Alfred Molina, a Spanish-Italian actor who was born in London, England to a Spanish father and an Italian mother. He is Britain's one of the most versatile actor and he first came to public attention in the 1987 for his joint lead role with Gary Oldman in film Prick Up Your Ears in the UK. He has played a varied mix of personalities and nationalities, from Mexican muralist Diego Rivera in the film Frida to Teyve, a Jewish Russian milkman in a Broadway production of the musical Fiddler on the Roof.
Mini Biography of Alfred Molina:
- Name: Alfred Molina
- Date of Birth: 24 May, 1953
- Place of Birth: London, England, UK
- Height: 6' 2''
- Education: Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England
- Nationality: British
- Profession: Actor
- Claim to Fame: Versatile character actor with notable roles: as Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Mellersh Wilkins in Enchanted April (1992).
Alfred Molina was born in London on 24th May, 1953 and he educated at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Father of Molina was a waiter and his mother was an Italian housekeeper who cleaned rooms in a hotel and worked as a cook. He grew up in a "working-class neighborhood". He started his career as one half of a street-corner comedy team but then turned it to acting. By joining the National Youth Theater in 1969, he started to make his dreamt of becoming an actor in a reality. In 1977, he became a member of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. After that, he was appeared in several productions, including Troilus and Cressida and King Lear as part of the company.
In 1979, he played a Maniac and created quite a rouse London production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist. After two years, with Harrison Ford as archaeologist Indiana Jones he made his first American film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. Stephen Spielberg was the director of this heroic escapade film and this film became a huge box office break. Molina played a small role Satipo, a treacherous South American tour guide in this movie. This small role involved some scary close encounters with tarantulas.
After Raiders movie, Molina landed small film roles and worked on the stage and television for some years. In 1987, his profile was raised by the art-house film ‘Prick Up Your Ears’. He played the role of K. L. Halliwell, the lover of British playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) in this film. This role gave the chance to Molina to show his great range as an actor. To pursue his career as a writer, Halliwell originally supported and encouraged Orton however later he cruelly beat his lover to death and then killed himself.
In the family drama ‘Not Without My Daughter’, Molina starred opposite Sally Field in 1991. In this drama, he played the role of Field’s husband, an Iranian doctor who persuades her to travel back to his native country with their daughter. To build a new life in Florida, he played a Cuban migrant struggling in The Perez Family (1995) with Marisa Tomei, Anjelica Huston, and Chazz Palminteri.
He is famous throughout the world for his roles in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spider-Man 2, Species, Not Without My Daughter, Chocolat, Frida, Steamboy, The Hoax, The Da Vinci Code, and Little Traitor.
Alfred Molina Trivia:
- He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
- Nominated for the Tony for best actor in 1998 for "Art".
- Educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he started out as a busker specializing in stand-up comedy and doing odd jobs to supplement his welfare cheque, before being accepted by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977.
- Alfred's father was a Spanish waiter & mother was an Italian housekeeper.
- Is a huge fan of jazz.
- Speaks Spanish and Italian fluently.
- He gained a good amount of weight to play Diego Rivera in "Frida" in 2002 and then in 2004, he slimmed down to play Dr. Octopus in "Spider-Man 2".
- Was chosen to play Doc Ock after 'Spiderman 2' Director Sam Raimi and his wife watched Frida.
- Was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1998 as Brest Actor (Play) for "Art," and in 2004 as Best Actor (Musical) for portraying Tevye in a revival of "Fiddler on the Roof".
- Auditioned for the part of Rimmer in "Red Dwarf" (1988).
- Was nearly cast as Al Capone in Road to Perdition (2002).
- He has one daughter, Rachel (b. 1980) from a previous relationship. He also has 2 stepsons, from his wife Jill's first marriage.
- Considers Not Without My Daughter (1991) and Enchanted April (1992) his favorite roles.
- Has been turned into a Lego mini-figure twice: first for his role as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004), and again for his role as Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
Milestones:
- 1969 Performed with the National Youth Theater company in London
- 1975 Joined a children s theater company touring the English countryside with A Midsummer Night's Dream
- 1977 Became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company
- 1981 Film acting debut, Raiders of the Lost Aark
- 1985 Returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company to appear as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew
- 1987 Delivered a stunning performance as the bald, haunted Halliwell in Stephen Frears Prick Up Your Ears
- 1991 Played Sally Field s Iranian-born husband in Not Without My Daughter
- 1991 Portrayed an upper-class English husband in Mike Newell s comedy of manners Enchanted April
- 1993 Moved to United States
- 1995 Made NY stage debut in Brian Friel's Molly Sweeney
- 1995 Portrayed the head of a Cuban family in The Perez Family
- 1997 Had a memorable role as a coked-up drug dealer in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights
- 1997 Starred as Levin in Bernard Rose's feature film version of Anna Karenina
- 1998 Acted in the Stanley Tucci directed, The Imposter
- 1998 Made Broadway debut in Yasmina Reza's Tony Award-winning play Art
- 1999 Cast as Snidely Whiplash in the feature version of Dudley Do-Right
- 1999 Had a cameo role as an electronics store owner in Anderson s Magnolia
- 2000 Cast as the narrow-minded mayor of a small French town in Chocolat
- 2001 Appeared in an updated version of Murder on the Orient Express (CBS)
- 2002 Co-starred in the CBS television series Bram and Alice
- 2002 Portrayed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, alongside Salma Hayek, in the biopic Frida ; earned a SAG nomination for Best Supporting Actor
- 2003 Supported Joseph Fiennes who played the religious reformer in the film Luther
- 2004 Cast as Tevye in the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof ; earned a Tony Award nomination
- 2004 Cast as the villain Dr. Octavius in Spider-Man 2
- 2006 Cast as Bishop Aringarosa in Ron Howard's big-screen adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code
- 2007 Co-starred opposite Richard Gere in Lasse Hallström's The Hoax
- 2009 Co-starred with Steve Martin in The Pink Panther 2
- 2010 Returned to Broadway to star in John Logan's drama, Red ; earned a Tony Award nomination for Leading Actor in a Play
- Formed (Joan Hyler) Molina Hyler Scissors production company
- Worked with provincial repertory companies in Newcastle, Liverpool, Hornchurch and Leiscester
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