(Photo Credit: T, The New York Times Style Magazine)

Despite his good looks, charm and natural athletic ability, Channing Tatum did not have an easy time as a teen.

In a recent interview, the A-list actor, 34, revealed that he struggled with A.D.H.D. and dyslexia, was prescribed stimulants and did poorly in school.

"I have never considered myself a very smart person, for a lot of reasons," he told the latest edition of T, The New York Times style magazine. "Not having early success on that one path messes with you. You get lumped in classes with kids with autism and Down syndrome, and you look around and say, 'OK, so this is where I'm at.' Or you get put in the typical classes and you say, 'All right, I'm obviously not like these kids either.' So you're kind of nowhere. You're just different."

Tatum called the educational system "broken."

"If we can streamline a multibillion-dollar company, we should be able to help kids who struggle the way I did," he said in the interview.

Despite his academic challenges, the arts weren't considered an option when he was younger.

"It's just weird that for some people art is a luxury. My parents had no artistic outlet," he said of his blue-collar upbringing. "Some people pass down music to their kids, but I couldn't tell you what my mom's or dad's favorite song is."

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Still, Tatum found himself drawn to people who knew about movies, art and fashion as he became an adult. And he took to heart his mom's advice to "be a sponge."

"And so I've learned more from people than I have from school or from books," he told T.