James Franco surprised those attending the Venice Film Festival on Friday when he arrived sporting a freshly shaved skull and a head tattoo.
The tattoo is quite prominently displayed on the back of the actor's head and is a headshot of Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, USA Today reports.
The actor, who is known to get heavy into character, is preparing for a role for the film adaptation of Zeroville, which features a main character that sports the tattoo and bald head.
The head ink does provide a little clarity into an Instagram photo Franco recently posted which featured both the caption, "Bald as a mutha!" and a woman equipped with a paintbrush working behind him.
The 36-year-old Academy Award-nominated actor attended the Venice Film Festival to premiere his adaptation of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Reuters notes.
The 101-minute adaptation of a complex story of the failing Compson family received mixed reviews by those attending the festival. The Evening Standard called the film "Faulkner lite," and notes that Franco's performance of the mentally troubled Benjy Compson "is a brave performance, even if slightly like a parody of Brando."
image courtesy of INFphoto.com