by The actor Michael Madsen, known for his memorable roles in “Kill Bill” and “Reservoir Dogs” by Quentin Tarantino, died at the age of 67.
American actor Michael Madsen, famous for having played Mr Blonde in Reservoir Dogs and Budd in Kill Bill, died on July 3 at the age of 67. The Hollywood Reporter announced the sad news.
“Michael Madsen was found unconscious by the assistants, responding to a call at 911 at his home in Malibu and was declared dead at 8:25 am”said a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Department of the County of Los Angeles at the Hollywood Reporter.
Liz Rodriguez, his representative at Emr Media Entertainment, told Thr: “We understood that Michael had a cardiac arrest”she said.
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Michael Madsen's beginnings
It is during his rebellious adolescence that Michael Madsen was passionate about the classics of cinema and theater. After seeing Mouses and men At Steppenwolf Theater From Chicago, he decides to become an actor.
Chaining a whole series of odd jobs – a building painter, nurse, repairer, pompist, he settled in Los Angeles and wins his first roles in television series like Two cops in Miami,, CAGNY AND LACEY or St. Elsewhere.
In 1983, he took his first steps in the cinema by playing alongside the young Matthew Broderick in the successful film of John Badham War Games. From then on, he multiplies small roles on the big screen, like that of a player of baseball in the best (1984) or a Cow Boy In a rifle for honor (1989).
Cult actor at Tarantino
In 1989, his performance as a psychopath enforcement wishing to do battle with Val Kilmer in Kill Me Again imposed it in the roles of patibular bad guys. A consecration confirmed by its terrifying performance in Dogs Reservoir (1992) by Quentin Tarantino. He embodies Mr. Blonde, gangster spent master in the art of ear cutting.
Despite everything, Michael Madsen stands out by interpreting Jimmy, the understanding boyfriend of Susan Sarandon, in Thelma and Louise (1991), the loving father of Sauvez Willy (1993) and the peaceful Virgil Earp in Wyatt Earp (1994) of Lawrence Kasdan.
In 1994, he took over the role of the revanchard brigand Rudy Travis, originally held by Al Lettieri, in Guet-apens, the remake Sam Peckinpah's thriller signed Roger Donaldson. Passed on the good side of the law, the actor with massive corpulence and the carnivorous smile tracks the mutant (1995) then, like Nick Nolte, joined the men of the shadows in 1996.
Headlining many TV movies and B series directly out of video (Revenge unlimitedThe last days of Frankie), he must often be satisfied with secondary roles of hard to cook in the movies: the mafia Sonny Black in Donnie Braco (1997), the CIA agent Damian Falco in the Bondien Meurs another day (2002), the killer Budd in Kill Bill (2003) of his friend Tarantino, the outlaw Wally Blount, sworn enemy of Blueberry (2004) and finds the world of comic book in Sin City (2005) by Robert Rodriguez.
He lends his voice to one of the characters in the first chapter in the world of Narnia and continues his participation in gender films, the best known of this period of which remains Scary Movie 4 in 2006.
Small tour in France
Faced with this, the French directors always give him their confidence: Olivier Assayas turns him in Boarding Gate (2007) alongside Asia Argento, and Fabrice Genestal in Krach (2010) with Gilles Lellouche and Charles Berling. On television, Michael Madsen is also one of Jack Bauer's rare allies in the final season of the 24 Hours Chrono series.
Chaining the Direct-to-DVD (Run Or Die, Piraconda, etc.) at a high speed to be able to pay his many food pensions, Michael Madsen is recalled by a certain Quentin Tarantino to take part in his new western the eight bastards, in which the director collaborates with other of his favorite actors like Kurt Russell, Tim Roth and Samuel L. Jackson.
He had also participated in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood for Tarantino in 2019. Very prolific, the actor had completed many projects, especially for television, before dying on July 3, 2025 at the age of 67.
