Alfred Molina’s career seems to be built on his weird onscreen relationship with spiders. The actor is best known for playing the role of Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 and also reprised it in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, Molina’s debut film was the first entry in the Indiana Jones franchise.
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Molina has a small role where he is forced to tend to a swarm of tarantulas while helping Indiana Jones. However, given the story behind the filming of the scene, which used real spiders, Molina’s dedication to his craft despite the small screen time he received in the film is commendable. Here is why Alfred Molina’s Raiders of the Lost Ark role deserves applause even after 43 years.
Alfred Molina Talks Getting Swarmed By Real Tarantulas in the First Indiana Jones Film
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, actor Alfred Molina plays the role of Satipo, a tour guide helping Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones. During the film’s opening sequence, Molina’s Satipo finds himself swarmed with tarantulas inside a booby-trapped temple in South America.
During the behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the film, Molina opened up about what it was like to film the scene with real tarantulas covering his body. Molina recalled that when the tarantulas were placed on his body, they weren’t moving, making them appear fake.
“I hear Steven saying, Why aren’t they moving? They look fake! And the spider wrangler says, Well, they’re all male, you see. We have to put a female in there, and then they’ll fight. And he gets a female … and suddenly, it’s like all hell breaks loose!”
Molina made the above statement explaining how the film crew got the tarantulas moving around all over his body for the gross scene. Nonetheless, Molina remained committed to completing the scene with real tarantulas, which is a testament to his dedication to acting.
Alfred Molina Signed Up For Indiana Jones Without Knowing About the Spider Scene
During an appearance on the Never Not Funny podcast, Alfred Molina shed some additional light on his brief role in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Molina explained that he met with director Steven Spielberg, who informed him about his role in the film.
After the discussion, Molina recalled being told that the crew would contact him. However, before Molina left, Spielberg stopped him and asked whether he was afraid of spiders. He said:
“Because I was on my way out and I could see there were people coming in I didn’t feel I could engage it or ask any questions and I just went…No.”
However, Molina later found out why Spielberg asked him that particular question when he arrived to film his scenes. As a result, it is clear that Molina signed on for the role of Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark, without knowing that he would have to work with spiders. Therefore, the Spider-Man: No Way Home star’s dedication to his role is all the more commendable and deserves applause.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is streaming on Disney+.
