Alfred Molina says he was a ‘working actor’ before ‘Spider-Man’ Doctor Octopus success

nypost.com:

Alfred Molina was first on Broadway nearly 30 years ago in “Art,” but admits he still gets butterflies when he hears the stage manager announce on a Saturday: “Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s Saturday night on Broadway!”“You kind of go, ‘F – – k!

What a dream come true,” the British actor, 70, told the New York Post with a laugh during a recent interview.The Tony nominee is back in New York starring opposite Steve Carell in a Lincoln Center production of the Chekov classic, “Uncle Vanya.”And yes, he knows that there is a segment of people who immediately think of Russians ensconced in weekend dachas endlessly moaning about their existence, when they hear the name Chekov.“I would say I know what you mean,” he shared. “There is an element about that.

The plays are about people who have lost their way somehow or life has let them down but there’s also great joy and passion and comedy and a sense of the ridiculous … I think all those things are at play.”Molina raves about Carell, 61 — “he takes the work seriously but he doesn’t take himself seriously” — and admits (sadly) that he’s yet to utter the immortal “Office” line “That’s what she said,” at an opportune moment.“It’s my wife’s [‘Frozen’ director Jennifer Lee] favorite joke and it never gets old,” he noted.Molina’s career spans five decades.

His first screen appearance was a minor but memorable role in 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” as Indy’s ill-fated guide Satipo, who intones, “Throw me the idol, I’ll throw you the whip!”Since then he’s appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows like “Enchanted April,” “Chocolat,” “Boogie Nights,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “Feud” and, of course, Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2” in 2004 and the 2024 film “Spider-Man:.