Alfred Molina Explains Why He Was So Excited to Return For ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
One of the joys of Spider-Man: No Way Home was that the film felt like a culmination of twenty years of Spider-Man storytelling.
Not only did No Way Home bring back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their versions of Peter Parker, but it also collected a rogue’s gallery of Spider-Man villains that fans had grown up with and loved.
Photo: Marvel
For those of us who grew up with the original Spider-Man trilogy, seeing the trio of Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Thomas Hayden Church reprise their roles as the Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Sandman, respectively, was a dream come true.
Alfred Molina Discusses His ‘Spider-Man’ Return
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Alfred Molina reflected on his Spider-Man career and explained why the role of Doc Ock was so important to him.
Alfred Molina
As it turns out, initially, he was apprehensive about reprising his role 17 years after appearing in Spider-Man 2.
“Coming back 17 years later to play the character again, no one was more surprised than me. When they asked me, I said, ‘You realize I’m quite a bit older? I’ve got crow’s feet, I’ve got a wattle, you know, a double chin, I’ve got bad knees.’ And [director] Jon Watts and [producer] Amy Pascal said, ‘No, no, it’s your role. We want you back. We can fix all that, we’ll de-age you. We’ve got the technology, we can change everything,'” he explained.
Once he knew that the No Way Home team would be able to do his character justice, Molina was thrilled to return.
“I was delighted, obviously. 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.”
Will We See Doc Ock Again?
While Molina has had a storied acting career outside of the superhero genre, the actor is correct. For a generation of fans, Molina has become synonymous with Doc Ock, not only one of Spider-Man’s greatest adversaries but one of the great villains in superhero movie history.
Photo: Marvel
Whether or not we see Molina play Dock Ock again, the actor has cemented his legacy. Still, with the Marvel multiverse set to come together again for Avengers: Secret Wars, there is at least a chance Molina could return.
