When actor Mark Margolis passed away on August 3, he left behind an acting legacy that stretched beyond his signature role of “Tio” Hector Salamanca on Breaking Bad and its spinoff, Better Call Saul. While his TV roles may be the most memorable, his film career, which dates back to the mid-1970s, is filled with impressive credits.
The 83-year-old worked with some of the biggest directors and actors in Hollywood, across a number of genres in film and television. The Philadelphia native began his acting career on the stage, but television and film soon beckoned. His film career included roles quite unlike Hector Salamanca and varied widely, playing a sympathetic character in one film and a hardened criminal in the next.
His range was fantastic, as his role in Breaking Bad proved. Many fans were unaware that Margolis was Jewish, and had to learn Spanish phrases to say Uncle Hector’s lines. Margolis is the only member of the cast to earn an Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Guest Starring Role, and when he passed, Brian Cranston paid tribute by calling him “a lovely human being…fun and engaging off the set, and intimidating and frightening on set.”
His film career included a collaboration with director Darren Aronofsky, who cast him in each of his first six films, even if it was for a single scene. He also had roles in both big-budget films and indie films in which he was the only recognizable face.
Following are the top 15 films Mark Margolis has starred in, as ranked by Rotten Tomatoes. We have only included films in which he was a featured actor, so we won’t include films like 1989’s Glory, in which he appeared in a brief role as an unnamed soldier.
15 The Fountain (2006) – 53%
Darren Aranofsky’s The Fountain explores man’s search for immortality through three parallel stories, each featuring Hugh Jackman as a man on a quest on behalf of the woman he loves (Rachel Weisz). The stories take place across three time periods: the present, the 16th century, and 500 years in the future.
Margolis appears in the 16th-century story, which is set in the Mayan Empire. He plays Father Avila, a Franciscan monk assisting a conquistador named Tomas (Jackman) searching for the Tree of Life. The film itself is divisive among critics, but the performances of the cast, including Margolis, are fantastic.
14 Defiance (2008) – 59%
Defiance tells the true story of the Bielskis, three Jewish brothers who led an armed resistance against the Nazis during World War II. They also built a village in the forest of modern-day Belarus for hundreds of Jewish refugees to hide from German troops in one of the most incredible stories of World War II.
Margolis played a Jewish elder in the film and was part of a stellar cast that included Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell.
13 Infested (2002) – 60%
Infested isn’t exactly a great movie, and yet through the magic of Rotten Tomatoes, it managed to pull in a 60% rating. Only five critics reviewed it, but three of the five, including horror movie aficionado Joe Bob Briggs, actually liked it. It’s a silly horror flick about a bunch of deadly mutant bees that attack a group of young people reuniting to attend their friend’s funeral, kind of like The Swarm meets The Big Chill.
The film’s big draw is that it starts former Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson in the lead. An appearance by Margolis is a bonus, as he appears as Father Morning, the absolute worst preacher you could get for a funeral. Among his remarks at the graveside service (which appears to be filmed on the side of the road) is this unintentionally hilarious line: “Someone remembers you. So what? You’re still dead!”
12 Nasty Baby (2015) – 68%
Nasty Baby tells the story of a gay couple in Brooklyn (Sebastián Silva and Tunde Adebimpe) who partner with a friend (Kristen Wiig) to have a baby. As their personal lives begin to unravel, however, circumstances lead to a fateful night that affects everyone involved. Margolis is very good as Richard, an opinionated neighbor who inserts himself into everyone’s business. When the three friends find themselves in an impossible situation, Richard comes to their aid.
11 The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) – 69%
Margolis had a small but pivotal role in The Thomas Crown Affair, a snappy, sexy remake of the 1960 romantic thriller from Die Hard director John McTiernan. Pierce Brosnan plays Crown and Rene Russo plays the insurance investigator out to catch him, only to fall in love with him.
Margolis appears in the third act as Heinrich Knutzhorn, a master forger who can replicate paintings by the masters, so he is consulted on the case. His is also directly connected to one of the film’s twists.
10 Abe (2019) – 71%
In Abe, Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp plays a 12-year-old aspiring chef who shares his cooking videos on social media. Half of his family is Palestinian, the other half is Israeli, and his parents are atheists, and each side wants him to adopt their cultural identity. Instead, Abe loses himself in his cooking, sneaking out at night to learn tips on fusion cooking from a street chef (Seu Jorge).
Margolis plays Benjamin, Abe’s grumpy Jewish grandfather who doesn’t appreciate anyone speaking badly about Israel, especially the Palestinians on the other side of the dinner table. When the conflicts come to a head, Margolis really shows off his acting chops with a surprisingly emotional performance.
9 The Cotton Club (1984) – 77%
A year after making Scarface, Margolis appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s other attempt at a gangster epic, The Cotton Club. Set at the famous jazz nightclub in Harlem in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the film follows Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere), a musician who finds himself mixing with the gangsters who spend their nights at the club.
There’s star power in every scene, as the all-star cast includes Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins, Nicolas Cage, and Fred Gwynne. Margolis plays Charlie Workman, a gangster who leads a violent shootout that kills a major character. Surprisingly, he isn’t actually credited in the cast list. The film is also notable because it also stars future Breaking Bad nemesis Giancarlo Esposito (who would later play Guis Fring), who appears in a minor role as a hood.
8 Requiem for a Dream (2000) – 78%
In Requiem for a Dream, Ellen Burstyn plays Sara, a mother who coddles her drug-addicted son (Jared Leto) and his friends (Marlon Wayans and Jennifer Connelly). Her troubles multiply when she gets addicted to diet pills, and their shared addictions have dire consequences for everyone.
Margolis plays Abe Rabinowitz, a local pawn shop owner who Leto’s Harry uses to sell stuff he steals from his mother to buy drugs. Abe then sells back the items to Sara, with a lecture about her son. Leto gives one of the strongest performances of his early career.
7 Scarface (1983) – 79%
Brian De Palma’s crime epic Scarface has become a modern classic for film fans, who love quoting lines with their best Tony Montana impression and counting all the F-bombs. Al Pacino plays Montana, who rises through the ranks of the Columbian drug cartel, while also destroying the lives of everyone around him. Tony’s fateful meeting with cartel assassin “Alberto the Shadow” (Margolis) turns out to be his undoing.
Margolis’ memorable role earned even more notoriety after he earned a new generation of fans thanks to Breaking Bad, who made the connection to his role in the film.
6 Pi (1998) – 88%
Darren Aronofsky’s 1998 directorial debut was a critically acclaimed cult classic. Pi tells the story of Max (Sean Gullette), a brilliant yet disturbed mathematician obsessed with finding the perfect number sequence that he believes will unlock the key to finding patterns in everything in the universe.
Margolis played Sol Robeson, Max’s former professor and unofficial mentor, who visits him to play games of Go and discuss numbers. Sol is one of the few tethers Max still has to reality, but it isn’t long before his obsession wins out.
5 Dinner Rush (2000) – 91%
Dinner Rush is a 2000 indie drama from director Bob Giraldi, best known for directing a number of music videos in the 1980s, including Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Set in a family-owned Italian restaurant in New York City, Dinner Rush takes place across one intense night that sees an eclectic cast of characters coming in for dinner, and others coming for something more.
Margolis plays Fitzgerald, a rich, entitled customer who talks to the wait staff in a condescending manner. His character pops up throughout a surprisingly entertaining film.
4 Minyan (2020) – 93%
In Minyan, Samuel Levine plays David, a teenager growing up in Brighton Beach in the 1980s and having to help his grandfather (Ron Rifkin) move into a retirement home. David is also coming to terms that he is gay. It’s a scary proposition at the height of the AIDS epidemic, but he learns some life lessons from Itzik (Margolis) and Herschel (Christopher McCann), two closeted gay men living in the neighborhood.
Even as a supporting character, Margolis is a pivotal character in the film’s storyline, as tragedy strikes and motivates young David to action. The film is the first nondocumentary from director Eric Steel, who produced Angela’s Ashes and Bringing Out the Dead.
3 Gone Baby Gone (2007) – 95%
Ben Affleck’s Oscar-nominated directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, is a film based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. It tells the story of two private detectives (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) aiding in the search for a little girl who has been kidnapped from a working-class Boston neighborhood.
Margolis played Leon Trett, a drug addict and associate of one of the suspects behind the kidnapping. He’s a particularly slimy character alongside actress Trudi Goldman, who plays his equally-slimy wife. Gone Baby Gone is a dark, difficult watch, but Affleck’s strong directorial debut was only a preview of the greatness to come in films like Argo.
2 The Wrestler (2008) – 98%
Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler marked the fourth collaboration between the director and Margolis, who was cast as Lenny, the stubborn landlord of Randy (Mickey Rourke), who locks him out of his trailer for not paying his rent. It’s a brief role, but the focus was on Rourke and co-star Marisa Tomei, who were each nominated for Oscars (Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively).
1 Where the Rivers Flow North (1993) – 100%
Where the Rivers Flow North is an indie film from 1993 directed by Jay Craven and starring Best Actor Oscar nominee Rip Torn (Cross Creek, Men in Black). Set in the Vermont wilderness in 1927, the film features Torn as Noel Lord, a logger who refuses to give up his land to a greedy developer (Michael J. Fox, in a very different role) who wants to flood it by building a dam. Margolis plays a character dubbed “New York Money,” the foreman in charge of building the dam, who tries to pressure Noel to sell.
Despite some solid reviews and a great cast, the film has never been available to stream, nor has it seen a 4K or Blu-ray release. It was released on DVD over 20 years ago and is currently out of print, robbing film fans of seeing some great actors in an undiscovered film.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
