Channing Tatum Regrets Turning Down Guillermo del Toro’s Beauty and the Beast – Calls It His Biggest Career Mistake

The actor admits family pressures and a grueling schedule led him to decline the Beast role, a decision he still regrets as del Toro’s vision never reached the screen.

Channing Tatum has revealed what he considers the biggest mistake of his acting career: saying no to Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. In a recent Vanity Fair profile with co-star Kirsten Dunst, Tatum confessed that he passed on the opportunity because of timing, and it’s a decision that continues to weigh on him.

Tatum explained that at the time, he had just become a father, was juggling a punishing work schedule, and felt the script wasn’t quite ready. “I was just in a place in my head where I couldn’t do it,” he admitted. “It was the biggest mistake, because I’m the biggest Guillermo fan ever. Guillermo doing Beauty and the Beast would’ve been the sickest movie ever.”

Dunst asked if del Toro ever made the film, to which Tatum replied that the filmmaker didn’t—adding that del Toro always has countless projects he’s eager to pursue. “I’ll probably never forgive myself on that one,” Tatum said, though he hopes they will collaborate in the future.

Back in 2012, del Toro was indeed attached to direct a live-action version of Beauty and the Beast with Emma Watson in talks to star. However, he stepped away in 2014, and the project eventually went ahead under director Bill Condon.

Today, del Toro is focused on another classic tale. His highly anticipated Frankenstein adaptation—starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth—recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a 14-minute standing ovation.