10 Best Performances In Better Call Saul

1. Mark Margolis (Hector Salamanca)

better call saul
AMC

Mark Margolis isn’t just a bad guy specialist, he’s a loathsome guy specialist. With a long career playing detestable rogues, he found one of his best parts late on in his career as Hector Salamanca. In Breaking Bad, a post-stroke Hector was mute and wheelchair bound - and Margolis put in an immense shift acting with just his face.

Better Call Saul finds Hector pre-stroke, and as a man of action, he’s more villainous still. He plays the cartel boss as a bitter, rage-riddled man, a fading star in the mob’s hierarchy, usurped by the more modern practises of the likes of Gus Fring.

It’s an explosive performance - Hector is a man driven only by fury, hatred, and family pride, and Margolis is at full throttle for the majority of his screen time (making up for his lack of lines in Breaking Bad), but it’s never too broad. A career character actor, Margolis is accustomed to creating a lot out of a little, and given the time to run with Hector Salamanca, he’s able to give one of the finest performances of his esteemed career.

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Contributor

Yorkshire-based writer of screenplays, essays, and fiction. Big fan of having a laugh. Read more of my stuff @ www.twotownsover.com (if you want!)