Tyler Gage in Step Up: Who He Is and Who Plays Him

Tyler Gage is a gifted street dancer from a rough part of Baltimore, played by Channing Tatum in Step Up (2006), directed by Anne Fletcher. He gets by with his two friends, Mac Carter (Damaine Radcliff) and Skinny Carter (De'Shawn Washington). The story begins after the three trash part of the Maryland School of the Arts and Tyler is ordered to clean the school as community service.

So, is Channing Tatum the "real name" people are looking for? Yes. Tyler Gage is the character and Tatum is the actor, billed first in the 2006 cast list. The same list credits Alyson Stoner as Camille Gage, a dancer who shares Tyler's surname. No studio or trade source says how the two are related, so the sister question has no sourced answer. Camille later returns in step up 3d and step up all in, where her story is tied to Moose.

As for his age, the film describes Tyler as a Baltimore teen, and neither the studio nor the trades have published an exact number. The production was known for a time as Music High, with Sexy Dance as an alternate title, which hints at the pitch: a street dancer meets a ballet student and each has to learn the other's language.

Tyler is also the franchise's starting point. If you are new to the saga, the step up movies in order page shows where his two films sit, and the step up characters page lists everyone else.

Tyler's most important relationship is with Nora Clark, played by Jenna Dewan, and the rest of his circle shapes who he becomes around her. Nora is a senior ballet student, and the film turns on whether two very different dancers can meet in the middle. Their story is covered in more detail on the nora step up page.

Mac Carter is one of his two friends and, with Skinny, makes up the trio that starts the story. Skinny's death is what finally breaks that circle, and Mac is pushed to rethink his choices alongside Tyler. Director Gordon, played by Rachel Griffiths, runs the school and holds the power to give Tyler a way out of his old life.

There are rivals and old ties as well. Nora's ex, Brett Dolan, betrays their friend Miles Darby to help his own music career, and that betrayal is part of why Nora ends things with him. Andrew, her injured partner, is the person Tyler steps in for and later feels displaced by.

In the sequel, his bond is with Andie West, whom he pushes to audition, and she goes on to appear in step up all in too. You can read her profile at andie step up. Camille Gage shares his surname and, from the third film onward, is closely tied to moose step up.

In my opinion, Tyler's best moments come from the structure of Step Up (2006), where each step into the school costs him something. It could be argued that the strongest is the first one: stepping in for the injured Andrew. A teenager sentenced to mop floors ends up learning a ballet student's routine, and the film earns the idea that talent can look like trouble from the outside.

The second is the decision to widen Nora's piece into a group number with younger dancers from the school. It turns a two person duet into an ensemble, and, as such, it foreshadows the crew based stories that define the later films. I would argue this is the series' blueprint: a leader who makes room for others.

The third is the return for the showcase after Skinny's death. Tyler has every reason to stay away, and, perhaps more than any dance number, that choice defines him. His acceptance by Director Gordon feels earned because the story has shown what he nearly lost.

A smaller but telling moment comes in Step Up 2: The Streets, when he talks Andie into auditioning. He becomes the person who once got a chance and now passes one along. That being said, which dancer is the best in the series is a matter of taste, and the page on best step up dance scenes and the step up movies ranked page make the case for the choreography and the films. If you are choosing tonight's film for a teen, start with the step up cast page to see who returns, then press play on the first film.