Tattoo artist Benny Shields never aspired to make his mark in Hollywood, let alone But Hollywood. L.A. Inkman has adorned the arms of many stars, perhaps most prominently Bear’Tatted chefs, Carmen “Carmi” Barzato (Jeremy Allen White) and Luca (Will Poulter). His first screen credit came by way of friend Ryan Gosling for 2011’s the place Beyond the Pines. When self-made tattoo designs for the actor’s motorcycle stuntman character were not successful, he called on Shields, whose brother was a member of Zach Gosling’s band Dead Man’s Bones.
“When things are presented to me, I try to say yes unless I find a good reason not to,” explains the 44-year-old tattoo artist. heart. related to Bear, “I had a feeling the show was going to be good.” White, as it happens, was a longtime friend for whom Shields also created permanent ink. “They sent me the script, but not much was really decided about Carmi,” says Shields.
Artist created temporary and permanent ink Bear’Jeremy Allen White.
Courtesy of FX; Courtesy of Shields
Carmi’s tattoos weren’t just decoration, they were integral to the character’s development, White notes. “Ben Shields was a really important part in understanding Carmen early on,” says the actor. “He was probably the person I first talked to about Carmi. He asked about her family, what made her feel inspired or safe. We took all these conversations and put it down on paper in sketches and scribbles.”
A Pyrex measuring glass with a globe on Carmi’s left arm – one of the 15 sketches that made the cut – was the actor’s idea. The fictional chef has become a style icon, including body art: Her J.Crew cashmere sweater went viral and sold out, and Reddit is full of fans showing off their Bear-Inspired tattoos (a kitchen knife going through a hand is a popular tattoo).
Working on the Emmy-winning Hulu/FX series has been a full-circle moment for the lifelong pizza delivery driver (in his hometown of Rochester, New York) whose first tattoo was inspired by his slice-slinging life. Before his West Coast move, Shields briefly worked for a hip-hop producer in Queens and interned at a local tattoo shop “because I had no choice. I wasn’t trying to be an artist, but I was always good at doodling,” he says.
Shields arrived in LA in 2007 with a bag full of tattoo gear and soon found a clientele that breaking the bad Matt Jones and Hilary Duff, whom she met before her 2010 wedding to NHL player Mike Comrie, among her bridesmaids.
benny shields
courtesy of topic
When Gosling came calling, Shields had a steady job building a recording studio (“the money was better”) and tattooing industry friends. honey Boy Director Alma Har’el, who later asked Shields to create tattoo designs for her 2019 film starring Shia LaBeouf.
Hand-crafted style pieces were also created for the shields. Alien: Romulus (She and director Fede Álvarez met during their children’s preschool), which “had a lot of Easter eggs”, but she never got a close-up of them. “There’s a lot of stuff in those tattoos, and then you can’t even see them because they have long sleeves and everyone dies,” shields jokes.
with Bear After five seasons, Shields is ending his residency with Filson, where he’s bringing his finely-lined, black-and-white designs to the outdoor clothing brand’s Seattle store (Oct. 9 and 10) after stops in L.A. and Chicago. He’s also back into music, designing and building a recording studio for Grammy-winning producer Noah Goldstein (who has worked with Rosalía, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott and Ye) in Cypress Park.
Like his tattoo appointments, Hollywood jobs have also been word-of-mouth – after all, there are no agents for film tattoo artists. “I’m not in any guilds, and I’m not a makeup person. I’m way below the threshold,” he says. “But it would be foolish not to be grateful; it could have been anyone. People try very hard to find their way.”
This story appeared in the October 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.