Breaking Bad Actor Mark Margolis Dies at 83

Mark Margolis, the Emmy-nominated actor best known for his role as menacing drug lord Hector “Tio” Salamanca on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, died on Thursday following a brief illness. His son Morgan Margolis and Mark’s wife Jacqueline were at his bedside at New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital at the time of his death. He was 83.

Margolis began his theatrical career as a personal assistant to method acting pioneer Stella Adler. He studied under Adler at the Actors Studio, where he also trained with Lee Strasberg and Barbara Loden. He made his Broadway debut in 1962 in the play Infidel Caesar, which closed in previews, and subsequently founded the touring theater company Blue Dome. Margolis went on to appear in over 50 off-Broadway productions, the most recent of which was the 2019 revival of Tony Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day at the Public Theater.

The actor had a number of prestigious film credits to his name as well, including the role of Alberto “The Shadow” in Scarface, and appearances in many Darren Aronofsky films, including Noah, Black Swan, The Wrestler, and Pi. His time as TV’s Hector Salamanca, however, gave Margolis the most public notoriety, and in 2012, his wordless performance on Breaking Bad earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest actor in a dramatic series.

In addition to his wife Jacqueline and son Morgan, Margolis is survived by Morgan’s wife Heide; grandchildren Ben, Aidan, and Henry; and his brother Jerome and his wife Ann.