‘The Punisher’ Star Ben Barnes Talks Jigsaw’s Toned Down Look In Season 2

Ben Barnes has opened up about Jigsaw’s toned down look during the second season of Marvel’s The Punisher.

There have been many criticisms of Ben Barnes’ look in The Punisher season 2. In the comics, Billy Russo had his face permanently scarred by Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher. The series has taken many liberties with the character and even changed Billy and Frank’s relationship. But, the one thing that remained was Frank Castle brutally scarring Billy’s face in the finale of The Punisher season one.

When the first teaser for The Punisher was released, fans noticed that Billy Russo’s face was not as horrendous as the source material and they really did not like it. During a press run for The Punisher, I sat down with Ben Barnes and talked to him about Billy’s Jigsaw look in season two. Here’s what he had to say:

Q: We’re there any intentions of making Billy’s face look as horrendous as the source material?

Ben Barnes: I was plugging for it to be worse. I wanted to have an eye pulled down and a lip curled up. But, the showrunner was very keen for it to play into this theme of a veteran’s traumatic brain injury and it be about Billy seeing himself in the middle and escalating it in his mind into this terrible thing. It’s not about people reacting to him in shock and horror. It’s about actually his mind being the Jigsaw — his mind is what’s broken and needs piecing back together. It’s about the way he sees himself, and he sees himself as this Marine veteran and he’s been broken by conflict somewhere and he doesn’t know what it is. But he has this therapist who is used to working with a lot of Vets and she helps him use this art therapy mask and gets him to slightly open up. There’s actually questions in some articles I’ve read about whether that is even an approach that works. In terms of like whether revisiting trauma is something that helps you move forward, onwards and upwards. It’s kind of really interesting to pose those questions and have it scratch a little bit deeper than just “I want my vengeance on Frank Castle because he destroyed my face and I used to be handsome.” I think that was the narcissistic dramatic line for the first season, but it was kind of already finished and we wanted to find something real grounded and new for the second season. 

What do you think of Ben Barnes and his comments on Jigsaw? Did you enjoy season 2 of The Punisher? Sound off in the comments section below.

Marvel’s The Punisher stars Jon Bernthal, Ben Barnes, Amber Rose Revah, Jason R. Moore, Josh Stewart, Floriana Lima, Giorgia Whigham, Corbin Bernsen, Annette O’Toole and Deborah Ann Woll. Here’s the synopsis for season two:

Former marine-turned-vigilante Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) has been living a quiet life on the road until he suddenly becomes embroiled in the attempted murder of a young girl (Giorgia Whigham). As he is drawn into the mystery surrounding her and those in pursuit of the information she holds, Castle attracts a new target on his back as new and old enemies force him to confront whether he should accept his destiny and embrace a life as “The Punisher.

Marvel’s The Punisher season two is on Netflix now.