The character actor was best known for his role as a murderous drug kingpin on «Breaking Bad» and «Better Call Saul.»
Veteran character actor Mark Margolis, who had a breakout role as a mobster in “Scarface” but became best known decades later for his indelible, fearsome portrayal of a vindictive former drug kingpin in TV’s “Breaking Bad,” has died. He was 83.
The actor died on Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City following a short illness, according to a statement from his son, Morgan Margolis.
Margolis was nominated for an Emmy in 2012 for outstanding guest actor in “Breaking Bad” as Hector “Tio” Salamanca, the murderous elderly don who was unable to speak following a stroke. But this actor did not need dialogue; he communicated via facial expressions and the sometimes menacing use of a barhop bell taped to his wheelchair.
Much of his character’s backstory later played out on “Better Call Saul,” the prequel in which he guest-starred from 2016 to 2022. Margolis has said he based his portrayal of the kingpin partly on his own experience caring for a relative who’d suffered a stroke.
On social media, admirers shared scenes of Hector — especially of his explosive demise.
