Channing Tatum is mourning the death of his childhood friend, saying it has reminded him that “you never know what’s next”.

The Magic Mike actor, 38, said Corey Vaughn was his first best friend after his family moved to Pascagoula, Mississippi, when he was six.

He wrote on Instagram: “My very first best friend Corey Vaughn left this world for the next this Tuesday the 21st. Man there’s so much to say.

“I’ll never forget his crazy ass and how he stuck up for and protected me when I first moved to Mississippi. He’d a fought anybody. All the laughs and trouble we go in.

“I’ll never be able to see that smile of his again in this life. And it just made me need to remind everybody don’t put off anything. Seeing a friend, or even calling or texting. You never know what’s next.

“Corey would have want us to laugh and raise hell in his wake and have as much joy as anyone can make. He sure did. And I’ll forever miss ya man. Love ya my brother.”

Tatum also shared a photo of him and his friend on the football field when they were children.