Character actor Mark Margolis, best known as cartel enforcer Hector Salamanca on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, has died. Margolis was 83. Margolis died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York after a brief illness, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A protégé of famed acting teacher Stella Adler, Margolis made his screen debut with a bit part in the erotic comedy The Opening of Misty Beethoven. After small parts in Dressed to Kill and Arthur, his first major role came in the Brian De Palma gangster classic Scarface, in which he played Alberto, a gangster who accompanies Tony Montana (Al Pacino) to an unsuccessful assassination attempt that ends with Alberto’s paying the ultimate price.
Larger roles followed, including a recurring role as surveillance expert Jimmy on the ’80s drama series The Equalizer, Jim Carrey‘s irascible landlord in the star-making comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and a recurring role as dying Mafioso Angelo Nappa on the prison drama Oz. He also collaborated frequently with director Darren Aronofsky, with a prominent role in his directorial debut Pi, and appearances in his subsequent films Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, and Noah.
Who Was Hector Salamanca?
Margolis‘ best-known role came late in his career, with the showy role of aged gangster Hector Salamanca on AMC‘s acclaimed Breaking Bad. Although Salamanca was paralyzed by a stroke and able to communicate only with a ringing bell, Margolis (who did not speak Spanish) effectively communicated the elderly gangster’s fury, hatred, and vindictiveness solely through his facial expressions, earning him a Best Guest Actor Emmy nomination. Margolis based the performance on his late mother-in-law, who was similarly affected by a stroke. Although Salamanca died in the show’s fourth-season finale, assisting in the explosive assassination of rival drug lord Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), Margolis returned to the role in the prequel series Better Call Saul, depicting Salamanca as a younger man, both before and after his stroke.
With such a prominent role under his belt, Margolis became a sought-after TV guest star, making appearances on The Blacklist, American Horror Story, Gotham, and Constantine, where he played legendary DC supervillain, Felix Faust. Recently, he reunited with his Breaking Bad co-star Bryan Cranston, playing a recurring role on Your Honor.
Margolis is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Margolis, who he married in 1962; their son, Morgan Margolis; his brother Jerome Margolis; and three grandchildren. May his memory be a blessing.
via Collider