Do These 13 Reasons Why Characters Have Tattoos IRL?

By now, we’ve all heard of the phenomenon that is 13 Reasons Why. The YA novel turned addictive Netflix-series has infiltrated our lives and we’re not mad about it — not one bit. Besides the powerful message it sends on the effects of bullying, depression, and self-harm, there are a few other reasons why we can’t stop thinking about the show, like how the hell do these teenagers have so many tattoos?

You may have noticed the ink when you first met Tony Padilla and Justin Foley in the first season, but since then, it seems the ink bank on 13RW keeps growing and growing. As far as we know, most high school students are not rocking that many tattoos under the age of 18. Keep in mind, the show is set in Northern California. The state law requires anyone under the age of 18 to have a parent present for such body modifications — and we highly doubt any of their parents would have let that happen before graduating high school.

Naturally, we assumed the obvious: They must just be real tattoos the makeup artists didn’t bother to cover. Not quite. According to PopSugar, the costume department added the majority to characters, like Justin, begging the question: Which of the cast has tattoos in real life? Ahead, the answers you’ve been waiting for…

The Character: Alex Standall

Standall has an emotionally turbulent third season, to say the least. Even in the midst of all of his drama, it’s impossible to ignore the four tattoos decorating his elbows.

Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.

The Actor: Miles Heizer

Most of Heizer’s real tattoos — like the alien head and cartoon face on his elbows — actually made it into the third season of the show. So, everything you see on Alex, you see on Miles IRL.

**The Character: Justin Foley**

The troubled jock was one of the first characters to reveal his real tats on the show. You might recall the first time Foley pulled off his tee — after play-fighting with Zach Dempsey — to reveal a chest tat, which is fake. But that’s not all: a barbed wire around his bicep and a few more on his arms have also made appearances on the show…

Photo: Courtesy Of Netflix.

The Actor: Brandon Flynn

Here, Flynn shows off three real tattoos: a stopwatch on his right arm, one on his inner elbow, and another on his left wrist.

Here’s a closer look at Flynn’s three arm tattoos — proving that the ones we see on Justin in the show are definitely the result of temporary ink.

Flynn was one of the cast members to get a semicolon tattooed on his wrist as a sign of hope for individuals who struggle with mental illness and self-harm, a theme echoed by the show.

A few months ago, Flynn also showed off a never-before-seen thigh tattoo on his left leg.

The actor also has a bold chest tattoo on his ribs. To be clear, this isn’t the fake one we see on Justin when he’s first introduced on the show.

**The Character: Ryan Shaver**

We assumed this character wouldn’t have any tattoos, since we didn’t spot it on the show. If we had to predict what he’d get, though, we’d say a quote from E. E. Cummings or T.S. Elliot. He is a poet, after all.

Photo: Courtesy Of Netflix.

The Actor: Tommy Dorfman

Dorfman was one of the original three cast members to get the semicolon tattoo on his wrist with executive producer Selena Gomez and co-star Alisha Boe.

The actor also rocks three bars on his left arm.

Dorfman also has a triangle on his left shoulder.

And Dorfman’s largest piece of ink sits right on his left ribcage.

**The Character: Jessica Davis**

The ex-best friend of main character Hannah Baker has never shown off any ink — despite her on-again off-again boyfriend, Foley, having several.

Photo: Courtesy Of Netflix.

The Actress: Alisha Boe

Boe’s first piece of real ink — that we know of — appears to be the matching semicolon tattoo she got with Dorfman and Gomez.

It seems that Boe added another arm tattoo, a rose, to her growing collection soon after the first season wrapped. Fun fact: She also has the number "23" on her left rib.

**The Character: Sheri Holland**

The cheerleader who was hiding an incriminating secret in season one wasn’t seen with one tattoo in the entire series, but you might be surprised…

Photo: Courtesy Of Netflix.

The Actress: Ajiona Alexus

While Holland is tattoo-free, Alexus has a music note behind her left ear.

**The Character: Tony Padilla**

The show’s voice of reason loves anything retro — and tattoo parlors. He is seen with a wolf on his left shoulder (fake), two variations of a cross on each forearm (fake), a bird and vine of flowers on his right shoulder (real), and a trail of stars behind his ear (sadly, this Rihanna look-a-like tattoo is fake).

Photo: Courtesy Of Netflix.

The Actor: Christian Navarro

Tony has more tattoos than we can count (and even more than we can see), but in real life Navarro is no stranger to getting inked, either. The actor has over six tats, and the orchid drawing with a bird perched on top of his shoulder was actually kept on the show.

He also as a text tattoo on his left forearm. The original caption for the Instagram revealing the ink read, "#alwaysstruggleforinnerpeace #Intrukrishna."

This photo shows off the tattoo on his left forearm: the top of what appears to be the Empire State Building in New York.

Thanks to New York-based tattoo artist Evan, Navarro added this tattoo dedicated to Marvel’s Iron Man on his forearm. Apparently, the actor is a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr. "Hopefully someone passes this along to my hero," Navarro wrote on Instagram. "After all its as much RDJ as it is Ironman at this point."

One of his most recent additions includes the name of his grandfather, Jose J. Navarro, which is also he name of his company.

Navarro also has a Leo zodiac sign tattooed on his chest and a lion on his arm.