Mark Margolis, the prolific actor whose simmering air of menace as the fearsome former drug lord Hector Salamanca in “Breaking Bad” transformed the innocent ding of a bellhop bell into a harbinger of doom, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 83.
His death, at Mount Sinai Hospital following a brief illness, was confirmed in a statement on Friday by his son, Morgan Margolis.
Mr. Margolis, who had more than 160 credits in movies and on television, gained notice early on with memorable roles in Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” (1983) and the Jim Carrey comedy “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” (1994).
He also became a go-to actor for the director Darren Aronofsky, appearing in his films “π” (or “Pi”) in 1998, “Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010) and Noah (2014).
But no role made him as instantly recognizable to millions of viewers as his Hector in Vince Gilligan’s critically acclaimed AMC series “Breaking Bad,” starring Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn and Giancarlo Esposito, and its prequel, “Better Call Saul,” with Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn.
The role, in “Breaking Bad,” brought him an Emmy nomination in 2012 for outstanding guest actor in a dramatic series.
His Hector, or Tio, was indelible. An aging former drug cartel don, Hector had come to live in a New Mexico nursing home, unable to speak or walk following a stroke but still firmly in control of his power as a rival to Walter White (Mr. Cranston), a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher who evolves into a kingpin in the crystal methedrine trade.
Despite his lack of dialogue in “Breaking Bad,” Mr. Margolis proved a scene stealer from his wheelchair, his eyes bulging, his face trembling with rage, despite the nasal cannula pumping oxygen up his nose and his palm furiously banging his bell, taped to an arm of the chair, whenever he needed attention.
“I tell people I’m the second-most famous bell ringer after Quasimodo,” he said in a 2016 interview with Vulture, New York magazine’s culture site.
A full obituary will appear soon.
