Wraps in Vancouver next month, co-star Tom Hardy will return home to London. But he'll be back. During the couple of months he's been here filming with Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine (
Hardy is talking about Bryan Glatiotis, tattoo artist and co-owner of Darkday Tattoo Studios. Hardy has made repeated trips to see Glatiotis at the Main Street shop during his stay in Vancouver.
"He's an artist with a needle, " Hardy says, lying shirtless in one of the shop's airy booths. It's a frigid Sunday afternoon in Vancouver and the British actor has made a quick stop in to get a Union Jack tattooed onto his upper left chest, the latest work on the taut canvas that is Hardy's upper body.
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, Hardy and Pine play longtime friends battling for the affections of the same woman, (Witherspoon). Hardy, whose break-out performance in the 2009 biopic
Films. (Hardy's people confirmed the long-rumoured Batman 3 role to The Globe. To call Hardy, 33, buff would be an understatement. But the tattoos are no vanity project. There is nothing surface, he explains, about the ink.
"Every tattoo I have means something to me. Each one is something that I've been through in my life or I've done or I've been, " he said.
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His first, which he got at 15, is a leprechaun: an ode to his Irish heritage on his mother's side. Not that she was impressed. "She kept saying 'my beautiful boy, my beautiful boy, '" he recalls, laughing.
He's got the Marine Corps number of his best friend's father tattooed across his chest, and on his arm, the name of his agent - Lindy King - along with a little crown. "I said 'if you ever get me into Hollywood, I'll get your name tattooed on me.' So I did."
Above that there's a large dragon, an ode to his now ex-wife, Sarah Ward, who was born in the year of the dragon. "That's what you call a mistake tattoo, " he laughs. He points out a couple of other places where her initials have been tattooed over, in one case by a large rock design. "I had the boulder pushed right over that one."
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Some of that cover-up work was done immediately after the split. On the last night of a spectacular run of the play
, the tattoo work was finished, he says, 20 minutes before curtain. "If I have to have a tattoo, I have to have it now. I don't care what's going on. ... I just wanted to get rid of her name.
"I was like a month out of rehab so I wasn't really thinking straight. It was good that I [got the tattoo]because I can remember it. I black out a lot of stuff emotionally so I tattoo myself to remember."
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Then there are the tattoos honouring his greatest accomplishment: the birth of his child, Louis, now two-and-a-half. There's a star he had done when he found out his then-girlfriend, Rachael Speed, was pregnant. Also the phrases "Figlio mio bellisimo" ("my beautiful son") and "Padre fiero" ("proud father").
And in a new lush tribute, his left arm features a Renaissance-inspired depiction of the Madonna cradling Louis. This work does not just honour Louis, Hardy explains, but also Hardy himself; his own renaissance, or re-birth.
"That was about mothering me, " he says. "I went through a lot of stuff leaving home and becoming a father and growing up to be my own mother. I have a mother; she's amazing. But this is about being able to mother my parents and my son and myself - which is very painful. Getting my head around that growth spurt."
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The Madonna and child, not quite done, is the first work Glatiotis did on Hardy. "We searched high and low for somebody who can do a portrait really well, " Hardy said.
With his aforementioned best friend (and also trainer/nutritionist/right-hand-man) Patrick "P-NuT" Monroe, when they were both drawn to the intricate Geisha/tree/dragon work on the right arm of props assistant Sonia Zimmerman's right arm. Glatiotis had done the work freehand, based on a fable Zimmerman's mother had told her when she was a child.
In fact, Glatiolis was training as an artist when he fell into tattooing in Vernon, BC. He now has two shops; the other one in Red Deer, Alta.
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Since Zimmerman made the introduction, Hardy has spent many nights at the shop and will spend a few more there in the weeks ahead. In addition to the Madonna and child and the Union Jack, he is planning a large tattoo on his back: an angel-themed portrait based on a photograph he took of his fiancée, Charlotte Riley, which will float above a rendering of the London skyline.
Lying on his back with his knees bent and spread apart, Hardy keeps busy while having the work done: he's on his BlackBerry, he's having a coffee, he's watching the 2009 movie
. He conducts conversations about topics ranging from the war in Afghanistan to Steven Seagal (Witherspoon just bought his house, Hardy reveals).
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"This is me time, " he says. "I'm having a swim in Lake Me. A cool swim in Lake Tommy Hardy." He's charming and funny, even when he says he's in some pain.
"When I'm hanging out with him, it's just effortless, " says Glatiolis. "He's just a nice, nice human being. A lot of energy, really creative. A borderline genius. He's always going, he's always moving."
Hardy had to take off on Sunday before the Union Jack could be completed. He was late for a fight-training session. After more than an hour on the table, he hopped up, took a good look at himself in the mirror, and smiled. "That's a nice start, isn't it?"Born into a back-to-the-land artistic family, I grew up in rural Saskatchewan. I spent my childhood drawing and creating, fostering an imagination and artistic ability to fill the time and space in a somewhat isolated community. This grew into an education in the arts as I eventually earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Saskatoon. Soon after that, massive student loan debt and a willingness for adventure aimed me towards Taiwan. While there, I began getting tattooed by Taiwanese master Diau-An. He embodies all that I love about the tattoo world, a man who carries himself with dignity and pride; an astounding artist to say the least. This relationship acted as the catalyst and inspiration for me to pursue tattooing as a career.
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Upon returning to Canada I began my attempt to find an apprenticeship. In a short time I was taken in by Art at Funhouse as shop-help; the position which is proving ground to edit out those not dedicated to what is soon to come. While there I met Jeremy and soon after he created Tattoo Union in 2008. It was here that I learned to tattoo. In 2013 I opened Paradigm Tattoo Company and had the privilege of working alongside Mikel (an inspirational tattooer in both his work and life) for approximately a year. Since then it's been me, a solo artist in a semi-private appointment based studio.
Now, numerous years later, what seemed like a long and convoluted path feels like a direct line from past to present. Each day I strive to get better, this is something Diau-An instilled in me. He was thirty years into his career and still spoke about learning each day. I take this job seriously, it envelops most aspects of my life and I constantly attempt to give my clients the energy which they deserve. I pride myself on being prepared and professional. Each tattoo that I produce is a representation of me and my capabilities. My concern is in producing quality artwork rather than a quantity of generic tattoos. I want to be proud of the work I create and I want my clients to be equally proud to wear it. I look forward to the coming years, the individuals I will meet and the artwork I will produce ... these are just two of the amazing benefits of this career as a tattoo artist.
Please submit an email to tattoos@ to set up a consultation. The email should contain a brief description of the tattoo you're looking to receive. An idea of the general imagery, style, placement, and size are all very helpful in the preliminary stages. Once I have this information I will respond with options for dates and times to set up an in-person consultation.
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