Nick Frost Says Tattoos Had been a ‘Go well with of Armor’ amid Weight Struggles

Nick Frost is sharing the explanation why his tattoos felt like a “swimsuit of armor.”

In a brand new interview with The Guardian printed Thursday, Jan. 29, the Shaun of the Lifeless actor opened up about getting numerous his tattoos later in life. The 53-year-old stated his need for ink began whereas struggling along with his weight.

“I had one tattoo after I was 20. I fainted inside 5 seconds. Once I awakened, there have been two Hells Angels lifting me again into my chair. 

Frost stated he thought he would by no means get one other tattoo however modified his thoughts when he was 40 after his dad died of lung most cancers. He stated he began getting tattoos “as a technique to flip religious ache into bodily ache, and attempt to exorcise it.” 

“Now I’m 53, my complete prime and arms are lined,” she stated. “It will definitely acquired previous exorcising useless household demons, to having fun with the ache a bit.” 

“I struggled for a very long time with how I appeared, when it comes to being a mega fatty, and never with the ability to go to the seaside with out folks laughing at you,” he continued. “The tattoos meant folks didn’t give attention to how a lot you weighed, so it was like a swimsuit of armor.”

By no means miss a narrative — join PEOPLE’s free each day publication to remain up-to-date on the most effective of what PEOPLE has to supply​​, from movie star information to forcing human curiosity tales. 

Frost has spoken about his weight earlier than and his previous struggles with binge consuming, which started at an early age.

In a June 2025 interview, the actor defined that after quitting medicine and alcohol, he swapped his vices for a dependency on meals and finally weighed over 490 lbs. 

Nonetheless, he lastly realized that his meals habit would “kill” him.

“Meals had been my first habit after I was 10,” he informed the Observer. “And I realised that it’s advantageous to cease all that s— [drink and drugs]. However then going within the automotive and parking down by the river when it was nighttime and consuming a tier of a marriage cake, that’s going to f—ing kill you, as nicely.”

“Only a realization that I might die,” he stated. “And a realisation that I had very younger youngsters, and that is how I’m, and so they’re going to be left with out a dad. It was like, ‘What the f— are you doing, you nutter?’ “