Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill Star Michael Madsen Passes Away

Michael Madsen, the legendary character actor known for his work with Quentin Tarantino in Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs and more, has passed away. CNN reports that Madsen’s publicist has confirmed that the acting veteran passed away, noting that Madsen had a cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive in his Malibu home on Thursday. He was 67.

While best known for his collaborations with Tarantino, Madsen had an extensive career that spanned over 300 appearances over 43 years including a number of projects that have yet to be released. Madsen was born in Chicago to filmmaker Elaine Madsen and Chicago firefighter Calvin Madsen. He began working in the arts as an apprentice under John Malkovich at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where he appeared in a production of Of Mice & Men.

Madsen found his first film role in the 1983 Matthew Broderick-starring WarGames as Lieutenant Steve Phelps and began to work regularly with guest or recurring appearances on TV in the likes of St. Elsewhere, Cagney & Lacey, Miami Vice, and The Hitchhiker. He was part of the main cast for the ABC drama Our Family Honor as the son of a crime family patriach. The early and mid-1980s saw him on the big screen in such films as the baseball drama The Natural, the 1987 thriller The Killing Time, and the neo-noir Kill Me Again opposite Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley.

Madsen picked up a few more roles before his breakthrough performance in Reservoir Dogs as the sadistic Mr. Blonde. This was his first collaboration with Tarantino, a partnership that would continue with roles as Budd in the Kill Bill films, “Grouch” Douglass in The Hateful Eight, and Sheriff Hackett in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Reservoir Dogs launched Madsen into a spot as a known character actor and led to regular work for the rest of his career. He played the foster dad of the main character in Free Willy in 1993 and its 1995 sequel, Virgil Earp in Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp, a black ops mercendary in Species and its sequel, and the Mafia capo Dominick Napolitano in 1997’s Donnie Brasco. He played a corrupt cop opposite Bruce Willis in 2005’s Sin City.

Madsen’s fame came with personal troubles as well, particularly in recent years. He was arrested for two DUIs, the most recent in 2019, and was arrested for an drunken physical altercation with his son, then a teenager, in 2012. He was arrested last year on suspicion of domestic battery misdemeanor and his wife filed for divorce the next month. Madsen’s son Hudson died as a result of suicide in 2022.

On behalf of 411, our best wishes to the family, friends and fans of Mr. Madsen. He will be missed.