The best Mark Margolis movies and TV shows include a strong mix of truly classic films and groundbreaking television shows that legitimize his place in Hollywood history. Margolis was trained by the best, learning under Stella Adler at the Actors Studio and then trained by Lee Strasberg, the teacher who mastered method acting. This led to Margolis getting his start in stage plays before finally moving on to movies in 1976. He then caught the eye of Brian De Palma, and the rest is history.
Margolis enjoyed an early breakout role in the De Palma classic masterpiece Scarface. That earned him enough attention to pick up supporting roles in several movies. His career took an interesting direction in 1998 when Darren Aronofsky cast him in his debut film, Pi. That led to Aronofsky casting Margolis in almost every movie he made after that until Noah in 2014. Margolis remains most known to younger fans for his roles in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, making TV his biggest source of roles at the end of his life.
10 American Horror Story: Asylum (2012)
Mark Margolis Plays Sam Goodman
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11 6.3/10 American Horror Story HorrorAnthologyThriller Sci-FiFantasyMystery
American Horror Story is a Horror Anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The franchise has seen stars like Connie Britton, Jessica Lange, Denis O’Hare, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, and Dylan McDermott. Each season follows a new premise and spans an array of horror genres like witches, ghosts, serial killers, and more.
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*Availability in US Cast Denis O’Hare , Emma Roberts , Dylan McDermott , Joseph Fiennes , Gabourey Sidibe , Taissa Farmiga , James Cromwell , Angela Bassett , Zachary Quinto , Sarah Paulson , Jamie Brewer , Evan Peters , Lizzie Brochere , Kathy Bates , Jessica Lange , Michael Chiklis , Connie Britton , Lily Rabe , Franches Conroy Release Date October 17, 2012 Seasons 12 Showrunner Ryan Murphy Expand
Mark Margolis appeared in the second season of American Horror Story. In Asylum, Margolis stars as Sam Goodman, a Nazi hunter. His first appearance is in the episode “I Am Anne Frank, Part 2.” In this episode, Sam meets with Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) and talks about the Nazi in hiding at the asylum, Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell). Margolis said he loved the experience and had never seen a cast as impressive as this one (via Media Mikes):
“It’s got wonderful actors on it, the principles. The regulars on the show are quite incredible. I mean Jessica Lange is amazing. Cromwell is amazing. There’s a whole group of them that are quite terrific; the regulars. I’ve never seen a show like that.”
Margolis appears in four of the season’s 13 episodes and plays a big part in helping Sister Jude find a way to stop the evil Arden. However, thanks to the possessed Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe), he doesn’t make it out in one piece. The series received a lot of praise, with 17 Primetime Emmy nominations, including a win for James Cromwell for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie.
9 Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990)
Mark Margolis Plays Dr. Nel Apgar
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36 9.3/10 Star Trek: The Next Generation Sci-FiSuperheroDramaAction
Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.
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*Availability in US Cast Patrick Stewart , Marina Sirtis , Brent Spiner , Jonathan Frakes , LeVar Burton , Wil Wheaton Release Date September 28, 1987 Seasons 7 Showrunner Gene Roddenberry
Mark Margolis only appeared in one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it was a memorable performance in what might be the best series of the franchise. He appeared in the episode “A Matter of Perspective” as a Tanugan scientist working on Krieger waves, a new promised energy source for the Federation. Commander Riker and Chief Engineer La Forge drop in to check on him. However, when Riker returns, the station explodes, and Riker is the number one suspect.
Related 25 Best Star Trek: TNG Episodes Of All Time
Star Trek: The Next Generation produced some of the best and most beloved science fiction television of all time. Here is TNG’s best of the best.
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It was a small role, but he played an important part in the episode. His actions led to the explosion that destroyed the station and killed him. This was a highly rated episode of the series, compared in its structure to Rashomon, with the actions leading to the explosion told from different points of view. For a one-shot appearance, Margolis left a big impression in his performance and deservedly so on a very good Star Trek franchise series.
8 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Mark Margolis Plays Mr. Shickadance
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Ace Ventura: Pet Detective pgComedyMystery
Jim Carrey stars in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective as the titular character, who investigates the disappearance of the Miami Dolphins’ mascot. Courteney Cox, Sean Young, and Tone Loc star in this 1994 comedy, which cemented Carrey as a movie star alongside The Mask and Dumb and Dumber.
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*Availability in US Director Tom Shadyac Release Date February 4, 1994 Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Cast Jim Carrey , Courteney Cox , Sean Young , Tone Loc , Dan Marino , Noble Willingham Runtime 86minutes
Mark Margolis had several supporting roles in movies in the 1980s and 1990s, and he became a recognizable face in many releases. One of his more entertaining appearances was a small role in the Jim Carrey breakout movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. In the movie, Carrey plays an animal-loving detective who specializes in cases involving animals. As such, he also owns a huge plethora of pets, and Margolis plays his landlord, Mr. Shickadance.
One of the most notable scenes in the film involves Mr. Shickadance coming to Ventura’s apartment, hoping to catch him with animals, which is against the building rules so that he can evict him.
As expected for a broad comedy of this sort, his landlord hates animals. One of the most notable scenes in the film involves Mr. Shickadance coming to Ventura’s apartment, hoping to catch him with animals, which is against the building rules so that he can evict him. He fails, and the frustration for Shickadance is obvious, which is only emphasized when he leaves, and dozens of animals of all sizes come out of hiding after the visit.
7 Your Honor (2023)
Mark Margolis Plays Carmine Conti
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10/10 Your Honor TV-MACrimeDramaThriller
Your Honor is a legal drama series starring Bryan Cranston as a respected judge whose son becomes involved in a hit-and-run accident. The incident sets off a dangerous chain of events that forces the judge to confront his own principles and navigate the moral complexities of the law. The series explores themes of justice, loyalty, and ethics, offering a compelling narrative of a father’s desperate attempts to protect his son.
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*Availability in US Cast Bryan Cranston , Hope Davis , Michael Stuhlbarg , Lilli Kay , Isiah Whitlock Jr. , Benjamin Flores Jr. , Keith Machekanyanga , Jimi Stanton Release Date December 6, 2020 Seasons 2 Creator(s) Peter Moffat
One of the best roles of Mark Margolis’s entire career was in Breaking Bad as Hector Salamanca. After Breaking Bad ended, Margolis re-teamed with Bryan Cranston in another series. In Your Honor, Cranston stars as a respected New Orleans judge who destroys his reputation when he protects his son, who accidentally killed the son of a mob kingpin in a hit-and-run. In the second season, Cranston’s former judge gets out of prison to go after the mob after his son’s death.
This was Margolis’s final role before his death.
Mark Margolis appears in the second season of Your Honor, playing Carmine Conti, the father of Gina Baxter (Hope Davis) and grandfather of the boy who died in the original car accident that started the series. He first appears in the fourth episode, “Part Fourteen.” His manipulations of his daughter’s life and conflict with her husband, Jimmy, make him a huge part of the puzzle in the final season and help lead to a satisfying conclusion to the story. This was Margolis’s final role before his death.
6 The Equalizer (1985-1989)
Mark Margolis Plays Jimmy
The Equalizer
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The Equalizer is a crime-focused action-thriller franchise initially created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. The franchise began with the 1985 series that followed Robert McCall, a retired intelligence agent who uses his deadly and varied skillset to help those that society cannot save. The film franchise has stood out as the most iconic, with Denzel Washington in the role of the new Robert McCall, with a reboot television series starring Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall.
Created by Michael Sloan , Richard Lindheim First TV Show The Equalizer Cast Denzel Washington , Edward Woodward , Queen Latifah
The Equalizer franchise has several iterations. The current TV show has Queen Latifah in the lead role, and the movie version has Denzel Washington playing the lead. However, they are both based on the original TV show from the 1980s, which starred Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, the retired intelligence agent who helped people in need. This original series lasted for four seasons and 88 episodes and aired on CBS from 1985 through 1989.
Mark Margolis had an important supporting role in the series as Jimmy. Appearing in 16 episodes of the series, Jimmy was another veteran who served in The Company with McCall when he was in service. Jimmy was someone who showed up when McCall needed a surveillance expert and the need arose for bugs or wiretaps. He was always an entertaining character, as he always had funny stories about his ex-wife, bringing some quirky fun to the series.
5 Pi (1998)
Mark Margolis Plays Sol Robeson
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Pi (1998) RMysteryDramaThriller
Pi is a psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky and was released in 1998. The film follows Max Cohen, a mathematician obsessed with discovering numerical patterns hidden in the universe. As he comes closer to unlocking the secrets behind the number Pi, he attracts the attention of a Wall Street firm and a Jewish sect, spiraling into paranoia and mental chaos as he dives further down the rabbit hole.
Director Darren Aronofsky Release Date July 10, 1998 Distributor(s) Artisan Entertainment Cast Sean Gullette , Mark Margolis , Ben Shenkman , Pamela Hart , Stephen Pearlman , Samia Shoaib , Ajay Naidu , Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao , Espher Lao Nieves Runtime 84 minutes
Mark Margolis has appeared in every Darren Aronofsky movie from his debut in PI until Noah. While it isn’t his highest-acclaimed movie, Margolis’s role in Pi is likely the most important. It showed Margolis that Aronofsky was a director that he wanted to work with and proved to Aronofsky that Margolis was someone who was perfect for his created characters. Pi is a psychological thriller released as an arthouse film, shot in black and white and focused on high-level mathematics.
Related Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, Ending Explained
The 1998 psychological thriller, Pi, has a cerebral finale that blends its scientific and surreal themes together.
The story follows a mathematician named Max, who is obsessed with finding complete order in the world through irrational humanity and rational mathematics. One of the only people Max interacts with is his mathematics mentor, Sol, who is now disabled following a stroke. Margolis plays Sol in the movie. While complex, the film received an 88% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared favorably to David Lynch. It made Aronofsky an in-demand director and provided Margolis with regular roles for two decades.
4 Breaking Bad (2009-2011)
Mark Margolis Plays Hector Salamanca
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17 9.4/10 Breaking Bad CrimeDramaThriller
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
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*Availability in US Cast Bryan Cranston , Aaron Paul , Dean Norris , Betsy Brandt , Anna Gunn , RJ Mitte , Bob Odenkirk , Jonathan Banks , Giancarlo Esposito , Steven Michael Quezada , Charles Baker , Christopher Cousins , Matt Jones , Michael Shamus Wiles , Lavell Crawford , Jesse Plemons , Ray Campbell , Tina Parker , Carmen Serano , Emily Rios , Krysten Ritter , Laura Fraser , Jeremiah Bitsui , Mark Margolis , Ian Posada , David House , David Costabile , michael bowen , Kevin Rankin , Aaron Hill , Harry Groener , Patrick Sane , Daniel Moncada , Luis Moncada , Marius Stan , Bill Burr , Todd Terry , Jessica Hecht , Tait Fletcher , Rodney Rush , Kaija Roze Bales , Matt Metzler , John de Lancie , Tom Kiesche , Jere Burns , Maurice Compte , Morse Bicknell , Nigel Gibbs , Tess Harper , Raymond Cruz , Max Arciniega , Cesar Garcia , Jesus Jr. , Michael Bofshever , Julie Dretzin , Mike Seal , Christopher Dempsey , Javier Grajeda , Mike Batayeh , Chris Freihofer , Louis Ferreira , Gonzalo Menendez , Jason Douglas , Adam Godley Release Date January 20, 2008 Seasons 5 Showrunner Vince Gilligan Expand
One of the most famous roles that Mark Margolis ever played came in the TV series Breaking Bad. However, this isn’t the best of his roles because he only appeared in eight episodes of the series as Hector Salamanca, and he did much more with the character later in the prequel series Better Call Saul. However, Breaking Bad remains one of this century’s best critically acclaimed shows, and Margolis’s character is one of the best characters to come out of the series.
However, as a mostly non-verbal communicative person, he is a strong-willed and memorable supporting character
Hector Salamanca is the older don of the Salamanca drug organization and an associate of cartel boss Don Eladio. In Breaking Bad, he is not as powerful as he would later prove to be in Better Call Saul. However, as a mostly non-verbal communicative person, he is a strong-willed and memorable supporting character. Gus mostly shows up to visit Hector when he wants to let him know how many more members of his family have died at his hands and delivered the most shocking death in season 4.
3 Oz (1998-2003)
Mark Margolis Plays Antonio Nappa
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Oz CrimeDrama
Oz was a crime-drama series from HBO created by Tom Fontana. The series focuses on the inmates and officers of the fictional experimental Oswald State Correctional Facility. The prison, prioritizing rehabilitation instead of corrective punishment, navigates the fragile social cliques within its halls, where tensions never relent.
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*Availability in US Cast Ernie Hudson , Terry Kinney , Harold Perrineau , Eamonn Walker , Kirk Acevedo , Rita Moreno , J. K. Simmons , Lee Tergesen , Dean Winters , Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Release Date February 23, 1997 Seasons 6 Showrunner Tom Fontana
Before he got his career-changing role on Breaking Bad, Mark Margolis was a star in the acclaimed HBO prison series Oz. This was a series that focused on a fictional prison, its inmates, and the people who ran it. In this series, Margolis appeared in the second, third, and sixth seasons as Antonio Nappa, a prisoner who took control of the Sicilians after Peter Schibetta (Eddie Malavacra) had his Mental breakdown following his sexual assault.
During his time in control of the Sicilian gangs at Oz, he has considerable power and is someone who is able to bring people down and even have enemies killed (including Anthony Criss’s Snake Coyle). However, he loses his power in season 3 when Simon Adebisi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) purposefully injects him with an HIV-infected needle, forcing him out of the general population. Although it never won any major awards, Oz remains one of the best HBO series of all time.
2 Scarface (1983)
Mark Margolis Plays Alberto The Shadow
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9.5/10 Scarface RCrimeDrama
Brian De Palma’s iconic crime drama is loosely based on the 1929 novel of the same name and follows Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino), who begins a life of crime after arriving in Miami. It chronicles his rise from a penniless thug to one of the richest and most ruthless kingpins in the world, amassing a criminal empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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*Availability in US Director Brian De Palma Release Date December 9, 1983 Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Cast Al Pacino , Michelle Pfeiffer , Robert Loggia , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Miriam Colon , F. Murray Abraham Runtime 170 minutes
The best movie that Mark Margolis ever appeared in came early in his career is Scarface. Brian De Palma worked with Margolis in Dressed to Kill in 1980 in an uncredited role, but then he cast him in a much more important role in the 1983 iconic gangster movie Scarface. The movie stars Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who enters America and starts building a mafia empire. However, as with all major drug dealers of that era, he had to work with others, including Bolivian drug lord Alejandro Sosa.
The Shadow is a very scary character and a memorable one in this cult classic.
Mark Margolis plays Alberto The Shadow, the right-hand man of Sosa. He appears early in the film, revealing that Omar, who is visiting Bolivia with Tony, is a snitch, which gets Omar killed. Tony then begins to work for Sosa, but then he murders The Shadow in one of the most shocking scenes in the movie, a moment that shows that even Tony has morals that he won’t cross. The Shadow is a very scary character and a memorable one in this cult classic.
1 Better Call Saul (2016-2022)
Mark Margolis Plays Hector Salamanca
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7.4/10 Better Call Saul ComedyDramaCrime
Set in times before, during, and after Breaking Bad, the AMC crime drama spinoff follows the trials and tribulations of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman (Odenkirk) as he looks to make a name for himself at his firm located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The show digs deeper into the events that crafted Saul and the repercussions of his actions.
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*Availability in US Cast Bob Odenkirk , Rhea Seehorn , Jonathan Banks , Patrick Fabian , Michael Mando , Giancarlo Esposito Release Date February 8, 2015 Seasons 6 Showrunner Peter Gould
The best performance of Mark Margolis’s career came when he reprised his role as Hector Salamanca in Better Call Saul. What makes this bigger than his Breaking Bad role is that he appeared in 22 episodes of the prequel series, and this showed Hector while he was still on top and in control before he was mostly non-communicative after his stroke in this series. In Better Call Saul, the series allows him to show how powerful he was before that stroke, and it really made his character shine.
When Better Call Saul starts, Hector is still the don of the Salamanca drug organization, and while older, he is still calling the shots. He also spent 17 years in prison but never turned over evidence on any of his associates, something that defined him all the way until his death later in Breaking Bad. He was also responsible here for the death of Gus’s partner, which caused a rivalry that lasted until Breaking Bad. While Mark Margholis never won an award for his performance, he was still part of one of television’s most respected dramas.