To represent characters who are physically different from themselves, actors go undergo a variety of brief physical alterations. Actors may need to put on or lose weight, grow or trim their hair or beard, or put up with laborious makeup changes, like Mark Margolis (Hector Salamanca) did for "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul," depending on the part. Actors may have to choose between covering their real tattoos to portray characters who have none and allowing the makeup artists to create artificial tattoos to portray characters who do.
On "Breaking Bad," Aaron Paul's character Jesse Pinkman has a distinctive fashion sense and frequently dons clothing with money signs, skulls, or other amusing patterns. Fortunately for Aaron Paul, Jesse's general appearance is low-maintenance and doesn't take much effort in terms of hair styling or other such tasks. Jesse's tattoos were the one feature that necessitated a little extra effort in terms of cosmetics.
On the programme, Jesse had big tattoos on his arms depicting a Celtic scorpion, a clown, and a snake. Aaron Paul does not, however, actually have any of these ink. Aaron Paul revealed to Vulture in an interview that the tattoos are all "Fake. Please God. It's really very aggressive." The "Breaking Bad" crew had asked him if he thought Jesse would get tattoos, and when he replied, "Probably," they began choosing the designs for Jesse from a variety of tattoo books, he continued.
Viewers could believe that because the tattoos are so elaborate that it takes a while to apply the fake tattoo for each shooting session. Aaron Paul responded to fan inquiries on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" page about his portrayal of Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad," revealing how long it takes the makeup crew to draw the tattoos on him for each episode. "Appliance literally just takes around five minutes," Paul wrote. He also clarified why the procedure moves so quickly, "They don't have to draw it since it's just a transfer. It resembles a really fine rendition of the tattoos found in Cracker Jack boxes."
Aaron Paul revealed that each tattoo typically lasts two to three days in addition to the lightning-fast application. This would be useful because Jesse's tattoos must unquestionably be seen in every scene. Fortunately, the procedure wasn't particularly taxing.
