Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina | |
|---|---|
 At the San Diego Comic-Con in 2003. | |
| Years active | 1978/1981-present |
| Spouse | Jill Gascoine |
Alfred Molina (born May 24, 1953) is a Tony Award- nominated British actor. He portrayed Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 and has had key roles in Not Without My Daughter, Chocolat, Frida and The Da Vinci Code.
Biography
Early life
Molina was born Alfredo Molina in London. His father was a Spanish Communist from Madrid who worked as a waiter and chauffeur, while his mother was an Italian housekeeper who also cleaned rooms in a hotel and worked as a cook.[1][2] Molina grew up in a "working-class neighborhood" in Notting Hill[3] that was inhabited by many other immigrant families.[4] He decided to become an actor after seeing Spartacus at the age of nine, and attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[5]
Career
Molina made his film debut with a minor role in the 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, but his big break came with Letter to Brezhnev in 1985, which he followed up with a starring role in Prick Up Your Ears in 1987, playing Joe Orton's lover Kenneth Halliwell.
He starred in the first two series of El C.I.D. but left to concentrate on his film work. Subsequent films included Species, Dudley Do-Right, Chocolat, Not Without My Daughter, and Enchanted April. He has worked twice with Paul Thomas Anderson, first in Boogie Nights and then Magnolia. In 2002, Molina portrayed the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera alongside Salma Hayek in Frida. In 2003 he played himself alongside Steve Coogan in Coffee and Cigarettes. In 2006, Molina portrayed Touchstone in Kenneth Branagh's film version of Shakespeare's As You Like It.
Molina's stage work has included two major Royal National Theatre productions, Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana (as Shannon) and David Mamet's Speed the Plow (as Fox). In his Broadway debut, Molina performed in Yasmina Reza's Tony Award-winning play Art, for which he received a Tony nomination in 1998. In 2004, Molina returned to the stage, starring as Tevye in the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. For his performance he once again received a Tony Award nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Musical.
In 2007, Molina narrated a 17-part original audiobook for Audible.com called "The Chopin Manuscript". This serialized novel was written by a team of 15 best-selling thriller writers, including Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, Joseph Finder and Lisa Scottoline.
Personal life
Molina has taken U.S. citizenship.[6] He has been married to actress Jill Gascoine since 1985. He has a daughter Rachel (born 1980) from a previous relationship, and two stepsons (Adam and Sean), from Jill's first marriage. He is also a grandfather to Alfie (born Nov 2003) and Layla (born May 2006).
Filmography
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) as Satipo
- Letter to Brezhnev (1985) as Sergei
- Ladyhawke (1985) as Cezar
- Prick Up Your Ears (1987) as Kenneth Halliwell
- Virtuoso (1989) (TV) as John Ogdon
- Hancock (1991) (TV) as Tony Hancock
- Not Without My Daughter (1991) as Moody
- American Friends (1991) as Oliver Syme
- Enchanted April (1992) as Mellersh Wilkins
- Maverick (1994) as Angel
- Species (1995) as Dr. Stephan Arden
- The Perez Family (1995) as Juan Raúl Perez
- Dead Man (1995) as Trading Post Missionary
- Hideaway (1995) as Dr. Jonas Nyebern
- "Before and After" (1996) as Panos Demeris
- Anna Karenina (1997) as Levin
- Boogie Nights (1997) as Rahad Jackson (Eddie Nash)
- The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) as Boris 'The Butcher' Blavasky
- The Impostors (1998) as Sir Jeremy Burtom
- Dudley Do-Right (1999) as Snidely K. 'Whip' Whiplash
- Magnolia (1999) as Solomon Solomon
- Chocolat (2000) as Comte De Reynaud
- Murder on the Orient Express (2001) as Hercule Poirot
- Frida (2002) as Diego Rivera
- My Life Without Me (2003) as Ann's Father
- Identity (2003) as Dr. Malick
- Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) as Himself
- Luther (2003 film) (2003) as Johann Tetzel
- Crónicas (2004) as Victor Hugo Puente
- Spider-Man 2 (2004) as Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus
- Steamboy (2004) as James Edward Steam
- Undertaking Betty (2004) as Boris Plots
- The Da Vinci Code (2006) as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa
- As You Like It (2006) as Touchstone
- The Hoax (2007) as Dick Suskind
- Silk (2007) as Baldabiou
- The Ten Commandments (2007), voice acting as Ramesses, the Pharaoh
- After.Life (2008) as Eliot
- The Pink Panther Deux (2009) as Randall Pepperidge
References
- ^ http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=544358&pn=2
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1261494,00.html
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/03/03/theater.alfred.molina.ap/
- ^ http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2004/jul_aug/CoverStory/index.html
- ^ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018903/bio
- ^ http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/M/Molina_Alfred/2004/06/27/760319.html
External links
- Alfred Molina at IMDb
- Alfred Molina at the Internet Broadway Database
- Alfred Molina interviewed on Downstage Center XM Radio at American Theatre Wing, November 2004
- Working in the Theatre: Performance video seminar at American Theatre Wing, April 1998
- Q&A: Alfred Molina at Broadway.com