Channing Tatum has revealed he came close to playing his hero Genghis Khan in a 2007 movie.

Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano landed the lead in Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan, but Tatum admits he was considered by Russian director Sergey Bodrov.

The Magic Mike star tells The Hollywood Reporter, "We met... At that time, he hadn't decided he was going to use an Asian actor because Genghis Khan is rumoured to have had freckles and green eyes and red hair, because he was more from northern Mongolia. Back in the day, the Mongolians didn't have the dark features they have today.

"He (Bodrov) gave me a book on him (Genghis Khan) and I've been obsessed with him since then."