With over 160 acting credits to his name, Mark Margolis was one of the entertainment industry's most prolific and versatile character actors in the business. A frequent collaborator of filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, Margolis was known for appearing in supporting roles in nearly all the director's films as well as making memorable appearances in beloved films and television shows such as Scarface, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul.
The Primetime Emmy Award-nominated actor might not have been the most famous or recognizable to casual audiences, but with a career spanning nearly five decades, fans of cinema are no doubt duly aware of his contributions to the craft. Often portraying villainous characters, Margolis would occasionally surprise fans by displaying his more dramatic — or even comedic — acting chops, thus solidifying himself as an onscreen chameleon.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the actor made his acting debut in the 1976 film, The Opening of Misty Beethoven as an unhappy airplane passenger — a role for which he didn't receive official credit. Despite the actor's passing on August 3 of this year, we're going to reflect on some of Margolis' best performances to honor the journeyman actor's hard work and hopefully expose more people to this truly remarkable talent the likes of which are seldom seen.
10 Your Honor
Showtime's crime/legal drama Your Honor debuted in 2020 and stars Bryan Cranston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Hope Davis, and Isaiah Whitlock Jr. among many other prominent television actors. The show follows New Orleans judge Michael Desianto (played by Cranston) and the depths he's willing to sink to in order to protect his hit-and-run son after the teen accidentally kills the son of a mobster.
Although met with mixed reviews, Your Honor's cast is among the show's highlights with even many of its newcomers receiving praise. Mark Margolis plays Carmine Conti, the father of Gina, the mother of the boy that was accidentally killed in the crash, and the actor brings his signature flair for the terrifying yet again.
Something of a bonus for Breaking Bad fans, but Margolis' involvement with the show reunites the late actor with his Breaking Bad co-star Bryan Cranston, and the two's chemistry is just as great here as it was in the legendary crime drama.
9 Requiem for a Dream
Darren Aronofsky's sophomore film, Requiem for a Dream, is perhaps one of the most beautifully distressing and disheartening films one could ever watch. The 2000 film is the film adaptation of the 1978 Hubert Selby Jr. novel and stars Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, and Christopher McDonald in leading and supporting roles, and closely follows the lives of four people suffering from debilitating drug addictions.
Known for its intense directing, shocking visuals, and heart-wrenching storytelling, Requiem for a Dream has often been considered one of the best movies a person only needs to view once. Irrespective of the film's hard-to-digest subject, Requiem for a Dream also boats unique editing techniques as well as some of the greatest acting performances ever committed to a film.
Mark Margolis portrays Mr. Rabinowitz, a flea market vendor to whom Harry and Tyrone sell valuable items in order to earn quick cash for their respective addictions. Even though he only appears in the film's introduction, the flow and cadence in which he uses to deliver his lines and his hunched-over posture informs keen viewers that he's played a significant role in helping these men satisfy their habit for a long time.
8 The Fountain
Aronofsky's 2006 epic romantic drama The Fountain stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in a story about love and the afterlife in a plot that spans three different time periods. Although the film received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, its themes and visuals impressed audiences, and Jackman's performance as three men from vastly different centuries was also among the things praised in the film.
The Fountain marked the third time the filmmaker and Margolis would collaborate, and he would be cast as Father Avila, an enigmatic priest who accompanies Tomás the conquistador on his journey to drink from the Tree of Life. Yet another smaller role, Margolis' stoic facial expressions and impressive period-appropriate accent still left an impression on critics and audiences alike.
7 Star Trek: The Next Generation
Mark Margolis appeared in "A Matter of Perspective," the fourteenth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation's third season. The episode was directed by Cliff Bole, written by Ed Zuckerman, and shot by cinematographer Marvin Rush, and paid homage to the classic 1950 Akira Kurosawa film, Rashomon.
The Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D holds a hearing regarding a scientist's murder, and everyone's events of what occurred are told via the holodeck in a manner that clearly references the Japanese drama. In this episode, Margolis plays Dr. Nel Apgar, a doctor from the Tanugan race who has been working on a new energy source known as Krieger waves. Despite his character's death, the crew's hair and makeup department aided significantly in convincingly transforming the actor into this intergalactic being.
6 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
The 1994 comedy classic Ace Ventura: Pet Detective stars Jim Carrey and Courteney Cox and follows animal detective Ace Ventura (played by Carrey) as he searches high and low for the Miami Dolphins football team's mascot. Typical of a Jim Carrey comedy, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective features some of the comedy legend's signature facial expressions, wacky improvisation, and physical humor that would make a body contortionist jealous.
Although his role in the film is small, Margolis plays Mr. Shickadance, Ventura's landlord and notorious animal hater. Despite his brief appearance in the movie, Margolis affects a growl-like rumble whenever he speaks and dons a no-nonsense facial expression in his scenes, perfectly balancing out Carrey's signature over-the-top screen presence and making a memorably hilarious scene.
5 The Equalizer
The popular 1980s television show, The Equalizer, boasted eighty-eight episodes and ran for four seasons between 1985 and 1989. The spy thriller starred English actor Edward Woodward and centered around Robert McCall, a former covert operations officer dishing out his particular brand of vigilante justice while occasionally crossing paths with old friends and foes. The show was best known for its theme song from composer and The Police drummer, Stuart Copeland, and its plethora of guest star appearances from Christian Slater to Ving Rhames to Mark Margolis.
Margolis plays Jimmy, a surveillance expert and veteran of the American intelligence company known as The Company, and his expertise with bugs and wiretaps makes him an invaluable ally to McCall whenever he needs help with particularly sensitive matters. Despite Jimmy's mysterious personality, he often tells McCall stories about his ex-wife, and we even learn that he's a mentor to kids through the Big Brother project.
Margolis made the second-highest number of appearances in the show, appearing in sixteen episodes (far more than some of his more famous colleagues), and we're willing to bet the house he would have appeared in more had it not been for his heavy workload!
4 š¯›‘ (Pi)
Released in 1998, Pi is Darren Aronofsky's feature-length film debut and also marks the first collaboration between the filmmaker and the veteran actor. Shot completely in reversal black and white film, Pi centers around Max (played by fellow filmmaker Sean Gullette) a numbers theorist desperately trying to uncover the significance of the number 216, as well as its relevance to his life.
Produced with a budget of roughly $135,000, Pi went on to receive critical acclaim upon release, with much of the praise directed at Aronofsky's directing and the film's exploration of its complex themes. Furthermore, the film even performed well commercially, having grossed a little over $3 million at the box office.
Margolis portrays Sol Robeson, a fellow mathematician and mentor to Max who despite having suffered from a stroke, is just as sharp and brilliant as Max — maybe even more so depending on who you ask. Whether you're a fan of his "Archimedes" monologue or his "number theory vs. numerology" speech to Max, Margolis easily steals the show anytime he's on the screen, and much of it can also be attributed to cinematographer and fellow longtime collaborator Matthew Libatique's deliberate close-up shots.
In each of the late actor's scenes, Margolis delivers his lines with an authority and tenacity that forces audiences to feel just as despondent and flustered as Max does. Despite Pi's complex screenplay, the film is definitely worth a viewing for anyone interested in films that explore religion and mathematics, and for anyone who is a diehard fan of its director and Margolis.
3 Oz
Tom Fontana's Oz was on the air from July 1997 to February 2003 and centered around the lives of the faculty and inmates of the level four maximum security prison known as Oswald State Penitentiary, or Oz for short. We meet a wide array of characters in Oz ranging from the Aryan Brotherhood to the Black American gangs to the Latino and Irish factions, and the show was beloved for exploring many complex themes such as the American prison industrial complex, racism, religion, and redemption.
Margolis gave an exceptionally memorable performance as Antonio Nappa, a powerful Italian American who eventually controls the Sicilians after their former boss steps down. Although the character meets his demise fairly early in the series, Nappa left a strong impression on fans as his philosophical musings about life and the afterlife made him more than a common television thug.
Moreover, his monologue about communication and the ways in which technological advances have made it simultaneously easier and harder to communicate with one another in the Season 6 episode, "A Failure to Communicate," was not only powerful but eerily relevant to the zeitgeist of the 2010s and 2020s with the ever-growing prominence of social media.
2 Scarface
Coming in at number two is Margolis' performance as Alberto the Shadow in the classic 1983 Brian De Palma film Scarface. A remake of the classic Paul Muni 1932 film, Scarface follows Cuban immigrants Tony Montana and Manolo "Manny" Ray in early 1980s Miami, Florida as they rise through the ranks of organized crime.
A tale about excess and lust for power, the crime thriller is often considered one of the greatest films ever made, and new generations of fans quote it incessantly to this day. Long before he'd get involved in organized crime in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Margolis wound up in Miami as the villainous Sosa's right-hand man, Alberto the Shadow, a mysterious man of Spanish descent who does Sosa's bidding.
Stone-faced and a man of very few words, Alberto was one of the more memorable characters in Scarface as his utter loyalty to Sosa meant he wouldn't hesitate to kill women and children if his boss commanded. Despite Montana's infamous temper and crimes committed throughout the film, it was during a hit with Alberto that the Cuban drug kingpin would put his foot down and break the rules of the game men like he and Sosa play.
Despite Montana killing Alberto, it was thanks to Margolis' performance as the cold assassin that would show audiences a glimpse of Tony's humanity despite his brutal quest for money, power, and respect.
1 Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
Finally, topping off our list is Mark Margolis' legendary performance as the bane of Gustavo Frings' existence, Hector Salamanca. Created by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, Hector is a ruthless drug kingpin who operates his organization out of Albuquerque, New Mexico like Walt and Gus and is one of the show's greatest antagonists.
When we're first introduced to the elder Salamanca, he's a wheelchair-bound senior citizen who initially gives off the impression he's nothing more than a cranky old man. However, once we learn he's the uncle of Tuco and the Cousins, it swiftly becomes apparent just how dangerous this man actually is.
Even though Hector communicates strictly by ringing his wheelchair's bell, his facial expressions, grunts, and fast breathing convey much better than words ever could his thoughts and emotions to the characters in the show and audiences alike. Moreover, when Hector willingly sacrificed himself to help Walt kill Gus via wheelchair bomb, it perfectly cemented his status as one of the show's best characters.
Margolis would return to the role in 2015's Better Call Saul as the mostly pre-wheelchair-bound version of Hector and offer fans a different interpretation of the beloved Salamanca. Although Margolis' Spanish was criticized by native Spanish speakers, he still delivered a memorable performance in that audiences got more context regarding his and Gus' long-standing rivalry.
While Margolis' passing came as a surprise, he delivered some of the best performances ever committed to film. His work ethic was matched by very few, his ability to recreate different accents was impressive, and his ability to portray some of the most morally interesting characters ever written with pinpoint accuracy contributed to his status as one of the industry's best.