People reports that Jackson removed some of his iconic arm tattoos, saying that not only were they limiting the roles he could play, but that having them covered up for films was getting to be a pain.
"[Laser removal] cuts down on the
amount of time I have to spend in makeup covering them up," says the
actor. Jackson has roles in
several upcoming films, including Twelve with Chace Crawford
(out later this
year), 2011's Things Fall Apart,
and The Dance, a boxing film costarring Nicolas Cage.Last November, Jackson made it clear that he values sleep over body art, saying that covering the ink in the makeup chair often required him to show up on set four hours before the other actors. And even when the ink is covered up, some rigorous roles won't withstand the industry's heaviest makeup. Jackson said of his role in The Dance, which is now in development, "When you're a fighter, you're sweating, [and] with a whole bunch of make-up on and stuff like that, it doesn't look real to me."
But fans of 50 Cent's most unique tattoo - the giant "50 Cent" on his back - shouldn't fret: That one is here to stay. "I can't take that off," he says. (Lucky for him, a back tattoo is usually pretty easy to hide under clothing.)
Meanwhile, another famously tattooed celebrity is still using her body as a canvas, makeup-chair hours notwithstanding. On the cover of the latest Entertainment Weekly, Angelina Jolie displays what appears to be a new tattoo - the underlining of text on the back of her neck. (The text, which is not new, reads: "know your rights".)
Like 50 Cent, Jolie (who is currently promoting her new movie, Salt) is no stranger to changing her mind about supposedly permanent body ink. Jolie altered an upper-arm tribute to her ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton after the two split up. Jolie's arm now displays the map coordinates of where each of her six children were born.