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Alfred Molina
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Dark, lanky, and sad-eyed, Alfred Molina is one of Britain's most versatile character actors. Often appearing as a slightly sinister character of Middle Eastern (or Eastern European) origin, Molina has nonetheless graced the casts of films from almost every conceivable genre, a testament to both his ingenious adaptability and apparent willingness to try almost anything. The son of a Spanish waiter and an Italian housekeeper, Molina was born in London on May 24, 1953. Educated at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he began his career as one half of a street-corner comedy team but then turned to acting. While most thesps start at the bottom and ascend the ladder, Molina is an anomaly: he began at the top of the heap, first earning professional credibility (and his pedigree) as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and debuting cinematically in no less than Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), as the devious South American guide who leaves Harrison Ford for dead in an ancient temple before meeting his own end, courtesy of a particularly nasty booby trap. His subsequent resume for the rest of that decade reads like a "best of 1980s International Film": supporting roles in Mike Leigh's Meantime (1981), Peter Yates's Eleni (1985) , Richard Donner's Ladyhawke (1985),Chris Bernard's Letter to Brezhnev and Dusan Makavejev's Manifesto (1989), to name only a few.
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Alfred Molina (born May 24, 1953) is an English actor. Molina was born in London to a Spanish father and an Italian mother. He has made an impact as a film, television and stage actor. He made his film debut in the 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. Molina played the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera alongside Salma Hayek in Frida. Other films include Species, Boogie Nights, Dudley Do-Right, Magnolia, Chocolat and Enchanted April.
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Alfred Molina has more than 70 film, TV and theatre roles to his credit. This accomplished and versatile actor made his movie breakthrough in 1987 as Joe Orton's doomed lover in "Prick Up Your Ears." His other memorable performances include playing Diego Rivera opposite Salma Hayek in "Frida," and lead roles in "Identity," "Chocolat," "Boogie Nights," "The Imposters," "Anna Karenina," "Species," "Maverick," "Enchanted April" and Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes." On stage, Molina starred at the Royal National Theatre in "Night of the Iguana" and David Mamet's "Speed the Plow." His recent credits include the Tony-winning play "ART," the Tony-nominated "Fiddler on the Roof," "The Cherry Orchard" at The Mark Taper Theater, "The Da Vinci Code," "Spider-Man 2" and "The Hoax."
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The highly respected and prolific film and stage actor Alfred Molina has had a long and illustrious career as a performer, starting with the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1970s. Born in London on May 24, 1953, Molina is of mixed Spanish-Italian heritage, a trait that has given him the ability to portray an ethnically diverse mix of roles. The talented actor studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and was eventually accepted into the Royal Shakespeare Company, which saw him impress in productions like Tennessee Williams’ “The Night of the Iguana” and David Mamet’s “Speed the Plow”.
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Alfred Molina hasn’t shaved for weeks. The salt-and-pepper beard he's sporting is a strictly low-maintenance look, a reward of sorts for the sweat he's been pouring into a new Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. And there's an fringe benefit: When Spider-Man 2, in which he plays the mechanical-tentacled Doctor Octopus, opens in July, he might well need a disguise to keep the fans at bay. "Please, God, this should be the least of my worries, to be busy," he says, almost Tevye-like, about the changes a blockbuster might bring to his career.
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From a fleeting screen debut in Raiders Of The Lost Ark, English actor Alfred Molina has built an impressively diverse list of credits. The 51-year-old Londoner has enjoyed success on stage, television, and, most enduringly, on film. Major roles have come in Letter To Brezhnev, Prick Up Your Ears, Species, Boogie Nights, Chocolat, and Frida. He most recently enjoyed an acclaimed run in the Broadway production of Fiddler On The Roof, and gets his most high profile gig as Doc Ock in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2.
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Alfred Molina