Alfred Molina

Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British actor.

He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen.

In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards, a British Independent Film Award, an Independent Spirit Award, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Tony Awards.

Molina appeared with Leonard Rossiter in the sitcom The Losers (1978).

He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play for his performance in the production of Oklahoma! in 1980.

On screen he made his debut as Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

He made his film debut with a minor role alongside Harrison Ford in Steven Spielberg's adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) as Indiana Jones' ill-fated guide, Satipo, during its iconic opening sequence.

His other notable television credits include Meantime (1983), Murder on the Orient Express (2001), and Three Pines (2022).

He was born Alfredo Molina in the Paddington district of London.

His parents were both immigrants: his Spanish father was a waiter, and his Italian mother worked as a cleaner.

Molina grew up in a working-class district in Notting Hill that was inhabited by many other immigrant families.

He attended Cardinal Manning secondary modern Roman Catholic school there.

He decided to become an actor after seeing Spartacus at the age of nine, and attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as well as auditioning for and becoming a member of the National Youth Theatre.

At the age of 21, he changed his name to Alfred, at the urging of his first agent.

However, his big break came with Letter to Brezhnev (1985), which he followed with a starring role in Prick Up Your Ears (1987), playing Joe Orton's lover (and eventual murderer) Kenneth Halliwell.

He was originally cast as Arnold Rimmer in the TV sitcom Red Dwarf, but was replaced by Chris Barrie.

His other notable films include Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Enchanted April (1992), Boogie Nights (1997), Chocolat (2000), Luther (2003), The Da Vinci Code (2006), and Love Is Strange (2014).

In the early 1990s, Molina was a ubiquitous presence on British television, with his highest profile role being the lead in the first two series of El C.I.D..

Subsequent film roles include the drama Not Without My Daughter (1991), the science fiction horror film Species (1995), the broad comedy Dudley Do-Right (1999).

He appeared in the critically acclaimed films such as Mike Newell's costume drama Enchanted April (1992), Richard Donner's western comedy Maverick (1994), and Jim Jarmusch's western Dead Man (1995).

In 1993 he appeared in the BBC miniseries adaptation of A Year in Provence, playing the annoying Tony, along with John Thaw and Lindsay Duncan.

In 1995, Molina starred with Marisa Tomei in The Perez Family, playing Cuban refugees who pretend to be married so they can more easily stay in America.

Marjorie Baumgarten praised Molina as attaining "the right mixture of gentle honor and baffled stupefaction" to portray his character, although Peter Rainer of Los Angeles Times called Molina "so intensely sodden that he’s like a great big scowling Dark Cloud."

Molina has worked twice with Paul Thomas Anderson, first in Boogie Nights (1997) and then in Magnolia (1999).

He made his film and his Broadway debut as Yvan in a production of Art from 1998 to 1999.

With a midwestern American accent, Molina starred alongside Betty White in the US television series Ladies Man, which ran from 1999 to 2001.

In 2000, Molina appeared in Lasse Hallström's Chocolat which received critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination.

He went on to receive two BAFTA Award nominations for his roles as Diego Rivera in Frida (2002), and Jack Mellor in An Education (2009).

He gained wide recognition for his portrayal of Diego Rivera alongside Salma Hayek in the biopic Frida (2002), a role for which he gained BAFTA and SAG award nominations.

He played himself alongside Steve Coogan in Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and gained further commercial recognition when he portrayed Johann Tetzel in Luther (2003) and Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004), which became one of the highest-grossing films of that year.

For the latter, Molina was nominated for a Satellite Award as Best Supporting Actor.

He reprised his role in the video game adaptation.

His other Broadway roles include Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof from 2004 to 2005 and Mark Rothko in the play Red from 2009 to 2010.

He is also known for his portrayal of Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

He has voiced characters in Rango (2011), Monsters University (2013), Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), and Frozen II (2019).

Molina stated in an interview in 2013 that he owes his stage and film career to the Indiana Jones series.

"I'm very, very proud of that, I have to admit I didn't think at the time, 'Oh, this is going to go down in movie history.' I'd never been in front of a camera before," Molina said about his short but memorable appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

He recalled getting the job as a "gift from God" and said, "I've publicly thanked Steven many, many times. That job saved my bacon, in more ways than one."

About his now-famous line in the film, Molina stated that "I've never had a problem with people coming up to me about it. They'll shout that line to me, 'Throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip!' I'm delighted that people still remember it."

On television, Molina has received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his roles as Ben Weeks in the HBO movie The Normal Heart (2014), and Robert Aldrich in the FX miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan (2017).