Born in Des Moines, Iowa the son of a carpenter Tatum first experienced the "art of filmmaking" in high school. With the help of his best friend they took it upon themselves to create a remake of the classic film Hoosiers by cutting footage the old fashioned way - from VCR to VCR. After going off to college to play football, Tatum eventually wound up in the theatre department and on stage for the first time in a small original play called Heirlooms. The play was a drama and Tatum's character proved to be the comic relief of the piece. After that first performance on stage and hearing the audience responding with laughter in all the right places...he was hooked. Upon graduating the move to Los Angeles took place 3 weeks later and he's been there pursuing ever since. He started his own production company, Cross Light Productions, in 2001 to create material and projects for himself and has been seen in a variety of commercials, television shows and films.