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20 years after Spider-Man 2, Alfred Molina reflects on playing Doc Ock: "That part completely changed my life"

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By Emily Garbutt published 30 April 2024

"It's not the kind of movie that I imagined myself to be qualified for"

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Spider-Man: No Way Home
(Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel)
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20 years after the release of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, Doc Ock star Alfred Molina has reflected on how the role changed his life. 

"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," Molina told Vanity Fair. "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."

The actor first took on the role in 2004 in Spider-Man 2, but later donned Dr. Otto Octavius' sunglasses and mechanical tentacles again for 2021's multiversal adventure Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside former co-star Tobey Maguire. 

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"It was a big surprise to me, because it's not the kind of movie that I imagined myself to be qualified for," he added, referring to his initial casting. "You always think of these big action films as [casting] physical types, and I've definitely never been that." 

No Way Home was the most recent outing for the MCU's Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, and details on potential further Spider-Man movies are still being kept under wraps. "We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect," Holland recently told Deadline. "[Spider-Man: No Way Home] was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing."

While we wait for more news on a fourth Spider-Man movie, get up to speed on everything else to come in the MCU with our guides to Marvel Phase 5 and Marvel Phase 6.  

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Emily Garbutt
Emily Garbutt
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Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related. I help bring you all the latest news, features, and reviews, as well as helming our Big Screen Spotlight column. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.

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