Tributes are flowing in for Michael Madsen, who has died aged 67.
The prolific actor, best known for his many collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino including Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill, was found unresponsive at his Malibu home. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to his manager Ron Smith.
On Instagram, Madsen’s The Hateful Eight co-star Walton Goggins wrote: “Michael Madsen… this man… this artist… this poet… this rascal…F***ing ICON…. Aura like no one else. Ain’t enough words so I’ll just say this…. I love you buddy. A H8TER forever.”
Madsen’s Reservoir Dogs co-star Harvey Keitel told the New York Post: “We’ve lost another great American poet. Farewell, my dear friend.”
He added: “I’ll never forget one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen on film — of you and Chris Penn fighting in Reservoir Dogs. A great love scene. Give Chris a hug for me.” Penn died in 2006 at the age of 40.
Another former co-star, James Woods, wrote: “Oh man, this is a hard one. Michael and I did The Getaway together. We did Straight Talk together. I was always touched by his sweet nature and generosity, the absolute opposite of the ‘tough guys’ he portrayed so brilliantly. Rest in Peace, dear friend.”
Jennifer Tilly, who starred with Madsen in 1994’s The Getaway, wrote on X: “Michael was one of my favorite actors I ever worked with. The Getaway was very early in my career and he made me feel safe and supported. He was wildly audacious and rambunctious with his character choices, and had a wicked sense of humor. I don’t recall ever laughing so much on a film set in my life. A huge talent. Gone too soon. Rip Michael Madsen.”
Director Robert Rodriguez recalled working with Madsen on 2005’s Sin City, writing: “Frank Miller and I have always loved telling the story how no one was allowed to improvise any dialogue on Sin City. (We wanted to have the movie be incredibly faithful to his graphic novel.) But we bent that rule every day Michael Madsen worked with us.
“Being a fantastic writer, he just kept bringing us one golden additional line after another, and he would make us laugh so much we’d relent and say to each other, ‘Well if we’re going to break the rule with someone, it might as well be Michael Madsen. He keeps coming up with such great lines!’
“The other rule we broke was by casting someone who didn’t look at all like the drawn character in the book. Michael was so larger than life, we just felt he would make a much better partner to Bruce Willis’ detective, I mean, what an ultimate cop team! And he was just an absolute joy to work with. I will miss you Michael, you truly are one of the greats.”
Madsen made a guest appearance in Rob Schneider’s sitcom Real Rob in 2017, and the comedian recalled: “Michael Madsen was a dream to work with. A truly gifted actor & gentleman who made every person on the set comfortable; generous with his stories & with his infectious laughter. I only wish we could have done more things together in this crazy business. My love to his kids & friends.”
Fellow actor Billy Baldwin wrote on social media: “Fitting that Michael Madsen would pass away on 4th of July weekend. He was no firecracker… a total stick of dynamite on screen and in life. Rest easy my friend.”
Bosch star Titus Welliver also paid tribute, writing on X: “Michael Madsen has departed. Mike leaves behind a body of work that will never be forgotten. Rest brother, too young.”
Madsen’s younger sister, Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen, mourned her brother in a statement to Variety, saying: “My brother Michael has left the stage. He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother — etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”
She continued: “We’re not mourning a public figure. We’re not mourning a myth — but flesh and blood and ferocious heart. Who stormed through life loud, brilliant, and half on fire. Who leaves us echoes — gruff, brilliant, unrepeatable — half legend, half lullaby.
“I’ll miss our inside jokes, the sudden laughter, the sound of him. I’ll miss the boy he was before the legend; I miss my big brother. Thank you to everyone reaching out with love and memory. In time, we’ll share how we plan to celebrate his life — but for now, we stay close, and let the silence say what words can’t.”
During his decades-long career, Madsen amassed more than 70 film and TV credits. His breakthrough came in Tarantino’s directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs, in which he starred as the sadistic criminal Mr. Blonde, who tortured a policeman by slicing off his ear.
That marked the beginning of a long and storied collaboration between Madsen and Tarantino, despite pushback from now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“Harvey never liked me,” Madsen told The Independent in 2020. “I don’t know if he ever liked anybody, but I know for a fact he didn’t like me. He never wanted me in any of Quentin’s movies. I think I’m only in them because Quentin stood up for me every single time and said I’m going to use Michael whether you like it or not.”
Madsen went on to portray villains and anti-heroes in several of Tarantino’s other cult classics, including Kill Bill: Volumes 1 and 2 (2003–2004), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
