On Friday, Page Six had an interesting item about Jaimie Alexander, the star of NBC’s Blindspot. You may also known Jaimie from the Thor movies, or maybe you know her from her engagement to Peter Facinelli. Anyway, Page Six said last Friday that Jaimie is being a major pill on the set of Blindspot, that she’s getting people fired right and left and she’s trying to get her co-lead, Sullivan Stapleton, fired. She’s also pretty cranky because it apparently takes SEVEN HOURS to apply her character’s tattoos (which cover almost all of her body). Well, here’s another interesting story about Jaimie, again from Page Six. Their sources claim that Jaimie is convinced that her fake body tattoos are making her sick. Huh.
Jaimie Alexander — star of NBC’s hit “Blindspot” — allegedly believes the fake tattoos covering her body all day are poisonous and making her sick. Production on the show was halted last week with the firing of four makeup artists who were spending seven hours each day applying Alexander’s temporary ink. A hairdresser was also let go.
The series’ story began with Alexander’s character waking up naked in Times Square covered in mysterious tattoos. “[Alexander has] become convinced the ink is toxic and making her sick,” one source told me. Suffering a pulmonary infection, the actress brought her doctor onto the Brooklyn set where Warner Bros. is midway through shooting the first season. NBC has already renewed the drama for Season 2.
Tat’s not all. Alexander is said to hate her co-star Sullivan Stapleton, who plays FBI agent Kurt Weller.
“She tried to have him fired and replaced, which is pretty amazing considering their characters are supposed to develop a romantic interest,” said my source.
As tension has mounted on the set, the producers have been using doubles more and more to allow Alexander to leave early.
“She has a stunt double, a photo double for on-screen shots and, increasingly, they use a body double,” my source said.
Alexander’s publicist Craig Schneider called my story “entirely unfounded and inaccurate,” and said, “That’s what happens when a disgruntled former employee provides you with intel.”
I complained about Jaimie’s publicist last Friday too, because his statements are ridiculous. He got all pearl-clutchy about the very IDEA that an actor would EVER order certain people off the set or pull rank to get certain people fired, like Craig Schneider has NEVER heard of that happening. So now he’s saying that these stories are total crap… AND that they’re coming from a disgruntled ex-employee (who was likely fired at Jaimie’s behest). As for the alleged toxicity of the fake tattoos… I don’t know. What do you think? I would be really interested in learning what kind of ink or henna or whatever they were using on her.
Photos courtesy of NBC, WENN.
Seven hours?! I am getting claustrophobic and twitchy just thinking about that. I don’t blame her for going insane.
Maybe the first time, but often she’s fully clothed with just her forearms or neck showing. I doubt they take more than an hour to apply for subsequent shooting as the characters go off of pics of the tattoos on the show. I also think they are just like temporary tattoos that are stuck on and applied with water
And, these days, how hard/expensive would it be to do them in post with cgi and body mapping? It surely can’t be as expensive as paying a make-up artist 7 hours a day to do it plus paying the actress 7 hours to sit in the chair to have it done. :/
An a related note, how could the lead actor needing seven hours a day in makeup even be sustainable? Maybe in a movie, but it doesn’t seem realistic for a TV show.
If that’s true, that’s idiotic. Someone should have thought of a. Creating stencils of that tats to expedite the process or b. Creating temporary rub-on tats, enough to last a season, to save on all sorts of costs, including the lead’s sanity!
I agree. Is this a daily occurrence, or is it weekly or something? This whole show seems like such a bad idea from start to finish.
The show has an interesting premise, and could have been a winner, but this many rumblings, this early in its run does not bode well. I am sure that seven hours of make up would get very old, very fast, and the producers would do well to find ways to spread that tedium around if they want the show to last. I predict that they will cancel it very soon, despite the announcement of a second season. Maybe they could rework it somehow so that it could be a feasible, and sustainable project. I must say though I love Marianne Jean- Baptiste in anything she’s in, and she is kick ass in this one. I have followed her career since “Secrets and Lies”, she was lovely in that.
Yeah that makes no sense to me either. Why not just build stencils and then use spray makeup (which is readily and cheaply available) and it would literally take SECONDS to make the tattoos. Even if they weren’t perfect…who cares? It’s not like the audience doesn’t know the actress doesn’t really have tattoos.
A typical TV shooting is 10 to 14 hours. Can’t imagine also having to do 7 hours of make-up. Movies are shot in three months. A TV series is shot over ten months. Tolerating it for three months is one thing. Doing it for for 13 to 21 episodes would be unbearable.
I only watched the first episode but doesn’t she wear clothes that mostly cover all the tattoos at this point in the story. Like she’d only need the neck and few arm tattoos poking through? Shouldn’t take 7 hours every day.
Yep. She said it’s only 7 hours when they do the full body tattoo. The rest of the time they only put on the tattoos that will be visible.
That’s what I was thinking too. At this point not many of the tats are visible.
I have side-eyed her since she got together with Peter Faciinelli, because it seemed to me he ditched his wife/mother of his children for a twenty-something lady when he got famous from twilight. I am finding it interesting these stories are starting to come out, because while her show is popular, I don’t think most of America knows who she is. These stories seem random enough in terms of who they are about that I believe them.
True story. And if she’s such a pain in the ass to work with and body doubles are doing most of the work, I don’t see why they can’t find another lead to play her role. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo were big enough movies and look, the lead role is supposedly being recasted. This girl here is basically unknown. She can be replaced.
As far as the publicist saying that one disgruntled employee telling lies…, from reading this post, it says that not one but 5 people were fired from the show. I’d tend to believe the 5 disgruntled ex employees.
I can’t believe a relative newcomer has her own show and is already pulling this “don’t you know who I am” attitude bs.
LOL @ your username. I don’t think I saw any stories of him going nuts when they applied his full body tats? That must have taken awhile.
As for Sif, I think it’s early enough that they could maybe get away with replacing her completely. Get another pretty brunette girl and just slot her in there, without comment even.
Who can forget when she showed up at a movie premiere in a dress that literally showed her vaginal area? It’s not something you can un-see.
Haha. I kind of liked her until she pulled that try-hard stunt.
I was going to mention this, too. She evidently had no problem snatching her turd of a fiancé from his wife and three children. Is it much of a stretch to believe she’d try to get people fired? I guess they have to drum up publicity for this daft-looking show somehow.
His choice to leave his family was just that, HIS choice. She may be a pill, a diva, or whatever but she’s not responsible for the choices of others. We have to stop absolving men of their responsibilities.
And likewise stop absolving women of their culpability in sleeping with someone they KNOW is married.
As gross as it is to hook up with someone you know is already taken, you can’t blame anyone other than the wandering eye within the relationship.
Was he married when they got together? I heard some rumblings about him cheating on Jennie with a model? Or there were rumors….all of a sudden they’re separated/ divorced, and then he got with Jaimie.
To me, I always thought that Peter F. thought that he was too good for Jennie, after he got Twilight and Nurse Jackie. I don’t necessarily think he cheated on her (although I wouldn’t be surprised), but I do think that once he started getting a higher profile, making more money, that he decided that he was too hot for his “older” wife, and wanted someone younger, and who probably didn’t tell him his shit still stunk, and to put his socks in the hamper.
Why not use a special body suit for the tattoos? With all the manipulation they can do on camera, I’m sure they could get away with it. I mean I would worry about the ink as well, the skin is an organ after all. As for the rest of it, she sounds like a huge pain in the a$$, who thinks she’s a special snowflake above the rest and the connection with Peter F makes me side eye her more.
They could use henna. It’s non toxic.
It’s also red/orange. Indigo is the black version, but some people have allergies to that (I do).
Stencils with spray-on makeup…it comes in every colour. Creating the stencils would be work but once you had them created it would take seconds to apply.
The only thing that’s toxic is her.
I’m allergic to PPD, a chemical in dye, especially the darker colors. The second time I got a “Henna” tattoo, I got a rash and then my entire foot swelled to the size of a loaf of bread. Years later I got a semi-permanent hair color and my face swelled to triple its size and I had to go the ER. Some people can’t do dye. The chemicals are toxic. Several people have died as a result. But I imagine if Jamie were as sensitive as some people are, she shouldn’t be able to tolerate any dye period without visits to the hospital.
True, but just because she isn’t as sensitive as some people, it doesn’t mean that she isn’t sensitive at all. I would have to think that there could be a cumulative effect.
oh wow, I’m so sorry that happened to you, that sounds like HELL. The only other thing w Jamie’s tattoos I wonder about is that sometimes the toxicity takes time to build? Don’t toxicologists says the dose makes the poison?
@wtw – that is so scary! I am sorry that happened to you. Horrible
I wish we had more education about chemical and dyes. The thing with PPD is you can be fine one day and have a deadly reaction the next. It’s not either or since you can develop any allergy at anytime. That’s why women who have colored their hair with no issue are shocked when they all of a sudden have issues. PPD is actually banned in most of Europe and is listed as a top allergen in this country yet we do nothing to remove it from products. And it’s in 99% of hair color, even some organic companies use it- just in small amounts. PPD is in some makeup as well.
PPD is not banned in most of Europe, I don’t know any European country where it’s banned.
Thanks. It was very scary. I caution anyone about using dye, especially dark colors. You can develop a serious or deadly reaction completely out of the blue. And unfortunately sometimes colors marketed as natural still have PPD in them. I avoid all dye now.
@trixd-PPD used to be banned in at least some European countries (it was definitely banned in Sweden and Germany at least) but I believe that changed when the EU came into existence. It’s not currently banned under EU law.
She could have developed a reaction later on. Sometimes peoples tolerance levels arent known till tested. I used to binge on almonds all day. But Recently I developed an allergy so even if I have 1 almond, I throw up.
The toxic paint thing sounds plausible to me. She wouldn’t be the first actress to get sick from being painted for a show.
Virginia Hey from ‘Farscape’ was made sick by the paint they used on her, if I’m not mistaken. She was covered in paint for two full seasons on that show, and a bit of a third season; it was even on her scalp, because her character was bald. Apparently, it was affecting her kidneys and making them bleed, among other issues.
Toxic paint, and sensitivity to ingredients in paint, happens, unfortunately.
wow, that’s scary. My grandmother religiously died her black for 30 years and she died of kidney failure and we always wondered if her hair dye had anything to do with it.
I remember that. The difference there, I think, was that Virginia Hey was well-liked by everyone and not getting everyone fired for stupid stuff.
@That Time I Didn’t Care: Lol Yes, that’s true. I’ve never heard about such shenanigans being pulled by Virginia Hey.
It was even more common back in the day. In the Wizard of Oz the original Tinman was rushed to the ER and placed in an oxygen tent because they made the make-up from powdered aluminum (or another metal) and it coated his lungs. I seem to remember that girl who was painted gold in Goldfinger had some issues as well from the make-up. Things are better now, but we still don’t know everything about how certain compounds effect people, and all people are different. One compound may be fine for 99 people but make the 100th one sick.
So I believe it. I used to write notes on myself with sharpie because I forget everything, even my notes, and I noticed that I’d start to feel headache-y and sick if I did that too much. Wash the ink off and I’d immediately start to feel better.
Yes, I remember both the Tin Man and the Goldfinger girl stories. But I think the Goldfinger girl actually didn’t have any problems. They had doctors on set just in case, although she wasn’t totally painted. Having the stuff on too long would be risky and of course people can develop bad reactions to anything with enough exposure. So this actress might be having some problems with the fake tattoos as time goes on.
Shirley Eaton recreated the Goldfinger make-up just recently:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3286745/Still-gleaming-Half-century-Goldfinger-Bond-girl-Shirley-Eaton-recreates-famous-look-MailOnline.html
John Rhys-Davies got sick from his make-up in Lord of the Rings
Sullivan Stapleton is super hot (strikeback had a big female following), I’d rather see her go than him! She has the personality of a shoe, unsure how she got the lead.
Sullivan Stapelton is super hot, and acts circles around Jamie. He reminds me of how hot Russell Crowe used to be.
Strikeback was good but I liked the other guy, now in The Player, better. Sully’s wonky bottom tooth distracts me in his close-ups.
Me too! WHY is it that some people whose bottom teeth show prominently seem to have wonky ones!? too funny,
I don’t know why but I don’t like her. Maybe because she seems like a brunette Amber Heard.
Why aren’t they using tattoo body stocking. Tattoo sleeves look pretty convincing, so extend that to a full body stocking if full body shots are required.
Yup it’s true. My friend was her body double for the Times Square scene and another scene. They are constantly using body doubles even for scenes outside because the actress gets “cold” and won’t do any outdoor scenes.
She sounds like having a super ego for this being the first season of the show. Way too entitled. This is disturbing.
You hit the nail on the head. A newcomer with a huge ego – why? Because she’s married to Carlyle Cullen LOL?!? He wasn’t even that big deal in the series, truth be told (maybe his paycheck was though, I dunno – I kinda hope that Jenny and her girls got the bulk of that $$$ though if that’s true). This Jamie chick must think that screwing some c list actor and then marrying him makes her a star. Which it doesn’t.
Wow. Too cold? Really? If she wanted to stay warm she should have taken an office job. I never watched the show but I doubt it will go beyond season 2 if she keeps this up.
Eh. My friend is a PA on the show and says Jaimie is very quiet, but generally kind. On the other hand, they report that Sullivan Stapleton is rude to everyone, gets mad when extras don’t clear out of his way fast enough and is generally moody.
this girl seems like a stunt queen after showing off her cho cho san on a red carpet that one time, and pretending she had Superwoman on lockdown. She seems full of drama.
She was bragging that Supergirl was her, huh? LOL – that head is getting awfully big! Please cancel that terrible “Girl Who Played With Fire” rip-off. It is unwatchable and Jamie sounds like she’s approaching Katherine Heigl career suicide status. I sense that she’s hoping to get fired. Someone has convinced her that she’s destined for movie star status, and that TV is beneath her. Most unknown actresses would kill for a starring role on a network series. Sounds like she’s an ungrateful witch.
CGI, people!
If she is that big a diva as a relative unknown, she should be careful, she could be expendable and then reboot a second and subsequent seasons with new actresses who have a timeline who may be killed if bigger mystery arcs aren’t solved in time.
Hell sometimes well loved characters still die to progress the story.
She should read Katharine Heigel’s resume.
I could see that over time, exposure to the chemicals could have a reaction and make her feel ill.
As for the 7 hours, as others have said most of the time she is fully clothed and only has a few exposed. I remember hearing similar stories about Prison Break, how it took hours and hours, and it seemed ridiculous that they didn’t devise a better way. Since then I think other products are available.
I’m guessing there are some “diva” behaviors happening but that the fired employee is exaggerating a big.
I just stopped by the say I can’t believe this woman still has a career — let alone headlining a TV show and a lucrative spot in a major movie franchise. One of the worst actresses I’ve ever seen.
Agree. I like the show and the general premise, but she is absolutely wooden. I don’t think the viewing audience would mind at all if she were to be replaced. Why are they putting up with this prima donna who can’t act?
If she is being a pill, I’m sorry to hear that, but to be fair, seven hours? I’d go berserk too. Even if that’s only on the days she has to get her full body done, that makes for a hell of a long day.
I wonder what they used on Wentworth Miller for Prison Break?
ETA – I looked it up – decals – 5 hours for the whole thing, less for pieces…
I’m struggling to believe the 7 hour makeup, too. I think the first time they did it, to put the idea into the audience’s head it makes sense. But, often its not her whole body we see, its her neck, chest, arms. By now they shouldn’t need to apply everything one at a time, and frankly there’s no reason for them to want to have her in makeup that long.
Sullivan Stapleton’s last show, Strike Back, was so good! I only checked out Blindspot to see him. The show had a big following, male and female.
I am sure if he left, so would many viewers, including me!
If she left, I would still watch.
My husband and I watch this show, but are behind b/c it is kind of boring. They need to pick up the pace or else people will lose interest!! She seems wooden & not the best actress for the role. I wouldn’t mind them replacing her with someone else. Also….Wenworth Miller…..*sigh* I miss him!
Tried watching that show but her acting wasnt all the best and the show was pretty cheesy. I love my female leads but she was miscasted 🙁
As a makeup artist, all I can say is it really depends what they use on her. It is highly unlikely that they would use henna. You don’t get the precision (even with stencils) needed to created the ultra fine lines and gradations seen in pics of her baring skin. It would also last up to 15 days, but with uneven fading and that would be a continuity nightmare.
They could be using alcohol-activated makeup, which is fairly new and has become quite common for fake tattoos in film and TV, since it dries quickly and doesn’t rub off or transfer, even under water (e.g. shower scenes, swimming pools, etc, etc). It can be used freehand or with stencils and will yield a great variety of results. Alcohol-activated makeup is essentially a type of skin-safe plastic/silicone colour, which only becomes liquid and useable with 99% alcohol. While it is FDA approved and skin-safe, in some people long and repeated exposure can lead to health problems. Those are usually confined to the actual skin, though, and I’ve never heard of AA makeup affecting blood, internal organs, immune system etc. So while skin may, indeed, react poorly in some (rare!) cases, it is highly improbable that she would get a pulmonary infection or something else because of the makeup.
Another viable and much used option in the film business is temporary tattoos. A production can get the designs printed exclusively for a show or film, as many as are needed, and then it’s a “simple” matter of sticking them on. It may take a bit of time and precision, of course, but there’s nothing special to the process. It’s just your usual stick, wet and detach. These tattoos are usually taken off after the shoot of the day is finished and they are absolutely non-toxic. So it couldn’t be those giving her problems, if that is in fact what she believes. From looking at all the promo pics, my guess is that this is what they’re using for the show.
None of this should take seven hours to apply, especially if there is a team of makeup artists working on the actress. If they hand-painted the tattoos each day with AA makeup, then, yes, it would take that long, but that would show in continuity and so I very much doubt this is the method they chose. Even characters like Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique, who was painted blue all over, had prosthetic scales applied all over her body, had yellow contacts lenses and a wig, didn’t take seven hours once they streamlined the process. The team working on her needed about four to get her ready. And it’s true that on Blindspot, she’s got clothes over her tattoos a lot of the time and I can’t imagine them putting everything on, every day, if she’s not gonna shoot “bare” scenes that day. So all in all, somebody’s exaggerating and somebody’s being a bit of a drama queen. If these rumors about Alexander are true, it’s a shame for the show. It seems like it could be a hit, but this bad word of mouth may bring it down yet.
I think Wentworth M had to deal with the same thing on Prison Break. Acting’s a lot of waiting around waiting for everyone else (the crew etc) to get you and everything else ready.
She sounds like a diva and for what? She is not that great an actress, she should be thankful she has a job. I watched two episodes of this show and couldn’t be bothered.
I really like this show and I think if anything she is the one of the least charismatic actors on it. Just replace her….I think the public would get over it in a show or two if the casting was good.