Channing Tatum says '21 Jump Street' increased his confidence as a comedic actor.

The 34-year-old hunk - who is best known for his straight action roles in films such as 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' and 'White House Down' and occasional romantic parts - reprises his role as undercover cop Greg Jenko opposite Jonah Hill's Morton Schmidt '22 Jump Street', the sequel to the 2012 box office hit.

Channing admits the original comedy/action movie gave him the opportunity to show on screen that he can be funny.

Speaking in Empire magazine, he explained: ''I was known for love stories and action movies and I guess it gave me a lot of confidence that as long as I was being helped along by the boys and Jonah that I could be funny.''

Director Phil Lord insists there was a more relaxed atmosphere on set while shooting the sequel compared to the nervousness that surrounded the first film which was based on the 1987 TV series of the same name.

Lord said: ''I think we were actually, if anything, more relaxed (making the second film). The first time around we were all asking ourselves, 'Is this really a good idea, making something based on an 80s TV drama?' This time around it's much more, 'Everybody is back together and we're having fun.' ''