Actor Mark Margolis dies at 83; played fan favorite Hector Salamanca on ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’
Mark Margolis, a veteran actor known for his performances on “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” has died, his son, actor and Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis, told The Hollywood Reporter.
He was 83.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Margolis for comment.
Margolis had received an Emmy nomination for portraying Hector “Tio” Salamanca. Tio, a fan-favorite character, was a former cartel enforcer who communicated using a brass bell attached to his wheelchair. He later played Tio as a younger man before he was in a wheelchair.
“It was a marvelous creature! The fact that he didn’t have any words was not an issue for me,” Margolis told Time in 2013 of the role. “I was delighted not to have to learn any lines. I mean, I had to know what was going on, I had to my cues, but the fact that I didn’t have to master lines was great. I got to fly out to New Mexico and not worry about memorizing anything.”
Margolis also appeared in “Scarface,” “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” and “Oz.” He worked often with director Darren Aronofsky and appeared in six of his movies.
The actor also appeared at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2014, starring in the West Coast premiere of Tony Kushner’s “The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures.” He received excellent reviews for his role as Gus, a man who “devoted his life to the cause of labor. Now in his 70s, the card-carrying Communist and … retired longshoremen plans to sell off his Brooklyn brownstone, give his children the proceeds and put an end to his misery.”
He studied under legendary acting teacher Stella Adler at The Actors Studio in New York.
Though he had well more than 100 film and television credits, Margolis found the staying power of performance as Tio surprising.
“I can’t get down a street 50 feet without taking a picture or signing an autograph! I was just supposed to be on for one episode,” he said in the same 2013 interview. “After the second season, I didn’t know anyone who knew the show, but after the third season — it just blew up.”
Best known for his portrayals as villains, Margolis in actuality was described as humorous and self-deprecating.”
“There are three guys a day that stop me and the only thing they know me from is ‘Scarface.’ I always say, ‘My God, you’re talking about something from 30 years ago,’” Margolis told Vulture in 2016. “I’m a curmudgeon and I get into these things with people. I should just shut up. It makes you feel like they retired you for some reason. It shouldn’t pain me, but I’m a little bit unhinged. Insecure is probably the word.”
Margolis joked about being known for his “Breaking Bad” bell ringing skills when he was hired to be in a commercial for an Apple watch app.
“I don’t do many commercials. I didn’t know why anybody wanted me, and it’s because the thing is called Dingbel and it dings a bell,” Margolis recalled to Vulture. “I tell people I’m the second-most famous bell ringer after Quasimodo. It’s me and Quasimodo.”
Margolis is survived by his his wife, Jacqueline, his son and several grandchildren.
Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.