Mark Margolis, a veteran actor known for his performances on âBreaking Badâ and âBetter Call Saul,â has died, his son, actor and Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis, told .
He was 83.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Margolis for comment.
Margolis had received an Emmy nomination for portraying Hector âTioâ Salamanca . Tio, a fan-favourite character, was a former cartel enforcer who communicated using a brass bell attached to his wheelchair. He later played Tio as a younger man before he was in a wheelchair.
âIt was a marvellous creature! The fact that he didnât have any words was not an issue for me,â in 2013 of the role. âI was delighted not to have to learn any lines. I mean, I had to know what was going on, I had to my cues, but the fact that I didnât have to master lines was great. I got to fly out to New Mexico and not worry about memorizing anything.â
Margolis also appeared in âScarface,â âAce Ventura: Pet Detective,â and âOz.â He worked often with director Darren Aronofsky and appeared in six of his movies.
He studied under legendary acting teacher Stella Adler at The Actors Studio in New York.
Though he had well more than 100 film and television credits, Margolis found the staying power of performance as Tio surprising.
âI canât get down a street 50 feet without taking a picture or signing an autograph! I was just supposed to be on for one episode,â he said in the same 2013 interview. âAfter the second season, I didnât know anyone who knew the show, but after the third season â it just blew up.â
Best known for his portrayals as villains, Margolis in actuality was described as humorous and self-deprecating.â
âThere are three guys a day that stop me and the only thing they know me from is âScarface.â I always say, âMy God, youâre talking about something from 30 years ago,ââ Margolis toldin 2016. âIâm a curmudgeon and I get into these things with people. I should just shut up. It makes you feel like they retired you for some reason. It shouldnât pain me, but Iâm a little bit unhinged. Insecure is probably the word.â
Margolis joked about being known for his âBreaking Badâ bell-ringing skills when he was hired to be in a for an Apple watch app.
âI donât do many commercials. I didnât know why anybody wanted me, and itâs because the thing is called Dingbel and it dings a bell,â Margolis recalled to Vulture. âI tell people Iâm the second-most famous bell ringer after Quasimodo. Itâs me and Quasimodo.â
Margolis is survived by his his wife, Jacqueline, his son and several grandchildren.