04 August 2023 , 16:13
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Mark Margolis died at the age of 83 on Thursday, following a short illness. His son and Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis, announced that his father had died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
Mark was well known for his role as Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad and the show's spin-off series Better Call Saul. His role in the Netflix hit Breaking Bad landed him an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest actor in a drama series back in 2012. In 2016, he spoke about returning to play Hector again and his surprise at the fans having taken a liking to him.
"I was only coming onto Breaking Bad as far as I knew for that one episode, but there’s no accounting for taste, and the fans took a fancy to me,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Somebody asked me recently, ‘How did you manage to play such a horrible guy?’ and I said, ‘Have you talked to my friends?’ They’ll tell you I’m pretty miserable to begin with.”
Mark was famous for his role in Breaking Bad (NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)He was born in 1939 in Philadelphia to a humble family. His mother was a decorator and his father was a factory worker. He took his first acting class at 14 at Temple University before moving to New York to study drama with Stella Adler at The Actors Studio.
Speaking of his time with the acting great, Mark had told Eric Broadbent in an Inside the Gilliverse interview in December 2020: “My first impression of her was, ‘If God is a woman, this is him.' She was larger than life. Everything that I know [about acting] came from Stella.”
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He had several small roles before he became Alberto in Scarface in 1983, which was his last acting role for a while, he revealed : "I am just a journeyman actor. Truth to tell, six months after Scarface, I had to take a job with a real estate development friend for a few months just to get by.”
Mark also starred in Scarface and Black Swan (Curtis Means/Ace Pictures/REX/Shutterstock)
Fans have sent his family their condolences on social media (Broadway World/REX/Shutterstock)Mark went on to play surveillance expert Jimmy in CBS' crime drama The Equalizer before starring in legendary movies like Requiem For A Dream, alongside Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly, Black Swan and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
Fans took to social media to share their condolences, with one writing: "RIP Thanks for contributing to the best show ever." A second added: "RIP good sir you were a phenomenal actor."
A third put: "Mark Margolis has sadly passed away. Hector Salamanca will live with us forever. Rip Legend," while a fourth commented: "He was part of one of the best scenes in TV history. RIP Mark Margolis, AKA Hector Salamanca."