Channing Tatum is "so happy" Amanda Bynes is back on track after a difficult few years.

Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum

The actor has praised his 'She's The Man' co-star - who has revealed she pushed for producers to cast him in the 2006 rom-com when he was still unknown - and said he is glad she is doing better after taping a few years out of the spotlight to overcome her personal issues.

Speaking to 'Entertainment Tonight', he said: "I love her and I just hope she's doing well... I'm so happy she's killing it again and just back on the right.

"She's so talented and so special. She's been doing it... I mean, I think it's so impossible when you start at such a young age to keep perspective. It's tough."

The 'Magic Mike' star went on to praise Amanda - who has been sober for four years after slipping into substance abuse issues - for always being fun to be around and sent his love to the 32-year-old actress.

He added: "She was just so alive. You never knew what was going to come out her mouth, she was just on fire... I haven't seen her in so long. I love you, Amanda, and I hope you're doing well."

Amanda had explained how she fought to have Channing cast alongside her in the movie because she knew he had star quality.

She told Paper magazine: "I totally fought for Channing [to get cast in] that movie because he wasn't famous yet. He'd just done a Mountain Dew commercial and I was like, 'This guy's a star -- every girl will love him!'

"But [the producers] were like, 'He's so much older than all of you!' And I was like, 'It doesn't matter! Trust me!' "

But the actress also recalled how she fell into a "deep depression" after the shoot because she hated the way she looked when her character, Viola Johnson, posed as her twin brother Sebastian.

She admitted: "It was an interesting experience [afterwards]. When the movie came out and I saw it, I went into a deep depression for four to six months because I didn't like how I looked when I was a boy.

"I've never told anyone that. [It was] a super strange and out-of-body experience. It just really put me into a funk."

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