In the new Freevee rom-com Puppy Love, Lucy Hale explains why her character’s puppy is called Channing Tatum. While, Mark Ruffalo and Mutt Damon were two other names considered for the dog.
Puppy Love follows Nicole (Hale) and Max (Grant Gustin), who are dog lovers and decides not to meet again after a terrible first date. However, Nicole’s dog falls in love with Max’s dog, causing the duo to socialize more frequently.
In an interview with TVInsider, Hale was questioned why her dog’s character was named Channing Tatum, and she said that the name was picked from a long list of possible celebrity-themed names. However, Channing Tatum was the ultimate decision, partly because it provided fodder for multiple speech gags in the film.
“So we had a lot of names that we went through, but there were a couple of scenes that unfortunately didn’t make the cut of the movie that fill in that blank. But it’s kind of funny that the first time you hear, it is Grant saying, ‘Oh, this must be Channing Tatum,’ when we meet. And you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’ But some of the other ones ranged from Mark Ruffalo to Mutt Damon. Mutt Damon is really good. I don’t know who eventually decided on Channing Tatum, but it’s pretty funny. There are a lot of one-liners with the name that makes it hysterical.”
While it may appear to be a strange name for a pet, it is a long-standing Hollywood custom. Leading ladies, especially in romantic comedies, have a penchant of giving their dogs odd or funny names. One of the examples comes from Katherine Heigl’s character Abby in The Ugly Truth, who had a cat called D’Artagnan after one of the characters in The Three Musketeers.
