Early life

Molina was born in Paddington, London. His mother, Giovanna (née Bonelli), was an Italian house-keeper who cleaned rooms in a hotel and worked as a cook. His father, Esteban Molina, was a Spanish immigrant from Madrid who worked as a waiter and chauffeur. Molina grew up in a working class district in Notting Hill that was inhabited by many other immigrant families. Molina decided to become an actor after seeing Spartacus at the age of nine, and attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He also auditioned and was accepted as a member of National Youth Theatre.

Career

Molina appeared with Leonard Rossiter in the sitcom The Losers (1978). Molina made his film debut with a minor role in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) as Indiana Jones' ill-fated guide, Satipo, during its iconic opening sequence. However, his big break came with Letter to Brezhnev (1985), which he followed with a starring role in Prick Up Your Ears (1987), playing Joe Orton's lover (and eventual murderer) Kenneth Halliwell. He was originally cast as Arnold Rimmer in the TV sitcom Red Dwarf, but he was replaced by Chris Barrie.

In the early 1990s, Molina was a ubiquitous presence on British television, with his highest profile role being the lead in the first two series of El C.I.D. Subsequent film roles included Species, Dudley Do-Right, Chocolat, Not Without My Daughter and Enchanted April. With a mid-western American accent, Molina starred alongside Betty White in the US television series Ladies Man, which ran from 1999-2001.

He has worked twice with Paul Thomas Anderson, first in Boogie Nights (1997) and then Magnolia (1999). Molina gained wide recognition for his portrayal of Diego Rivera alongside Salma Hayek in the biopic Frida (2002), a role for which he gained BAFTA and SAG award nominations. He played himself alongside Steve Coogan in Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and gained further commercial recognition when he portrayed the villain Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004), which became one of the highest-grossing films of that year. For the later, Molina was nominated for a Satellite award as Best Supporting Actor. He reprised his role in the video game adaption. In 2006, Molina portrayed Touchstone in Kenneth Branagh's film version of Shakespeare's As You Like It and appeared in Ron Howard's adaptation of The Da Vinci Code. Molina provided the voice of the villain Ares in the 2009 animated film Wonder Woman.

Molina's stage work has included two major Royal National Theatre productions, Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana (as Shannon) and David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow (as Fox). In his Broadway debut, Molina performed in Yasmina Reza's Tony Award-winning play 'Art', for which he received a Tony nomination in 1998. In 2004, Molina returned to the stage, starring as Tevye in the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. For his performance he once again received a Tony Award nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Musical. Molina received his third Tony Award nomination for Red in 2010, for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.

In 2007, Molina narrated a 17-part original audiobook for Audible.com called The Chopin Manuscript. This serialized novel was written by a team of 15 best-selling thriller writers, including Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, Joseph Finder and Lisa Scottoline. The novel won the 2008 Audiobook Of The Year Award form Audio Publishers Association.

On 1 April 2010, he opened at Broadway's John Golden Theatre in the role of artist Mark Rothko in John Logan's drama Red opposite Eddie Redmayne for a limited engagement through 27 June. He had played the role to much critical success at the Donmar Warehouse in London in December 2009.

In 2010 he starred opposite Dawn French in the six-part BBC sitcom Roger & Val Have Just Got In, with a second series in 2012.

He is one of only two actors (the other being Chris Pratt) to have three Lego Minifigures modelled after him, with them being Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man 2, Satipo from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Sheik Amar from Prince of Persia.

In July 2010, it was announced that Molina had joined the cast of Law & Order: LA as Deputy District Attorney Morales. He previously guest-starred in a two-part crossover in 2005 in two other Law & Order franchise shows, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Trial by Jury.

Molina is a patron of the performing arts group Theatretrain. Molina is also a longtime member of the Los Angeles theatre company The New American Theatre, formerly known as Circus Theatricals, where he often teaches Shakespeare and Scene Study along with the company's artistic director Jack Stehlin.

Molina stated in an interview in 2013 that he owes his stage and film career to the Indiana Jones series. "I'm very, very proud of that, I have to admit I didn't think at the time, 'Oh, this is going to go down in movie history.' I'd never been in front of a camera before," Molina said about his short but memorable appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Molina recalls getting the job as a "gift from God" and goes on to say "I've publicly thanked Steven many, many times. That job saved my bacon, in more ways than one." About his now famous line in the film Molina stated that "I've never had a problem with people coming up to me about it. They'll shout that line to me, 'Throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip!' I'm delighted that people still remember it."

Personal life

Molina resides in Los Angeles, California, and announced in 2004 that he had become a U.S. citizen. He is fluent in English, Italian and Spanish.

He married actress Jill Gascoine in 1986 in Tower Hamlets, London. He has a daughter, London based photographer Rachel Molina (born 1980), from a previous relationship, and two stepsons (Adam and Sean), from Gascoine's first marriage. He is also a grandfather to Alfie (born November 2003) and Layla (born May 2006).

In addition to acting, Molina is an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) advocate. Not only does he donate towards AIDS research, but also participates in the Los Angeles AIDS Walk and appeared as himself in a documentary produced by Joseph Kibler (who has been HIV+ and paraplegic since his birth, c.1989) about Kibler's life entitled Walk On, first screened in 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square	Port Official	Uncredited
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Satipo
1984	Meantime	John
1985	Letter to Brezhnev	Sergei
1985	Ladyhawke	Cezar
1987	Prick Up Your Ears	Kenneth Halliwell
1989	Virtuoso	John Ogdon
1991	Hancock	Tony Hancock
1991	Not Without My Daughter	Sayed Bozorg Mahmoody
1991	American Friends	Oliver Syme
1992	Enchanted April	Mellersh Wilkins
1993	Year in Provence, AA Year in Provence	Tony Havers
1993	Trial, TheThe Trial	Titorelli
1993	When Pigs Fly	Marty
1994	Maverick	Angel
1994	White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf	Reverend Leland Drury
1994	Cabin Boy	Nathaniel's History Teacher	Uncredited
1995	Species	Dr. Stephen Arden
1995	The Steal	Cliff
1995	Perez Family, TheThe Perez Family	Juan Raúl Perez
1995	Dead Man	Trading Post Missionary
1995	Hideaway	Dr. Jonas Nyebern
1995	Nervous Energy	Ira Moss
1996	Mojave Moon	Sal
1996	Before and After	Panos Demeris
1997	Anna Karenina	Levin
1997	Boogie Nights	Rahad Jackson
1997	Man Who Knew Too Little, TheThe Man Who Knew Too Little	Boris 'The Butcher' Blavasky
1998	Impostors, TheThe Impostors	Sir Jeremy Burtom
1998	Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples
1998	Pete's Meteor	Hugh
1999	Dudley Do-Right	Snidely K. 'Whip' Whiplash
1999	Magnolia	Solomon Solomon
2000	Chocolat	Comte De Reynaud
2001	Murder on the Orient Express	Hercule Poirot
2001	Texas Rangers	King Fisher
2002	Frida	Diego Rivera
2003	My Life Without Me	Ann's Father
2003	Identity	Dr. Malick
2003	Coffee and Cigarettes	Himself
2003	Luther	Johann Tetzel
2004	Crónicas	Victor Hugo Puente
2004	Spider-Man 2	Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus
2004	Steamboy	James Edward Steam	English dub
2004	Undertaking Betty	Boris Plots
2006	Da Vinci Code, TheThe Da Vinci Code	Bishop Manuel Aringarosa
2006	As You Like It	Touchstone
2006	Orchids		Short film
2007	Hoax, TheThe Hoax	Dick Suskind
2007	Silk	Baldabiou
2007	Ten Commandments, TheThe Ten Commandments	Ramesses, the Pharaoh	Voice
2007	The Moon and the Stars	Davide Rieti
2007	The Little Traitor	Sergeant Dunlop
2007	Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!	Professor Jeffries	Voice
2008	Nothing Like the Holidays	Edy Rodriguez
2009	An Education	Jack Mellor
2009	Pink Panther 2, TheThe Pink Panther 2	Chief Inspector Randall Pepperidge
2009	Lodger, TheThe Lodger	Chandler Manning
2009	Wonder Woman	Ares	Voice
2010	Tempest, TheThe Tempest	Stefano
2010	Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time	Sheik Amar
2010	Sorcerer's Apprentice, TheThe Sorcerer's Apprentice	Maxim Horvath
2011	Abduction	Frank Burton
2011	Rango	Roadkill	Voice
2012	Loving Miss Hatto	William Barrington-Coupe
2013	Bless Me, Ultima	Antonio	Voice
2013	Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes	Dennis
2013	Justin and the Knights of Valour	Reginald	Voice
2013	Monsters University	Professor Knight	Voice
2013	Vivaldi	Tartini
2014	Love Is Strange	George
2014	Return to Zero	Robert Royal
2014	Heavenly Sword	King Bohan	Voice
2014	We'll Never Have Paris	Terry
2015	Strange Magic	Fairy King	Voice
2015	Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet	Sergeant	Voice
2015	The Secret in Their Eyes	Martin Morales
2016	Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie	Jerry Schrager
2016	Whiskey Tango Foxtrot	Ali Massoud Sadiq
2016	Henchmen	Baron Blackout	Filming; voice
2016	The Headhunter's Calling		Filming
2016	Sister Cities	Mort	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	The Losers	Nigel	6 episodes
1981	Bognor	Waiter	2 episodes
1982	Anyone for Denis?	Eric	Television film
1989	The Accountant	Lionel Ellerman	Television film
1990-1992	El C.I.D.	Bernard Blake	Series
1994	Requiem Apache	Hamish - Getaway Driver	Television film
1996	Tracey Takes On...	Mr. Dragotti	Episode: "Royalty"
1998	The Wild Thornberrys	Elcio (voice)	Episode: "Only Child"
1999-2001	Ladies Man	Jimmy Stiles	30 episodes
2001	Murder on the Orient Express	Hercule Poirot	Television film
2002	Bram and Alice	Bram	9 episodes
2003	Justice League	King Gustav (voice)	Episode: "Maid of Honor"
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Gabriel Duvall	Episode: "Day"
2005	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Gabriel Duvall	Episode: "Night"
2007	Monk	Peter Magneri	Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Naked Man"
2007	Company, TheThe Company	Harvey 'The Sorcerer' Torriti	6 episodes
2009	Yes, Virginia	Francis Church (voice)	Television film
2010-2012	Roger & Val Have Just Got In	Roger Stephenson	12 episodes
2010-2012	The Life & Times of Tim	Chairman (voice)	2 episodes
2010-2011	Law & Order: LA	Detective Ricardo Morales	16 episodes
2011	Harry's Law	Eric Sanders	3 episodes
2011	Innocent	Alejando "Sandy" Stern	Television film
2012	Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness	Ke-Pa (voice)	Episode: "Enter the Dragon"
2012; 2015-16	Gravity Falls	Multi Bear (voice)	3 episodes
2012-2015	Robot Chicken	Lex Luthor / Various voices	3 episodes
2012	Loving Miss Hatto	Barrie	Television film
2013	Monday Mornings	Dr. Harding Hooten	10 episodes
2013	Drunk History	Arthur Conan Doyle	Episode: "Detroit"
2014	Rick and Morty	The Devil (voice)	Episode: "Something Ricked This Way Comes"
2014	Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey	Alhazen	Episode: "Hiding in the Light"
2014	The Normal Heart	Ben Weeks	Television film
2014	Matador	Andrés Galan	13 episodes
2014-present	Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero	Rippen (voice)
2015	Show Me a Hero	Henry J. Spallone	6 episodes
2015	Axe Cop	Vampire Man Baby Kid's Dad / Brilliant Evil Scientist (voices)	2 episodes
2015	Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures	Norbert (voice)	1 episode
2015	Long Live the Royals	Rupert / Neil (voices)	2 episodes
2016	DreamWorks Dragons	Viggo Grimborn (voice)	2 episodes
2016	Angie Tribeca	Dr. Edelweiss	8 episodes
2016	Close to the Enemy	Harold Lindsay-Jones
2016	I'm Dying Up Here	Carl

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2004	Spider-Man 2	Doctor Octopus
2014	The Elder Scrolls Online	Abnur Tharn

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
1989	The Accountant	Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor - Male	Won
1989	The Accountant	BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor	Nominated
1997	Boogie Nights	Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast	Won
1997	Boogie Nights	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
1999	Magnolia	Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast	Won
1999	Magnolia	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
1999	Ladies Man	Best Young Artist Award/Young Star Award	Nominated
2000	Chocolat	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2002	Frida	Imagen Award for Best Actor - Film	Won
2002	Frida	BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role	Nominated
2002	Frida	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2002	Frida	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2002	Frida	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2002	Frida	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture	Nominated
2004	Spider-Man 2	Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Visual Effects Film	Won
2004	Spider-Man 2	London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year	Nominated
2004	Spider-Man 2	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2004	Spider-Man 2	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2004	Spider-Man 2	Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Bad Guy	Nominated
2004	Spider-Man 2	MTV Movie Award for Best Villain	Nominated
2007	Hoax, TheThe Hoax	London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year	Nominated
2009	An Education	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Nominated
2009	An Education	British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2009	An Education	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2009	An Education	London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year	Nominated
2009	An Education	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Nominated
2009	An Education	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2009	An Education	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2009	Pink Panther 2, TheThe Pink Panther 2	ALMA Award for Best Actor in Film	Nominated
2014	The Normal Heart	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Nominated
2015	Love is Strange	Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]