Mark Margolis was one of the most established character actors working in the film industry. The American actor was mostly known for playing the role of Hector Salamanca in the hit series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul but he has been working in films and TV shows since before 1983. He was in some of the most memorable films ever made such as Scarface, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, and many more. Margolis died after a short illness on August 3 and left behind a wife, a son, three grandchildren, and millions of fans who will remember him through his various roles. So, here are some of the best Mark Margolis movies and TV shows we could have left some titles off the list to keep the list short.
13. Abe (Prime Video)
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Abe (Noah Schnapp) is an aspiring chef, but his family—half-Israeli, half-Palestinian—have never had a meal together without a fight. But when Abe ditches his traditional summer camp to spend time with radical street chef Chico (Seu Jorge), his mentor’s fusion cuisine inspires him to unite his family through food. Abe decides to cook a meal that will bring everyone to the table, but he’s about to learn that the kitchen can’t heal some age-old divides.
12. Minyan (Prime Video Add-On)
Synopsis: A young Russian Jewish immigrant in New York’s Brighton Beach (known as Little Odessa), is bound up within the tight constraints of his community. He develops a close friendship with his grandfather’s new neighbours, two elderly closeted men who open his imagination to the possibilities of love and the realities of loss and, as he explores the East Village, he finds a world teeming with the energy of youth and desire. Set in late 1980s New York City, Minyan is a powerful story of rebellion and self-discovery, sexual and spiritual awakening — and survival.
11. Dinner Rush (Prime Video)
Synopsis: At a popular NYC Italian restaurant on a dramatic, busy evening, there are 2 gangsters, cop detective, food-critic, ex bookmaker owner, his chef son, indebted gambler sous-chef etc.
10. Requiem for a Dream (Prime Video)
Synopsis: Drugs. They consume mind, body and soul. Once you’re hooked, you’re hooked. Four lives. Four addicts. Four failures. Doing their best to succeed in the world, but failing miserably, four people get hooked on various drugs. Despite their aspirations of greatness, they succumb to their addictions. Watching the addicts spiral out of control, we bear witness to the dirtiest, ugliest portions of the underworld addicts reside in. It is shocking and eye-opening but demands to be seen by both addicts and non-addicts alike.
9. The Wrestler (Rent on Prime Video)
Synopsis: A powerful portrait of a battered dreamer, ex-professional wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), who despite himself and the odds stacked against him, lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home — inside the ring. The Wrestler is the winner of 2 Golden Globes® including Best Actor Mickey Rourke and Best Original Song by Bruce Springsteen.
8. Glory (MGM+)
Synopsis: This is the exceptional story of America’s first unit of African American soldiers during the Civil War and the young, inexperienced Northerner who’s given the job of training and leading them. Based in part on the actual letters of that young officer and brought to life with astonishing skill and believability.
7. Diner (Rent on Prime Video)
Synopsis: The film that launched successful careers for Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Paul Reiser, Mickey Rourke and more! It’s a lively, poignant tale of friends trying to recapture their lost innocence in 1959 Baltimore.
6. Gone Baby Gone (Paramount+)
Synopsis: When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl’s aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons – they’re not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live. As the case progresses, Kenzie and Gennaro face drug dealers, gangs and pedophiles. When they are about to solve the case, they are faced with a moral dilemma that tears them apart.
5. Pi (Rent on Prime Video)
Synopsis: Maximilian Cohen (Sean Gullette) is on the verge of the most important discovery of his life. For the past ten years, he has been attempting to decode the numerical pattern beneath the ultimate system of ordered chaos – the stock market. As Max verges on a solution, chaos is swallowing the world around him. Pursued by an aggressive Wall Street firm set on financial domination and a Kaballah sect intent on unlocking the secrets behind their ancient holy texts, Max races to crack the code, hoping to defy the madness that looms before him. Instead, he uncovers a secret for which everyone is willing to kill.
4. Oz (Max)
Synopsis: Welcome to Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison or OZ. Em City is about prisoner rehabilitation over public retribution. No matter how hardened a criminal or killer, whether you’re in for a few years or for life, you have a role to play. Once inside, choose your friends carefully. Stay on everybody’s good side…if you can find one.
3. Better Call Saul (Netflix)
Synopsis: Before Saul Goodman met Walter White, he was struggling attorney Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk). In this prequel to the Emmy-winning series Breaking Bad, Jimmy teams up with Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and begins his transformation from optimistic underdog into Albuquerque’s most notorious legal legend. Michael McKean stars as Jimmy’s brilliant, uncompromising brother, Chuck.
2. Scarface (Prime Video)
Synopsis: In the spring of 1980, the port at Mariel Harbor was opened, and thousands set sail for the United States. They came in search of the American Dream. One of them found it on the sun-washed avenues of Miami… wealth, power and passion beyond his wildest dreams. He was Tony Montana. The world will remember him by another name… Scarface.
1. Breaking Bad (Netflix)
Synopsis: Breaking Bad follows protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife (Anna Gunn) and teenage son (RJ Mitte) who has cerebral palsy. White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to secure his family’s financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in the world. The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White’s releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraints of normal society and follows his transformation from mild family man to a kingpin of the drug trade.
