What is the significance of James Cole's tattoos?

In 12 Monkeys, James Cole has some tattoos, one on the back of his neck looks like a bar-code and another on the side of his neck near to the ear looks like some digits.

enter image description here

Is there any significance to those tattoos? They are shown various times in the film.

character 12-monkeys

Best Answer

Introduction to Twelve Monkeys from the Programme Notes:

And, his stark look was further enhanced by his makeup artist, Cristina Bartolucci, who, everyday, etched a trio of tattoos onto Willis' scalp and neck - one that indicated his prisoner number, and a pair of bar-codes, the kind imprinted on packaged goods, on each side of his neck.

This is also repeated on Wikipedia:

The actor had a trio of tattoos drawn onto his scalp and neck each day when filming: one that indicated his prisoner number, and a pair of barcodes on each side of his neck.

I don't think that there's any particular significance to the tattoos other than to emphasise the dystopian undercurrent in the story and remind us every now and then that Cole is actually a prisoner (from the future).