The Blacklist’s Forgotten Mob Boss Was Breaking Bad Icon Mark Margolis

File this under great-actor-in-a-blink-and-you-miss-it role: The Blacklist brought in Mark Margolis for Season 7, Episode 17, and if you recognized the man behind the menace, yep, that was Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul standout Mark Margolis — Hector Salamanca himself. The episode is busy enough that he ends up more in the background than you would expect, but even with limited screen time, his character leaves a mark.

So who was he playing on The Blacklist?

Margolis pops up as Jakov Mitko, the head of the Albanian mafia in Detroit. His connection to the Task Force is personal: he once fronted $50,000 to Robby Ressler, a mechanic drowning in debt, at a brutal 30 percent interest. Robby used the cash to get his shop standing again, then realized there was basically no mathematical path to paying it back.

• Mitko tightens the screws by taking the Ressler brothers' car and demanding inside FBI intel in return.
• Donald Ressler faces an awful choice: hand over sensitive data or risk a corpse being discovered — a discovery that could expose an undercover operative named in file 432.
• The brothers try to outfox Mitko. It goes sideways fast.
• The FBI storms Mitko's greenhouse, a firefight breaks out, and Mitko grabs Robby with a knife to his throat.
• After Mitko is taken into custody, he fires back with accusations against both Donald and Robby, kicking off an investigation that forces the Resslers onto their heels.

It is a classic Blacklist move: use a seemingly minor villain to pry open bigger moral messes. Even though Margolis is not the centerpiece of the episode, his presence sparks consequences that ripple through the Ressler storyline.

The casting surprise

Margolis being there at all is a fun little nerdy detail. He is forever linked to Hector Salamanca — the bell-ringing cartel figure that earned him an Emmy nomination in 2012 — so seeing him slip into another crime-world heavy, even briefly, is a treat. The episode piles on so much plot that his stint gets overshadowed, but the man still knows exactly how to chill a room with a look.

A quick tour of Mark Margolis' career

Margolis, who passed away at 83, left behind one of those filmographies you only appreciate more the deeper you go. Early on, he popped in Scarface as Alberto 'The Shadow', the cold-blooded enforcer for Bolivian drug lord Alejandro Sosa — a small role that somehow burns into your brain. He kept stretching across decades, becoming a frequent collaborator with Darren Aronofsky on Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010), and Noah (2014). On TV, he turned up everywhere: Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Equalizer, Quantum Leap, Oz, Law & Order, Crossing Jordan, Californication, and more. Of course, the legacy-defining run is Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul — the kind of role that redefines a career without erasing everything that came before.

'I have a very, very endearing relationship with Mark Margolis. He is a very smart human being and a very smart actor.'

- Giancarlo Esposito, speaking to Newsweek

The Blacklist basics, in case you need a refresher

The Blacklist is a U.S. crime drama/action/thriller created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It ran on NBC from September 23, 2013 to July 13, 2023, across 10 seasons and 218 episodes, with installments typically running 40–45 minutes. It was produced by Davis Entertainment, Universal Television, and Sony Pictures Television, with executive producers including Bokenkamp, John Davis, Eisendrath, John Fox, Joe Carnahan, and James Spader. There is also a spin-off, The Blacklist: Redemption.

Where to watch

The Blacklist is currently streaming on Netflix in the U.S.

Breaking Bad is currently streaming on Netflix in the U.S.

What is your favorite Mark Margolis role? I am partial to the bell and the stare, but the man never wasted a frame.