SPIDER-MAN 2 Star Alfred Molina Reflects On Being Cast As Doctor Octopus And His NO WAY HOME Return

SPIDER-MAN 2 Star Alfred Molina Reflects On Being Cast As Doctor Octopus And His NO WAY HOME Return

Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus is considered one of the greatest comic book movie villains of all time, and the Spider-Man 2 star has now reflected on being cast and how it felt to return in No Way Home.

By JoshWilding - May 01, 2024 08:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Spider-Man 2

There are any number of actors who could have taken on the role of Dr. Otto Octavius in 2004's Spider-Man 2, but Sam Raimi made a somewhat unlikely choice with Alfred Molina. However, it would prove to absolutely be the right one. 

The actor made Doctor Octopus his own and, even two decades later, his Doc Ock is still considered one of the best comic book supervillains to ever grace the screen. 

In a recent interview, Molina reflected on his career and admitted he was surprised to be considered seeing as he was best known at the time for his roles in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Frida

"It was a big surprise to me, because it's not the kind of movie that I imagined myself to be qualified for. You always think of these big action films as [casting] physical types, and I've definitely never been that. We had a great meeting. And I kept saying, 'Look, I'm up for it. But I've got to be honest with you, I've never done anything like this before. And I've certainly never worked on a film with all this technology, I've never done much green screen or anything like that."

"But what swung it was we did a screen test, where they gave me an approximation of the costume - the big leather [harness] with the big trench coat. And then Avi Arad, who at the time was the head of Marvel, takes off his sunglasses and goes, 'Put these on.' I put the sunglasses on, and the whole room sort of went, 'Oh, this could be the image.' And I think that's what swung it."

"The beautiful thing about a lot of the Marvel villains - and, in fact, a lot of the Marvel heroes - is that they all become so reluctantly. Otto Octavius has this terrible tragedy in his life which changes things, and so they become these monsters, these villains, almost against their will. And what that does, it gives those characters a real level of humanity. It gives them kind of moral dilemmas to deal with, and there's always a moment when they're struggling with that dilemma: 'Should I carry on doing this? Should I pull back? Am I being a bad person?'"

"And that was all in the script. Sam wanted to develop that, and it gave the character a depth and something that the audience can hang onto. Because he's no longer a two-dimensional character. He's not just the bad guy, he's actually the bad guy with a kind of emotional life. And that just, I think, makes them so much more interesting."

Doctor Octopus' story reached a definitive end in Spider-Man 2's closing moments when Otto regained his sense and sacrificed himself to save Peter Parker and New York. 

However, with the Multiverse in play, he got to take another crack at the villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Pulled into Earth-616 moments before his demise, Doc Ock initially clashed with Tom Holland's web-slinger before his mind was cured and he helped the Spider-Men turn the tide against Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman, and The Lizard on the Statue of Liberty. 

"I was delighted, obviously," Molina said of his return. "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."

While we don't anticipate seeing any of Spider-Man: No Way Home's sinister villains again, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are expected to reteam with Holland in the not-too-distant future. 

Watch the full interview with Molina below.

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Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/1/2024, 8:11 AM
The bit about when he talks about his father and how he never got to see his sone find success in acting thus leaving him dissapointed f*cking broke me... ;(
marvel72
marvel72 - 5/1/2024, 8:17 AM
Perfect casting.

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Itwasme
Itwasme - 5/1/2024, 8:46 AM
@marvel72 - funny enough people hates the casting at the time. Fans... am I right?
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 5/1/2024, 11:19 AM
@Itwasme - I didn’t see too many online hating on that casting. But some people with bitch about anything.
Itwasme
Itwasme - 5/1/2024, 11:26 AM
@JustAWaffle - that was 2003... so before Reddit, Twitter, Facebook and so much more social activity. It was in the comic stores and rags that the conversations took place. Maybe a bit of MySpace. It was a long time ago.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 5/1/2024, 12:48 PM
@Itwasme - I graduated high school that year, so that was only 5 years ago.
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/1/2024, 1:05 PM
@marvel72 - glad he doesn’t have stupid hair cut how he looks in comics
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/1/2024, 1:06 PM
@dragon316 - surprise to find out people never complained how he is not fat enough to play character
Itwasme
Itwasme - 5/1/2024, 1:16 PM
@JustAWaffle - we are talking about when he was cast in Spiderman 2 though. Not NWH.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 5/1/2024, 1:45 PM
@Itwasme - User Comment Image
Itwasme
Itwasme - 5/1/2024, 1:58 PM
@JustAWaffle - yes so 23 years go... and boy do I feel old.
LSHF
LSHF - 5/1/2024, 8:17 AM
I was so very happy he returned for No Way Home and how things went for his character in the film.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/1/2024, 8:30 AM
He was a great Ock in both Spider Man 2 and NWH…

Definitely a more sympathetic version of the character then in some iterations but that’s fine , it still worked and I liked it nonetheless.

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Just a great actor in general!!
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/1/2024, 8:31 AM
Also this behind the scenes is a joy!!.

?si=z4Og9meMU3K1Tl9d
Matchesz
Matchesz - 5/1/2024, 8:43 AM
Perfect casting, couldnt’ve been better.

That being said I can see the mcu going this route for their 616 doc ock

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FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 5/1/2024, 8:46 AM
A big example of an adaptation being more compelling version of a character than the one from the original source material.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 5/1/2024, 8:59 AM
Spiderman II with Molina and Tobey in it, is still the best Marvel movie ever (even though they did ripoff several elements of Superman II. But, that movie's the best too! So, it's all good).
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 5/1/2024, 10:58 AM
Spider-Man 2 is still up there among my favorite comic book movies, and I think Molina's Doc Ock might be my favorite villain to this day.

"he was best known at the time for his roles in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Frida" I'm not sure that his 30 seconds on screen before being impaled in ROTLA Is one of the things he was most known for. More like a trivia question..."What was Alfred Molina's first role?"
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 5/1/2024, 11:48 AM
@Izaizaiza - Perfect casting.

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Matchesz
Matchesz - 5/1/2024, 11:55 AM
@GeneralZod - John Malkovich would have killed it as a Raimi vulture
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 5/1/2024, 11:57 AM
@GeneralZod - Absolutely
Matchesz
Matchesz - 5/1/2024, 11:57 AM
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GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 5/1/2024, 12:12 PM
@Matchesz - Totally!!
ThorArms
ThorArms - 5/1/2024, 1:01 PM
The best thing Avi has done.
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 5/1/2024, 2:59 PM
@ThorArms - Even a broken clock is right twice a day
JonC
JonC - 5/1/2024, 1:09 PM
"And then Avi Arad, who at the time was the head of Marvel, takes off his sunglasses and goes, 'Put these on.'"

...so Avi is the true Doc Oc?

Its finally starting to make sense how he has been trying to ruin spiderman all these years despite getting great actors and directors...

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