Meet the Tattoo Artist Behind Jeremy Allen White‘s ‘The Bear‘ Ink
Tattoo artist Benny Shields never aspired to make his mark in Hollywood, let alone on Hollywood. The L.A. inkman has adorned the arms of numerous stars, perhaps most prominently those of The Bear‘s tatted chefs, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and Luca (Will Poulter). His first screen credit came via buddy Ryan Gosling for 2011’s The Place Beyond the Pines. When the actor’s self-drawn tattoo designs for his motorcycle stuntman character weren’t panning out, he called on Shields, whose brother Zach was a member of Gosling’s band Dead Man’s Bones. “When things are presented to me, I try to say yes unless I can find a good reason not to,” the 44-year-old tattooist tells THR. As for The Bear, “I had a feeling that show was going to be good.” White, as it happens, was a longtime friend for whom Shields had also done permanent ink. “They sent me the script, but a lot of who Carmy was hadn’t really been decided,” says Shields. The artist has done temporary and permanent ink for The …
