If you’re thinking of becoming an actor but you have a tattoo, you might be wondering, “Can actors have tattoos?”
Yes, actors can have tattoos, but having tattoos can make them more suitable for some roles than for others. Some roles might ask for no visible tattoos, while others might actually ask for visible tattoos! To find out what the role requires, look at the casting breakdown (brief role description).
Before we can dive into the pros and cons of actors having tattoos, it’s essential to understand what a casting breakdown (also just called “breakdown”) is. A breakdown is the description of the film or television role that Casting Directors will create and put them out into the world to show that they’re looking for actors for that role. Typically they post these breakdowns through a breakdown service like Actors Access. Agents will usually spend a large chunk of their day looking through postings, reading the breakdowns, and submitting actors on their roster for the roles they are well suited for.
You will typically tattoos referenced in a breakdown in one of two ways: “no visible tattoos” or “visible tattoos”.
No Visible Tattoos
No visible tattoos means that as long as your tattoos can be covered up with clothing, then no one really cares. For example, I have a tattoo across my back but I can still submit for all kinds of things because no one will see that unless I’m shirtless enough that it shows, but that is pretty rare.
So, what happens if you actually have a visible tattoo?
What happens if you have tattoos on your hands or neck? Maybe you have a lot of tattoos and are curious as to whether this will leverage or hurt your career. Once again we would refer back to the breakdown.
Visible Tattoos
There will be breakdowns for things like bikers, where they’ll highlight the fact that they want people who look the part and/or who have visible tattoos. Other breakdowns might have roles for party goers at an underground club, and they’ll want people who look different/unique. Having tattoos in these situations becomes one characteristic that you can choose to highlight.
A Word of Caution for Actors with Tattoos
More often than not if casting has to choose between someone with lots of tattoos and someone who’s a really good actor, they’ll likely choose the good actor if the role calls for more than one or two lines.
I was in a role where I had to play a Latino gangbanger. The stereotype of an East LA Chicano. As I mentioned I have one tattoo on my back, but they were looking for that covered in tattoos look, so when I booked the part I essentially sat down in a chair for 2 hours every day while they put tattoos all over my upper body and face.
It was more important that I could do the part, not whether or not I looked the part. Within reason of course. I am Latino by descent, I’m also kind of lean and I had a goatee and hair long enough to slick back, so I was halfway there.
A final note, if you are reading this, and you have a lot of really visible tattoos, there is still work for you, so don’t be discouraged!
A lot of times very unique individuals covered in tattoos will, for example, find opportunities in commercials or as background actors. Typically for those roles, they only really care about one thing, how you look. It’s important to know that this may mean that you’re consistently being typecast as a badass, thug, or punk, but there are definitely still roles for you, so don’t fret!
Good luck my tattooed actors!
