Jamie Bell finds ‘Skin’ role deep
Jamie Bell still isn’t sure why anyone would think he was the right guy to play a bitterly racist white nationalist in tomorrow’s “Skin.”
It’s the true story of Bryon Widner, who ranked among the FBI’s most wanted white supremacists and was covered head to toe in racist tattoos he earned from his hate crimes.
“Skin” chronicles how love and fatherhood prompted Widner to renounce that life. He painfully removed the tattoos, decoding each one’s origin for the FBI. Widner’s testimony led to his gang’s arrest and conviction.
As Widner, Bell, 33, is leagues away from his usual nice guys like Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s lyricist, in “Rocketman.”
He began with five hoursplus in makeup daily. “Beyond the physical elements of making your body not care about anything, what was difficult was living with his sense of detach“Knowing ment — from empathy, love, compassion.
“Just walking around with that intimidation, the ferociousness. To be so willing to antagonize was incredibly unpleasant — and exhausting. It’s so far from who I am.”
How far that was became clear in a local diner. “Most people in my experience, when there’s kind of a monster in a room, people tend to look away. Their natural instinct is to ignore it.
“Whoever was taking my breakfast order wouldn’t look me in the eye. That’s because his tattoos were designed to intimidate everyone. He didn’t like people and wanted them to go away.”
Bell’s meeting with Widner was eye-opening. his past and that he’s in the FBI Witness Protection Program, he’s coming with a lot of stuff.
“I met a man who was inviting, extremely articulate but also paranoid. Someone who was dealing with intense guilt and constantly reckoning with his own actions.”
Bell realizes “Skin” is a tough sell. “We’re living in a world where what’s going on is frankly horrific and we get enough of that.
“Then we ask you to buy tickets and watch unflinchingly. It’s a wake-up call to how far we can forgive people if they’re worthy of our forgiveness.
“The man who changed Bryon’s life, who showed compassion to a stranger, is the true hero here. He anonymously donated the funds so that he could have his lifesaving surgery (removing facial tattoos that would have made him recognizable). We hope people can find the hope in that.”