Endlessly adaptable, Molina went on to play parts of far-ranging ethnic diversity, including an Iranian in Not Without My Daughter (1991) and famed Mexican painter Diego Rivera in the 2002 biopic Frida (which brought the actor a BAFTA nod). Before his portrayal of eight-limbed villain Dr. Otto Octavius in the blockbuster Spider-Man 2 (2004), Molina starred in the Broadway revival of "Fiddler on the Roof," which earned him a Tony nomination.
Molina's later notable roles include the cunning Bishop Aringarosa in the The Da Vinci Code (2006) and a turn as a parochial father in An Education, which brought another BAFTA nod.