Michael Madsen, who was known for his Hollywood tough guy roles and gained notoriety playing the sadistic Mr. Blonde in regular collaborator Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 crime ensemble Reservoir Dogs, has died. He was 67.
According to reports Madsen was found dead by police officers who responded to an emergency call on Thursday morning at his home in Malibu, California. A representative told press he died of a heart attack.
Madsen appeared in six Tarantino films including Reservoir Dogs, along with Pulp Fiction, the two Kill Bill films, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. He famously turned down the role of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, which eventually went to John Travolta and revived that actor’s career.
Arguably the most iconic scene of Madsen’s career from well over 100 films credits was when Mr. Blonde severed a captive police officer’s ear while dancing to Stealer’s Wheel’s Stuck In The Middle With You. It was a sequence the actor later revealed he had dreaded.
Speaking to reporters in 2017 he noted that Reservoir Dogs was the only film anybody wanted to talk to him about, adding: “I would prefer to be a leading man. I’m a leading man in a bad guy’s body, basically.”
The character actor with the rugged good looks spoke of accepting some forgettable roles in his career to support his family. Besides the Tarantino oeuvre, Madsen’s memorable credits include Donnie Brasco for Mike Newell, The Doors for Oliver Stone, Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, Free Willy, and Die Another Day, as well as a recurring role in TV series 24. Later in his career he did a lot of voice work in video games, and had a number of features in the works, including crime drama Cookbook For Southern Housewives.
Madsen was born in Chicago on September 25 1957 to a filmmaker mother and a father who was a firefighter. The actress Virgina Madsen was one of his siblings. He began acting at the famous Steppenwolf Theatre where according to reports he served as an apprentice to John Malkovich. One of his first notable film roles was a small part in WarGames.
He was married three times, most recently to DeAnna Morgan, and is survived by four children.