Mark Margolis, a talented actor and character specialist who enjoyed a long career and won a new generation of fans with his performance as the bell-ringing former drug lord Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad and its prequel, Better Call Saul, has died. He was 83.
Born in 1939 in Philadelphia, Margolis moved to New York at a young age to pursue acting. With an early interest in theatre, he landed roles in productions such as Infidel Caesar on Broadway. He would go on to appear in more than 50 Off-Broadway plays.
Margolis got his start in TV and film in the 1970s, but saw his first big breakout as Shadow in Scarface. From there, he would go on to appear in films such as Glory, 1492: Conquest Of Paradise, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Absolute Power, and, following a memorable turn as Sol Robeson in Darren Aronofsky's first feature, Pi, he became a regular collaborator with the director, appearing in Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan and Noah.
On the small screen, he'll probably always be remembered as the menacing Salamanca on Breaking Bad and its prequel, though he also worked on Your Honor (with Bad's Bryan Cranston), The Affair, Gotham and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Saul star Bob Odenkirk led the tributes to Margolis on twitter…