LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) – For one actor, preparing for his latest role required tapping into his inner bad boy and getting some tattoos.

Actor Oscar Torre plays Jimmy Smits’ right hand man and confidant, Santo, in the CBS drama series “Cane,” and says that in order to play the part of a street-wise sidekick, he had to look like one first.

“At first glance, Santo is this edgy, shady guy who looks like a killer,” Torre said. “So I thought he definitely needed some tattoos, and the makeup department gave me a few fakes ones. They really helped me get into character.”

Torre put a tattoo of the Cuban gang “Las Madres” on his hand to tie his character to a tough past, as well as a tattoo of a number on his arm that had some very personal meaning.

“The number on my character’s arm is actually my grandfather’s number from when he was a political prisoner in Cuba,” Torre said. “He suffered, so I wanted to honor him.”

And while Torre’s on-screen tats are on the serious side, he still has fun with them once in a while.

The day he had them put on, Torre went out in public to see how people would react to his tatted-up appearance.

“People were definitely intimidated – it was kind of fun! I understood why Santo enjoys scaring people!”

“Cane” airs Tuesdays on CBS.

Name:

Email:

 

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the word you see in the image below: