Michael Madsen
Acting
- Born:
- 1957-09-25
- Died:
- 2025-07-03
- Place of birth:
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
Biography
Michael Madsen (Michael Søren Madsen, September 25, 1957 – July 3, 2025) was an American actor, poet, and photographer, born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Elaine, a filmmaker and author, and Calvin, a firefighter. He began his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where he served as an apprentice under John Malkovich and appeared in a production of Of Mice and Men. His screen debut came in Against All Hope (1982), followed by a small role in WarGames (1983). His breakout performance was as the psychopathic Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992), which launched him into a long association with Tarantino — he appeared in five of his films, including Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He also worked as a voice actor in video games including Grand Theft Auto III and DRIV3R. He was found unresponsive in his Malibu, California home on July 3, 2025, and died of cardiac arrest at age 67. His notable film credits include WarGames (1983) (Matthew Broderick, Daryl Hannah), Thelma & Louise (1991) (Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis), Reservoir Dogs (1992) (Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth), Free Willy (1993) (Jason James Richter, Leelee Sobieski), The Getaway (1994) (Harrison Ford, Rene Russo), Species (1995) (Sandra Bullock, Al Pacino), Donnie Brasco (1997) (Al Pacino, Johnny Depp), Die Another Day (2002) (Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) (Uma Thurman, David Carradine), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) (Uma Thurman, David Carradine), Sin City (2005) (Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba), The Hateful Eight (2015) (Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) (Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt).
Known For
Filmography
Concessions
Legend of the White Dragon
Blood Behind Us
Mr. Wonderful
Demon Hunters
Queen of Manhattan
The Things We Carry
Sinatra! Eternity
Resurrection Road
DinoGator
Prepare to Die
Dark Feathers: Dance of the Geisha
Max Dagan
Arena Wars
Final Wager
Chuck Zito: An American Story
South of Hope Street
Spirit Riser
Monster Mash
Once Upon a Time in Hollyweird
Baba Yaga: Assassins Revenge
Grace
Outlaw Johnny Black
The Lurking Fear
Buckle Up
Necronomicon
Assault on Hill 400
Waking Karma
The Wraith Within
American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective
Death Count
Incarnation
Until We Meet Again
Damon's Revenge
Run Raven Run
Christmas Thieves
Every Last One of Them
American Night
Ten Million Throwaways
Burial Ground Massacre
Red Prophecies
Playing with Stars
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
Red Handed
Nishabdham
Dirty Fears
The Garden Left Behind
Unbelievable!!!!!
Shark Season
Puppy Love
Serpent in the Bottle
Conjuring: The Book of the Dead
Angels Fallen
2 Graves in the Desert
Arctic Dogs
QT8: The First Eight
Primitiva
Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood
Rock, Paper, Scissors
The Hateful Eight
Born2Race
Welcome to Acapulco
Trading Paint
Hangover in Death Valley
Dead On Time
Assassins Revenge
Megalodon
A Night in Jail
Spatss!
Q-4: Dream Corporation
Dirty Dealing
Papa
Love Addict
Garlic and Gunpowder
Grindhouse Nightmares
The Journey Ahead
The Broken Key
Unfallen
The Wrong Neighbor
Devil's Domain
Gasoline
Along for the Ride
Vigilante Diaries
Talons
Master of Photography
Dennis Hopper: Uneasy Rider
Last Man Club
Back in the Day
Magi
Emigratis
Kidnapped in Romania
The Hateful Eight
Flipped
Lumberjack Man
Sacred Blood
Death in the Desert
The Lost Tree
Lady Psycho Killer
Bikini Inception
No Deposit
Big Time in Hollywood, Fl
A Hitman in London
Powers
Diamond Cartel
Hope Lost
Beyond the Game
Bra Wars – Hollywood’s Affair With The Bra
Non escludo il ritorno
Water Wars
2047: Sights of Death
The Ninth Cloud
Express 'Moscow-Russia'
Turn Around Jake
I'm in Love with a Church Girl
Terrible Angels
Lionhead
A Sierra Nevada Gunfight
Ashley
Nomad the Beginning
Gabrielle
ICE Agent
Infected
Along the Roadside
Golden Boy
Madoff: Made Off with America
Garbage
Alien Battlefield
Prince of the City
Magic Boys
Beyond the Trophy
Ace of Spades: Bad Destiny
Cole Younger & The Black Train
Piranhaconda
Sins
Loosies
Eldorado
Dirty Little Trick
Not Another Not Another Movie
Amsterdam Heavy
Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side
The Lion of Judah
The Forest
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
The 5th Execution
Bob's Burgers
A Cold Day in Hell
The Brazen Bull
Federal
Zulu Gumball
Blue Bloods
Terror Trap
Hawaii Five-0
Trader Games
Six Days in Paradise
Let the Game Begin
The Big I Am
The Killing Jar
The Portal
Corruption.Gov
Road of No Return
The Tomb
The Bleeding
Creepshow Raw: Insomnia
Gloves of Stone
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Serbian Scars
Lost in the Woods
Green Lantern: First Flight
The Face is Familiar
The Way
Break
Amazing Racer
Hired Gun
You Might As Well Live
Deep Winter
Clear Lake, WI
Outrage: Born in Terror
Christmas Crash
House
Hell Ride
45 R.P.M.
No Bad Days
The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry
A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry
The Evolution of Clint Eastwood
The Business End: Violence in Cinema
The Craft of Dirty Harry
Crash and Burn
Vice
Last Hour
Eyes Front
Killer's Freedom
Strength and Honour
Cosmic Radio
Tooth and Nail
Being Michael Madsen
Croc
Boarding Gate
L.A. Dicks
Living & Dying
Machine
Afghan Knights
UKM: The Ultimate Killing Machine
Canes
The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird
Prohibition Opens the Floodgates
Morality and the Code: A How-to Manual for Hollywood
Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light
Molls and Dolls: The Women of Gangster Films
The Last Drop
Scary Movie 4
All In
BloodRayne
Hoboken Hollow
Southern Comfort
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Gangland: Bullets over Hollywood
Law of Corruption
The Distance: Boxing from the Inside Out
Chasing Ghosts
Sin City
Tilt
Jacked$
Frankenstein
The Making of 'Kill Bill Vol. 2'
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Blueberry
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Vampires Anonymous
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
My Boss's Daughter
44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out
Pauly Shore Is Dead
Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey
The Real Deal
Die Another Day
The Thief & the Stripper
CSI: Miami
Primal Instinct
Welcome to America
24
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
42K
L.A.P.D.: To Protect And To Serve
Choke
Pressure Point
Animal Precinct
Extreme Honor
Celebrity Big Brother
Big Apple
Fall
The Ghost
Outlaw
The Price of Air
High Noon
Bad Guys
The Stray
Sacrifice
The Alternate
Luck of the Draw
Voodoo Dawn
The Inspectors 2: A Shred of Evidence
Ultimate Target
Flat Out
Ballad of the Nightingale
The Florentine
Supreme Sanction
Detour
Vengeance Unlimited
Papertrail
The Sender
Species II
Steve McQueen: The King of Cool
Rough Draft
Surface to Air
The Girl Gets Moe
Catherine's Grove
The Maker
Executive Target
Donnie Brasco
The Last Days of Frankie the Fly
The Winner
Mulholland Falls
Red Line
MADtv
Man with a Gun
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
Species
Wyatt Earp
Dead Connection
Season of Change
Blue Tiger
The Getaway
Who Do You Think You're Fooling?
Inside Edge
Money for Nothing
Almost Blue
Free Willy
Beyond the Law
A House in the Hills
Trouble Bound
To Kill For
Reservoir Dogs
Baby Snatcher
Straight Talk
Thelma & Louise
The Doors
The End of Innocence
Gabriel's Fire
The Outsiders
Montana
Kill Me Again
Blood Red
Quantum Leap
War and Remembrance
Sidewalks Entertainment
Iguana
Shadows in the Storm
The Killing Time
Jake and the Fatman
Tour of Duty
Crime Story
Our Family Honor
Miami Vice
The Natural
Racing with the Moon
The Hitchhiker
Diner
WarGames
Special Bulletin
St. Elsewhere
Cagney & Lacey
Against All Hope
The First Circle
A Corpse in Kensington
Saturday at the Starlight
Cookbook for Southern Housewives
Ava
The Witching Hour
Sara Sarita