are portraying.

As some of you may imagine, hearing him say that kind of freaked me out for a second. If you’ve been reading CTU for any period of time, then you know the whole concept behind “Unwrapped” is to help people learn about Chan (the person AND the actor). I could potentially be a kink in his plan of anonymity, because of the nature of what I do everyday on this site.

Then it hit me. Unless this dinner was an elaborate way for him to “break up with CTU”, he’s obviously cool with what I do here, and I think we should all consider ourselves VERY lucky that both he and Jenna choose to connect with their fans through the site.

During dinner, I also learned that Chan is in the process of trying to learn Korean, because he is going to be starring in and executive producing the first Hollywood movie to ever film in South Korea. Sadly the technology gremlins struck again when he tried to install the software on his computer. Seems those gremlins never take a vacation when it comes to Chan. I may just have to get him a low-tech copy of a book that teaches Korean.

At some point, a hostess let us know that she had reserved a place for us in the exclusive lounge called Coco De Ville that is attached to the restaurant. It was getting late, but we decided to go to the lounge for a little bit after we finished dinner. The somewhat intimidating bouncer unhooked the velvet rope to let all of us in and my friend swears she saw Paris Hilton walking out as we arrived.

It was a lounge that played really great music, and we sat on an interesting bench that was suspended from the ceiling. We talked for a bit more, and I learned that Chan is currently in training for ‘Dear John‘, which is still scheduled to start filming in South Carolina next month. Jenna is also supposed to start filming her next movie ‘Virgin on Bourbon Street’ in September too.

We did not stay in the lounge for long. Chan, the gentleman that he is, asked us for our valet tickets so he could take care of them and we headed out to get our cars. As we walked passed the paparazzi right outside the restaurant, Chan and Jenna kept their heads down so we could walk past them without a hailstorm of flashes.

We were almost home free and then someone must have tipped them off, because they all came rushing after us. Like a scene in a movie, I just started seeing tons of flashes and hearing all of the clicks from the cameras. Fans came up to get autographs and photos with them, and they were happy to oblige. As you saw in my last post, both Chan and Jenna are so awesome with fans. They both gave me a big hug once our cars arrived, and we said our goodbyes.

I want to thank Chan and Jenna for inviting us to dinner and for taking the time to hang out with us. I can guarantee that I will never forget that night, and I definitely hope we get to have many more good times like that in the coming years.

One of the other things that I was really happy to learn at dinner is related to the new Rock4Change benefit concert that Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan have decided to support. It was great to hear about it, because one of my goals for CTU this year is to get involved with one or more charities.

Rock4Change empowers & inspires a new generation of activism through the entertainment industry, and in doing so will raise funds and awareness for important social issues that need our attention. Each one of us has the opportunity and the responsibility to use our voice to make a difference. Partnering with the biggest names in music, film, television, and sports, the organization shines a spotlight on worthwhile causes to motivate people across the globe to do their part to affect change. They invite all of us to be a part of the worldwide movement and know that together we can rock to change the world.

For the first time in ten years, the MTV Video Music Awards will take place in Los Angeles and the biggest names in music will descend upon Hollywood for the festivities. With all of the amazing talent together in the same city Rock4Change has decided to produce the ultimate party with a purpose. The goal of the event is to raise awareness and financial support for two incredible non-profit organizations who are doing life saving and life changing work in Africa, specifically to help end the atrocities in Darfur and Uganda.

The event will bring together some of the biggest names in music, TV, film and sports for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of music, dance and the power of the human spirit. Rock4Change will feature performances by Grammy award winning artists, an original piece on the evolution of dance by award-winning choreographer Shane Sparks, video presentations from the charities, an awards presentation and many more surprises.

Jenna Dewan & Channing Tatum are going to be presenters at the benefit concert and together will introduce an incredible piece that EMMY nominated choreographer Shane Sparks (”America’s Best Dance Crew” & “So You Think You Can Dance”) is putting together on the fusion of African dance & Hip Hop.

Channing will film his public service announcement (PSA) on Friday, and I will post it on the site soon. You can watch Jenna’s PSA for the event below with Ludacris, James Franco, Flea, and Greg Grunberg:

If you are going to be in Los Angeles, California on September 4, 2008, then I encourage you to join Channing, Jenna, me, a long list of celebrities, and other supporters at the Rock4Change Fall concert event. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from ticket sales for the star studded benefit concert will fund the reforestation project in Darfur through “Aid Still Required” and the work “Hands Across Nations” does to support some of the 1 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS in Uganda. You can CLICK HERE to buy your tickets to the event.

Thanks to Rock4Change I am able to give away two FREE tickets to the concert to one lucky Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan fan. If you can attend the event and would like to win the tickets, then here’s what you need to do to enter the contest:

1) CLICK HERE to quickly signup for the Channing Tatum Unwrapped newsletter where you will get a daily email with any articles I have posted in the last 24 hours. If you don’t want to miss out on any juicy Channing Tatum and/or Jenna Dewan news, then the newsletter is the best way to go. If you are already subscribed to the newsletter, then you can skip to step #2.

2) Send me an email from the address you used to sign up for the newsletter to contests@channingtatumunwrapped.com with “Rock4Change” in the subject, your mailing address and phone number in the body of the email, and an explanation of why you would like to win the tickets. I have another contest running right now, so it’s important that you have the correct subject on your email.

Each fan can enter the contest one time. Please do not submit multiple entries, because only your first submission will be used. The winner of the contest will be announced on this Saturday, August 23, 2008, so please submit your entries by the end of the day on Friday, August 22, 2008 to try to win the prize. Good luck everyone!!!!

New Photos and Video of Channing Tatum and Girlfriend Jenna Dewan at Madeo’s Restaurant

I will be posting my last LA trip article about my dinner with Channing Tatum and his adorable girlfriend Jenna Dewan, but in the mean time, I found some more new photos and a video of the our favorite couple Chenna leaving popular restaurant Madeo in West Hollywood on August 12, 2008. Enjoy!!!

Below you can check out the X17Online video showing Chan and Jenna interacting with fans outside the restaurant:

CHANNING TATUM PICTURES OF THE WEEK: Date Night for Chan and Jenna at Beso

Each week Channing Tatum Unwrapped will post one or more of our favorite pictures of the uber hot Channing Tatum.

Today’s Picture of the Week was taken by X17Online on August 11, 2008 when Channing Tatum and longtime girlfriend Jenna Dewan went to Eva Longoria Parker’s (of “Desperate Housewives” fame) hot new restaurant Beso on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

If you have a favorite picture from this blog, our photo gallery, a picture you have made or a picture that you have found on the net that you would like me to consider, send the picture or a link to the picture to potw@channingtatumunwrapped.com and tell me why you like it. I will post it and your explanation on the blog. If you like or don’t like today’s picture (for some completely insane reason), let everyone know that too by clicking on the comments link below.

CTU EXCLUSIVE: Learn About Channing Tatum Through the Eyes of His Mom Kay

If you’ve been reading CTU for a while, then you know it was a little over a year ago when I received a surprising and extremely sweet email from Channing Tatum’s mom Kay thanking me for the site and letting me know that the family read it to keep up with Chan’s career. It was so incredible, flattering, and unbelievable, and Kay even started sending in Pictures of the Week, baby photos, and exclusive info on Chan’s upcoming projects both before and after Chan made CTU his official site.

Through all of our emails over the past year, I’m glad to say that Kay and I formed a friendship, so one of the things I was most looking forward to on my recent trip to LA was to finally meet Chan’s family in person. As I write this post, it’s hard for me to stop smiling, because my day with Kay and my dinner with Chan and Jenna the next day were hands down my favorite parts of the trip. Teen Choice was awesome, but for me, what really made the trip was to be able to spend quality time with both old and new friends.

I’ll cover my dinner with Chan and Jenna tomorrow, but in today’s post, you all get to hear about my awesome day with Mama Kay…

On Sunday, I was getting ready for the Teen Choice Awards and realized that I had missed a call on my phone. Turns out, the message was from Kay and it was great to hear her adorable southern accent for the first time. With butterflies in my stomach, I called her right back so we could make plans for the next day. Once we started talking, the butterflies were replaced with total excitement, because like Channing, she has this ability to make you feel like you’ve known her forever. It obviously runs in the family, much like their gorgeous green eyes and their love of the simple life.

The next day Kay picked me up and it was so great to finally see her in person. We gave each other a big hug in the car and started what ended up being a 10 hour gab fest on Chan, his girlfriend Jenna Dewan (who they all rightfully ADORE by the way), his family, his career, my family, my life, the site…I think you get the point. We talked about everything, and I loved every second of it.

Sadly, Chan’s dad Glenn and his sister Paige were not able to join us. Glenn had promised to help a neighbor that day and Paige had to work. Even though Paige was not able to come with us, she used her connections at a local museum to get us passes to tour around and look at the exhibits while we talked. At one point, we realized that we were doing a lot more gabbing than looking, so we grabbed a snack at a café inside the museum and stayed there until they almost had to kick us out.

After the museum, we headed on over to the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica to have dinner where (you guessed it) we talked some more and visited a local bookstore. I’m sure you’re all dying to know what we talked about for so long. To protect the innocent (or not so innocent in some cases), I can’t divulge everything, but I can share a few things I learned.

Chan’s family is very close, so his parents moved out from Florida to California a few years ago so they could be near Chan and his sister Paige. Growing up in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, Chan was an extremely active child who played and loved practically every sport, except basketball. Before the age of five Chan had had more stitches than his mom could count, but surprisingly has never broken a bone (knock on wood).

To channel all of his natural energy, Kay and Glenn enrolled Chan in karate when he was young. He was so good at it that he was able to earn his blackbelt by the age of 11. Kay also confirmed that Chan has some serious Gremlins when it comes to technology and that she’s personally seen a perfectly new Ipod plain outright refuse to work after Chan got a hold of it.

With the success that Channing has achieved in such a short period of time, it’s surprising to know that acting was not originally in the plan. Chan was hooked after he did his first international commercial for Pepsi where he plays a DJ in the famed Copacabana and has continued to hone his craft ever since then. He truly loves everything about it, immerses himself in it to learn everything that he can, is ready to flex his producing muscles with projects he has lined up, and is also writing a script with Jenna.

Not surprisingly, he’s a big old softy and Kay told me a cute story about how Chan wanted to do something special for director Anne Fletcher before he started filming ‘Step Up‘. He got it in his head that he wanted to make Anne a spirit stick for the first day of filming. Chan knew exactly what he wanted it to look like and described it to his parents so they could get everything he needed while he was in rehearsals for the movie.

Kay and Glenn being the supportive parents they are went around Baltimore finding all of the materials, but could not find the kind of stick that Chan really wanted. At some point, Chan saw what he thought would be the perfect stick on the banks of the Baltimore harbor. It was slimy and yucky, but after a bath in bleach, they are able to salvage this perfectly crooked piece of wood and make the spirit stick Chan wanted.

Chan has had a lot of great people in his life that have helped him get to where he is now. People like Sting’s wife and ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints’ producer Trudie Styler who invited studio executives over to her house just to show them footage of Chan as Antonio in ‘Saints’ before the movie was even done, which put him on the path to getting his role in ‘Stop-Loss’.

Along the way, Chan also had a very supportive acting coach who believed in him so much, she trained him without taking payment. Once he got his first big paycheck, Chan not only paid her for all of the free classes, but he asked his mom to have a special quilt made with a phrase that the teacher often used embroidered on it and to stuff the quilt with the payment. Kay had the quilt made and she and Paige stuffed the money inside so Chan could deliver it to the teacher that supported both he and Jenna as their stars were rising.

For me, a person’s true character is what they do when people aren’t looking, so I really loved the stories that Kay was telling me, because they are one of the many examples of who Chan is as a person when the cameras are not rolling. With Chan and Jenna, what you see is what you get. They are the two most non-Hollywood celebrities that you will ever find. In today’s world, it’s refreshing to know that people like that do exist, and they have their family backing them up every step of the way.

Chan told me at Teen Choice the day before that he had a couple of meetings on Monday, but we would try to have dinner. While Kay and I were at dinner, he called his mom to apologize for not being able to meet us. Incredibly, his meetings had gone so well that day that he had a follow up meeting with a Hollywood screen legend that has written a script, is planning on directing it I believe, and is considering Chan for a role. When that kind of thing happens, it’s important that actors do their homework and learn as much as they can about the person they are going to meet with, so I completely understood why he could not come to dinner that night. Chan’s mom handed me the phone so I could talk to him and it was so cute to hear how excited he was about the potential role and meeting the well-established actor that you all would recognize in a heartbeat.

It’s always great to see how Chan is not jaded with this kind of stuff. Every new milestone is met with excitement, because he’s so humble about everything. Before we got off the phone, he said that we would try to meet with me the next day before I left, so I kept my fingers crossed.

After almost 10 hours and numerous phone calls from Glenn checking on Kay to make sure I had not kidnapped her (just kidding), Kay finally dropped me off back at my bestfriend’s house. It was really late, so Glenn called one more time to check on Kay, and he told her to thank me for everything I do here at CTU.

In Kay fashion, she tells him that he can tell me himself. She hands me the phone, and he proceeds to do just that. I was so surprised to hear his slight New Orleans accent and was touched by what he had to say. I’m warning you people right now, if Chan’s parents disappear one day, he should know exactly where to check. I’m not kidding when I say that if I had enough room in my suitcase for them to comfortably fit, they would have made an unplanned trip to Houston.

I can’t thank Kay enough for spending so much time with me, for sharing her stories and her family with me, and for letting me share mine with her. I truly treasured the entire day with my new friend. I saw a kindred spirit in her and fell in love with the fact that she’s such a proud mom and that Chan’s family is so supportive of him. That support definitely goes both ways, and I’m not surprised, because he learned from the best.

In my next and final post on my incredible trip to LA, you will get to hear all about my fabulous dinner with Channing Tatum and his girlfriend Jenna Dewan.

This is post #3 in a series of 4 articles about my trip. You can CLICK HERE to read the first article that recaps my visit with ‘Stop-Loss‘ director Kimberly Peirce, CLICK HERE to read all about my adventures at the Teen Choice Awards, and CLICK HERE to read all of the articles from my trip.

And don’t forget to CLICK HERE and skip to the end of the article to learn how to enter the most recent CTU contest where you can win a VIP pass autographed by Channing Tatum and the goody bag I received at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards last week.