Artnewspress: Alfred Molina is most commonly known for his role as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man but kicked off his career with a quick role in Indiana Jones.
Raiders of the Lost Ark may be known as Indiana Jones’ first movie, but it also offers Alfred Molina’s big debut. Before playing memorable villain, Dr. Otto Octavius, in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Molina took rather dramatic movie roles, appearing in many Paul Thomas Anderson films, such as Magnolia and Boogie Nights, and starring in Julie Taymor’s Frida as the real-life painter Diego Rivera. He was also a popular actor on the West End too, accruing his first Olivier Award nomination for Best Newcomer in a Play in 1980 for his role in Oklahoma!
While Molina only has a significantly small role in Raiders of the Lost Ark (a movie that introduces Harrison Ford’s beloved archeologist, Indiana Jones, who searches for several ancient artifacts in some of Earth’s most dangerous places), the movie came at a great time in his career. Not only did it allow him to show Hollywood what he was capable of, but it also gave Molina experience in playing more villainous characters.
Molina plays Satipo, a minor antagonist in Raiders of the Lost Ark’s iconic first 10 minutes. Satipo is introduced as Indiana Jones’ guide in the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors, located in Peru, where Jones is sent to retrieve a precious golden fertility idol. However, Satipo turns out to be a greedy swindler. When Jones triggers the deadly traps of the temple by retrieving the idol, Satipo tricks him and steals the artifact, leaving Jones to die. After Jones narrowly escapes the traps he discovers Satipo fell victim to the temple’s spike traps, dying in brutal fashion and enabling Jones to get the golden idol back.
Molina played plenty of highly rated roles in movies and TV, but villainous characters are his specialty. Although he only appears for brief minutes, Satipo is a fascinating character and elevates the danger of Raiders of the Lost Ark’s intro, almost ruining Jones’ mission entirely. The role highlights Molina’s talent for evil and deceptive characters and probably influenced Paul Thomas Anderson to cast Molina as Jackson in Boogie Nights – another antagonist that shows up for only 10 minutes and boosts tension with his threatening persona.
The Role Came When Molina Was Completely Broke
Satipo’s role came just when Molina needed it the most. He was only 28 years old in Raiders of the Lost Ark and things weren’t going well financially. Additionally, Molina and his partner and him were about to have a baby, which only brought more financial concerns, “I was working in the theater, and I was broke, broke, broke”, said Molina in an interview (via 9Now). Although many people believed the first Indiana Jones movie wouldn’t work, Molina saw in it the perfect opportunity: the movie was paying £1000 a week, which to him seemed like the fortune he needed since he and his partner were starting a family together.
Arthur Goyaz
