Michael Madsen, 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Kill Bill' actor, dies at 67
Actor Michael Madsen, known for his roles in "Reservoir Dogs" and the "Kill Bill" movies, has died at the age of 67.
Madsen's death was confirmed Thursday by his publicist, Liz Rodriguez, who told ABC News that Madsen was found unresponsive Thursday morning at his home in Malibu, California, and is believed to have died of cardiac arrest.
"In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life," Rodriguez said in a statement also written by Madsen's managers, Susan Ferris and Ron Smith. "Michael was also preparing to release a new book called 'Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems,' currently being edited."
The statement continued, "Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, who will be missed by many."
Madsen had a decades-long career in Hollywood that included roles in over 300 films, including several that are still in production, according to his IMDB page.
Madsen's sister, actress Virginia Madsen, took to Instagram on Thursday and shared a collage of photos of her brother.
"I love you," she captioned the post.
Born on Sept. 25, 1957, Michael Madsen's first acting role was in the 1982 Edward T. McDougal-directed film "Against All Hope," in which he played the lead role of a man struggling with alcoholism who turns to a reverend for help.
He went on to land more roles across television and film, including in the 1985 TV series "Our Family Honor" and the 1991 Ridley Scott-directed film "Thelma and Louise," which he starred in with Brad Pitt, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis.
In 1992, Madsen starred in his first Quentin Tarantino-directed film, "Reservoir Dogs," as Mr. Blonde/Vic. The film, which followed a jewelry heist gone wrong, also starred Tim Roth and Harvey Keitel.
Madsen spoke to ABC News in 2017 at the Tribeca Film Festival for the 25th anniversary of "Reservoir Dogs" and said he was "very lucky and very blessed" to be in the film.
"I had a great director and I had a great script," he said. "I didn't know what I was going to do. I was very young. It was one of my first pictures. [Tarantino] let me improv quite a bit."
As for the famous dance scene he delivered in the film to the song "Stuck in the Middle with You," Madsen said he "made it up on the spot."
"Honestly, I didn't know what to do," he said. "And [Tarantino] never made me rehearse it because I was intimidated by it. Because I'm not a dancer. And I started thinking of this Jimmy Cagney movie that I saw, about college or something, and he does this little dance and it came into my head right before I had to do it. And I didn't know it was gonna work but Quentin let me get away with it and thank God he let me do it."
His role as Mr. Blonde was the first of many wise-cracking tough guys he would play in Tarantino films -- from Budd, a.k.a. Sidewinder, in both "Kill Bill" films, to Sheriff Hackett on the show-within-a-film "Bounty Law" in "Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood," to Joe Gage in "The Hateful Eight."
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, Madsen reflected on his career in Hollywood and the roles he's played, and called fame a "two-edged sword."
"There are a lot of blessings but also a lot of heavy things that come with it," he said. "I think it has a lot to do with the characters I’ve played. I think I’ve been more believable than I should have been. I think people really fear me. They see me and go: “Holy s---, there’s that guy!” But I’m not that guy. I’m just an actor. I’m a father, I’ve got seven children. I’m married, I’ve been married 20 years."
He added, "When I’m not making a movie, I’m home, in pajamas, watching 'The Rifleman' on TV, hopefully with my 12-year-old, making me a cheeseburger. I sure as hell had my rabble-rousing days but sooner or later you have to get over that and move on."
Madsen was married three times, the first time to "General Hospital" actress Georganne LaPiere from 1984 to 1988. He then married actress Jeannine Bisignano in 1991. The two divorced in 1995 and shared two sons, Christian and Max.
In 1996, Madsen married actress DeAnna Madsen had three sons with her: Calvin, Luke and Hudson Madsen.
In 2022, Madsen suffered a personal tragedy when 26-year-old Hudson died by suicide. Madsen said in a statement then to The Los Angeles Times after his son's death that he was trying to "make sense" of it.
"I am in shock as my son, whom I just spoke with a few days ago, said he was happy -- my last text from him was 'I love you dad,'" Madsen told the newspaper. "I didn't see any signs of depression. It's so tragic and sad. I'm just trying to make sense of everything and understand what happened."
Two years after Hudson Madsen's death, the actor filed for divorce from DeAnna Madsen.
