Alfred Molina was born in 1953 in London, England. His mother, Giovanna
(Bonelli), was an Italian-born cook and cleaner, and his father,
Esteban Molina, was a Spanish-born waiter and chauffeur. He studied at
the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. His stage work
includes two major Royal National Theatre productions,
Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the
Iguana" (as Shannon) and
David Mamet's "Speed the Plow" (as
Fox), plus a splendid performance in
Yasmina Reza's "Art" (his Broadway debut),
for which he received a Tony Award nomination in 1998. He made his film
debut in
Jäger des verlorenen Schatzes (1981)
and got a good part in
Brief an Breshnew (1985) (as
a Soviet sailor who spends a night in Liverpool), but his movie
breakthrough came two years later when he played--superbly--Kenneth
Halliwell, the tragic lover of playwright
Joe Orton, in
Stephen Frears'
Das stürmische Leben des Joe Orton (1987). He
was also outstanding in
Verzauberter April (1991),
Die Perez Familie (1995) (as a
Cuban immigrant),
Anna Karenina (1997) (as Levin) and
Chocolat... ein kleiner Biss genügt! (2000) (as the narrow-minded
mayor of a small French town circa 1950s, who tries to shut down a
chocolate shop).
