'Dear John' stars talk on-screen sparks

“Dear John” may be the latest tearjerker chick flick in a long line of Nicholas Sparks books turned into movies (“The Notebook,” “A Walk to Remember”), but not every Sparks movie stars a bona fide action hero—“G.I. Joe’s” Channing Tatum—and an Abba-singing starlet, Amanda Seyfried of “Mamma Mia.”

In “Dear John,” which hits theaters Friday, Tatum plays John Tyree, a soldier who meets and falls in love with Amanda Seyfried’s Savannah Curtis while on leave from the Army. They’re serious roles for the two actors, but they weren’t so serious last week when TheMash interviewed them here in Chicago. As we sat down at a downtown hotel, Seyfried was mostly tired and hungry after a long week of promoting her film.

“I just ate half a frozen pizza,” Seyfried said while knitting a hat for a friend. “No, I mean, it’s actually frozen.”

Here’s what else the stars had to say about the film, life on set and how they created their steamy on-screen chemistry.

What attracted you to your role?
Amanda Seyfried: It was my first opportunity to play a romantic lead, and part of the reason I’m acting is because I’ve always been inspired by Claire Danes in “Romeo + Juliet.” When I was younger, I would put my hair back and pretend I was her looking though the fish tank. It was really lame.

Channing Tatum: John. I feel like he’s just a big baby and he’s trying to learn what it is to be a man. He’s doing it in any way he can. He goes in the military to find a family and the skills he needs to become a man, and then he meets a woman, which is the next step to becoming a full human being.

Were there any funny moments on the set?
CT: We had so much fun. (Director) Lasse Hallstrom directed a lot of the Abba videos, and obviously, our costar (Seyfried) was in an Abba movie. They would always look up the videos on YouTube.

How did you create that on-screen chemistry?
AS: In order to do all these love scenes and portray being in love without actually being in love, you have to respect and trust each other. We took all the seriousness out of the day and threw it all into those scenes. When the cameras weren’t rolling we’d just fool around. I’m surprised we got anything done.

What was the most difficult scene to film?
AS: The scene in the barn after we hadn’t seen each other for a couple years. Lasse asked us to improvise, and at one point, we just didn’t know what we were doing. I was still confused to how many years had gone by.

Channing, how did you prepare for all those shirtless scenes in the film?
CT: I just ran. Now, I’m not anywhere near how I look on-screen. I really want people to know that it’s just a thing you do for a movie. I like food—and I don’t like working out, just like everybody else. You have to just find that thing that makes working out fun.

Nicholas Sparks’ novels already have huge fan bases, and his books-turned-movies have already been huge hits at the box office. Did you feel any pressure to please the fans and give the book justice?
AS: I didn’t, actually. “The Notebook” is one of my favorite movies, but this book is different from [Nicholas Sparks’] other love stories. It’s touching on real matters that we’re dealing with in society. Everybody can relate in some way.

Did you read the book “Dear John” before shooting the movie?
CT: Yes. Temple hill sent the book over before it was a screenplay, and they wanted me to read it. I just fell in love with John. Then, I got to be on the front side of helping to pick the writer, going through all the different drafts [of the screenplay] and helping to find a director that would bring the book to life in the perfect way.

AS: No. I knew Savannah in the book was a lot more specific. I think they wanted to make her more relatable and less judgmental [in the movie]. Somebody sent me the book, but I already knew the story.

Channing, you were previously involved in “G.I. Joe” which is an action type movie and now “Dear John” which is a romantic love story. Which type of role do you prefer to play?
CT: Personally, I prefer the “Dear John’s” of the world. “G.I. Joe was fun, but I think it’s more emotionally satisfying to do “Dear John.” It’s a little more connectable. You’re not talking about nanomites or world domination. You’re handling even more complex things like love. It’s an enigma, and exploring that is really exciting.

What did you find most challenging about your role?
AS: Aging. You have to really rethink your character who the audience hasn’t seen for several years. That was really difficult. I had to wrap my head around making her seem exhausted and older.

What was it like working with a military advisor on set?
CT: He’s great. He was actually a Special Forces soldier. Pretty much all my unit, except for four actors, were all Special Forces guys. We didn’t want the movie to feel like a war movie or a soldier film. We wanted it to be about two kids falling in love for the first time.