Alfred Molina never thought he’d play a Marvel villain, but he quickly became a fan favorite as Doc Ock in Sam Raimi’s second Spider-Man film. He reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as one of several throwback cameos.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Molina spoke about his unlikely beginnings as a Marvel villain. He first played Doc Ock, or Otto Octavius, in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, but before that, he was primarily known for his roles as the sneaky Satipo in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, and as Mexican muralist Diego Rivera Frida. In fact, it was his role in the Frida Kahlo biopic that had him recommended to Raimi for the role.

"It was a big surprise to me, because it's not the kind of movie that I imagined myself to be qualified for. You always think of these big action films as [casting] physical types, and I've definitely never been that," explained Molina. "We had a great meeting. And I kept saying, 'Look, I'm up for it. But I've got to be honest with you, I've never done anything like this before. And I've certainly never worked on a film with all this technology, I've never done much green screen or anything like that,'" Molina continued. "But what swung it was we did a screen test, where they gave me an approximation of the costume — the big leather [harness] with the big trench coat. And then Avi Arad, who at the time was the head of Marvel, takes off his sunglasses and goes, 'Put these on.' I put the sunglasses on, and the whole room sort of went, 'Oh, this could be the image.' And I think that's what swung it."

Molina recently spoke to the New York Post about how life-changing it was to portray Doc Ock. “Before [Spider-Man], I was a working actor,” he acknowledged. "I had a nice career, I was playing nice supporting roles and getting nicely noticed for it, no complaints at all. But Spider-Man — it did kind of create a persona for a whole new audience. An audience who wouldn’t necessarily see many of the other movies I had done."

It was precisely Molina’s unorthodox acting background that made him a fantastic villain in Raimi’s Spider-Man cinematic universe. The previous antagonist to Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, Norman Osborn, was a deeply complex character and was played by Willem Dafoe. Like Green Goblin, Doc Ock is not a simple villain, with simple motivations. After a tragic accident that kills his wife and bonds his mind to the artificial intelligence-driven tentacles, Dr. Otto Octavius begins to pursue a plan that could level the city with the power of the sun.

"The beautiful thing about a lot of the Marvel villains — and, in fact, a lot of the Marvel heroes — is that they all become so reluctantly," Molina explains. "Otto Octavius has this terrible tragedy in his life which changes things, and so they become these monsters, these villains, almost against their will. And what that does, it gives those characters a real level of humanity. It gives them kind of moral dilemmas to deal with, and there's always a moment when they're struggling with that dilemma: 'Should I carry on doing this? Should I pull back? Am I being a bad person?' And that was all in the script. Sam wanted to develop that, and it gave the character a depth and something that the audience can hang onto. Because he's no longer a two-dimensional character. He's not just the bad guy, he's actually the bad guy with a kind of emotional life. And that just, I think, makes them so much more interesting."

Alfred Molina Had the Chance to Return as Doc Ock

Molina reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and he wasn’t the only one. The film featured a crossover between the three cinematic versions of the Friendly Neighborhood Web-Slinger: Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland. Willem Dafoe also returns as the Green Goblin, as well as Jamie Foxx as Electro, Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman, and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard rounding out Spidey's rogues gallery.

"I was delighted, obviously," he said. "Apart from the fact that it's great fun to play, playing that part, in all honesty, completely changed my life. I mean, it did. It just took everything not just to a different level, but also to a whole other group of cinema fans. There's a fan group that loved all the movies like Chocolat and Enchanted April and Frida and all those movies, and now suddenly the children of those people are kind of digging Fred Molina 'cause he's playing Doc Ock."

Molina currently stars in Uncle Vanya on Broadway, alongside The Office alumnus Steve Carell.

Source: Vanity Fair