50 Cent's many tattoos have always beena part of the rapper's image. He's displayed them prominently on album coversand in magazines throughout his career. But the ink that made him stand out inthe music world isn't serving him so well now that 50 Cent the rapper isbecoming 50 Cent the rapper-actor. So Curtis Jackson (his real name) has begunthe process of removing many of them with costly laser procedures.
Peoplereports that Jackson removedsome of his iconic arm tattoos, saying that notonly were they limiting the roles he could play, but that having them coveredup for films was getting to be a pain.
"[Laser removal] cuts down on theamount of time I have to spend in makeup covering them up," says the actor. Jackson has roles inseveral upcoming films, including Twelve with Chace Crawford (out later thisyear), 2011's Things Fall Apart,and The Dance, a boxing film costarring Nicolas Cage.
Last November, Jackson made it clear that he values sleepover body art, saying that covering the ink in the makeup chair often requiredhim to show up on set four hours before the other actors. And even when the inkis covered up, some rigorous roles won't withstand the industry's heaviestmakeup. Jacksonsaid of his role in The Dance, which is now indevelopment, "When you're a fighter, you're sweating, [and] with a whole bunchof make-up on and stuff like that, it doesn't look real to me."
But fans of 50 Cent's mostunique tattoo - the giant "50 Cent" on his back - shouldn't fret:That one is here to stay. "I can't take that off," he says. (Lucky for him, aback tattoo is usually pretty easy to hide under clothing.)
Meanwhile, another famously tattooedcelebrity is still using her body as a canvas, makeup-chair hoursnotwithstanding. On the cover of the latest Entertainment Weekly, AngelinaJolie displays what appears to be a new tattoo- the underlining of text on the back of her neck. (The text, which is not new,reads: "knowyour rights".)
Like 50 Cent, Jolie (who is currentlypromoting her new movie, Salt) is no stranger to changing her mind aboutsupposedly permanent body ink. Jolie altered anupper-arm tribute to her ex-husband Billy Bob Thorntonafter the two split up. Jolie's arm now displays the map coordinates of whereeach of her six children were born.