Mark Margolis, star of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, dies aged 83

Actor will also be remembered for supporting role in ‘Scarface’

Mark Margolis, the actor best known for his Emmy-nominated performance as the malicious drug baron Hector Salamanca on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, has died aged 83.

Margolis died Thursday (3 August) at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City following a short illness, his son announced on Friday.

Margolis will also be remembered for his turn as the Bolivian henchman Alberto the Shadow in Brian De Palma’s Scarface (1984).

The actor had a longstanding relationship with The Whale director Darren Aronofsky, who first hired him to play a maths teacher in his 1998 psychological thriller, Pi.

He then called on his services for his next five films, Requiem for a Dream (2000); The Fountain (2006); The Wrestler (2008); Black Swan (2010); and Noah (2014).

Margolis told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2012 interview about why Aronofsky kept hiring him: “He thinks he has an obligation! I started with him on his first movie, the $60,000 Pi, when he was unknown. I chased him for three months because he kept lying to me about when I’d get my money. I finally threatened to call his mother, who was craft services on the film. Then he finally paid me.”

He first appeared as Hector “Tio” Salamanca on Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad in March 2009 on the second episode of the second season of the hit AMC drama.

Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca (AMC Studios)

Despite the fact that his character is paralysed and unable to speak, Margolis made a deep impression on the series. In the series four episode “Hermanos”, his character’s history was deepened in an extensive flashback, which showed him to be responsible for the death of Max Arciniega, Gus Fring’s (Giancarlo Esposito) partner.

“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. “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.”

His turn on the show earned him an Emmy nomination in 2012 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Margolis was born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1939. He moved to New York City to study acting as a teenager, going on to land roles in Broadway productions.

His big break on screen came in the De Palma’s 1984 mob classic, Scarface, starring Al Pacino as the titular crime boss.

His other notable credits include a recurring role in CBS crime drama The Equalizer and Ace’s landlord Mr Shickadance in Jim Carrey’s 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Margolis’ manager Robert Kolker said in a statement: “He was one of a kind. We won’t see his likes again. He was a treasured client and a lifelong friend. I was lucky to know him.”

He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Margolis (née Petcove), his son, actor Morgan H Margolis, and two grandchildren.