Vecna may not have tattoos, but Jamie Campbell Bower sure does! Fans got a glimpse at the actor’s many ink designs after a video of his Stranger Things transformation from human to creature of the Upside Down went viral on social media.
“I came in character, wearing the character, so I’m sitting in the makeup chair very still, not really talking to anyone. Music is a big help for me. I find it to be a very visceral experience,” he told Variety in May 2022, noting that the character was “90 percent” makeup and not CGI. “I had a few records that I was just constantly spinning on repeat as I’d been building the character I’d had on anyway, so there was that, sort of, subconsciousness that was coming through.”
Putting on all the makeup and his Vecna suit took nearly eight hours, according to the article. So, none of Jamie — even his intricate tattoo work — was visible. In the now-viral video of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones actor’s time-consuming transformation, Jamie’s entire body was visible to fans, including the tattoos on both arms and the rather large designs on his chest.
The clip, captioned, “Can’t talk rn, I’m becoming Vecna,” had Stranger Things fans in awe of how the actor actually brought the monster to life. However, it was “very complicated” for the actor to go to the bathroom when he was in costume.
“The top half [of the costume] is glued [to my body], and then the bottom half is like these trousers, and there’s a flap,” he told TVLine in July 2022, explaining that someone “would have to stand outside the restroom.”
Jamie added, “I can’t really touch anything. I had these nails glued on as well as the hands. So I’d come back from the bathroom with, like, a nail coming off and say to [makeup-effects artist] Mike Mekash, ‘Mike, can you fix my finger? I’m really sorry!’”
Even though fans only got to see the real Jamie for some scenes in the series, the Vecna makeup totally paid off! Scroll through our gallery for a breakdown of the Stranger Things star’s tattoos.
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
