Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

, most famously in the latter's debut film '' Reservoir Dogs'' (1992).

Early life

Madsen was born on September 25, 1957, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. His mother, Elaine (née Melson; born 1932), was a filmmaker and author. His father, Calvin Christian Madsen (1927–2015), was a World War II

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

veteran and a firefighter with the

Chicago Fire Department The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides fire suppression, rescue services, Hazardous Materials Response services and emergency medical response services to the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chi ...

. His parents divorced in the 1960s, and his mother left the financial world to pursue a career in the arts, encouraged by film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

. His siblings are Cheryl Madsen, an entrepreneur, and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominee Virginia Madsen. Madsen's paternal grandparents were Danish, while his mother is of English, German, Irish, Native American and Scottish ancestry.

Career

Madsen began working at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where he served as an apprentice under

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

and appeared in a production of ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

''. His first notable film role was a small part, playing opposite John Spencer, in the beginning of '' WarGames'', and he was also in ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Picture ...

''. In

's directorial debut film '' Reservoir Dogs'', Madsen played "Mr. Blonde", a cruel criminal.

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi ( ,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself, some may insist that his pronunciation of his own name is "wrong" because it does not match the original Italian pronunciation as well. It is not uncommon for people to pronou ...

received the role of "Mr. Pink", which Madsen wanted because it had more scenes with Harvey Keitel. For '' Pulp Fiction'', Madsen declined the role of Vincent Vega, which went to

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...

. Madsen starred in Mike Newell's gangster film ''

Donnie Brasco Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939), is an American former FBI agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser ...

''. He once said of these films: "Some of them I'm only in for 10 minutes, but they bought my name, and they bought my face to put on the DVD box with a gun. What people don't always understand is that I established a certain lifestyle for my family back in the days of ''Species'' and ''Mulholland Falls'' and ''The Getaway''. I wasn't about to move my six kids into a trailer park. So when people offered me work, it wasn't always the best, but I had to buy groceries and I had to put gas in the car." In ''

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins ( Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) ...

'', Madsen played assassin Budd, the brother of Bill (

David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series '' Kung Fu'', playi ...

). The film was released in two parts, '' Vol. 1'' and '' Vol. 2''. In 2004, Tarantino discussed an idea for the film to unite Madsen and Travolta, as The Vega Brothers. In 2007, Tarantino said the film (which he intended to call ''Double V Vega'') was "kind of unlikely now", because of the age of the actors and the onscreen deaths of both characters. Madsen appeared in Uwe Boll's '' BloodRayne'', a film he described as "an abomination... It's a horrifying and preposterous movie." He won Best Actor awards at the

Boston Film Festival Boston Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September. The Boston Film Festival premiered such notable films as '' The Last Kiss' ...

and New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for his performance in '' Strength and Honour''. He played himself in the mockumentary '' Being Michael Madsen''. Madsen co-starred in ''Coma'', a Web series on

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...

He played Jim Ricker, the old friend of

Jack Bauer Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox television series '' 24''. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a federal agent of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) based in Los Angeles, and wo ...

(

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award ...

), in the eighth season of '' 24''. Madsen starred in the comedy film ''

Let the Game Begin ''Let the Game Begin'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy from Twisted Light Productions, directed by Amit Gupta. The film stars ''CSI: Miami'' actor Adam Rodriguez and Stephen Baldwin. The film was released in Australia on May 5, 2010, and was r ...

''. On January 5, 2012, he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house, where he finished in 4th place in the final. In February 2014, he played Las Vegas casino mogul

Ted Binion Lonnie Theodore Binion (November 28, 1943 – September 17, 1998), or Ted Binion, was a wealthy American gambling executive and one of the sons of famed Las Vegas casino magnate Benny Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe. Ted Binion's death has be ...

in Josh Evans' film ''Death in the Desert''. The screenplay was written by John Steppling, based on the book ''

Death in the Desert ''Death in the Desert: The Ted Binion Homicide Case'' is a 2000 biographical and crime account by the American journalist and crime author Cathy Scott, with a second edition in 2012. The book, which was the first of four released about the case, ...

'' by crime writer

Cathy Scott Cathleen "Cathy" Scott (born c. 1950) is a '' Los Angeles Times'' bestselling American true crime writer and investigative journalist who penned the biographies and true crime books ''The Killing of Tupac Shakur'' and ''The Murder of Biggie Smal ...

. In August 2014, he starred in the ''Kill Bill''-themed music video for the song " Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea featuring

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...

. Madsen starred in the ensemble western film '' The Hateful Eight''. He was among a number of people rumored to have leaked the film's script before it was released, causing Tarantino to almost not make the film and eventually rewrite it. It was later revealed Madsen was not responsible for leaking the script. In 2016, he played a dramatized role of former Texas Ranger Phil Ryan in ''Real Detective'' on the '' Investigation Discovery'' network. He starred in Vilan Trub's crime drama film ''The Dirty Kind'', which is loosely inspired by

Anthony Weiner Anthony David Weiner (; born September 4, 1964) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 until his resignation in 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he consistently carried the district with at l ...

Personal life

Madsen's first wife was Georganne LaPiere, half-sister of singer and actress

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

. They met in 1983, married in 1984, and divorced two years later. He was married to Jeannine Bisignano from 1991 to 1995. They have two sons,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

and Max, who are both actors. In 1996, he married DeAnna Morgan. The couple married in Ocho Rios, Jamaica while Madsen was on a break from shooting ''Donnie Brasco''. Together they had three sons, Luke, Calvin and Hudson. He also has one daughter named Jessica. On January 25, 2022, it was reported that Michael and DeAnna's son, Hudson, an active U.S. Army Soldier with 2-27IN at Schofield Barracks Hawaii, died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hudson's godfather was director

. Madsen has a line of

hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of ye ...

s called ''American Badass''.

Philanthropy

In 2002, Madsen was presented an award for his work with the

Shriners Hospital for Children Shriners Children's is a network of non-profit medical facilities across North America. Children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-center ...

. In September 2009, Madsen announced his participation in the 26th annual Love Ride to help raise money for local charities. The charity included celebrities

Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American entrepreneur most prominently known as the publisher of '' Forbes'' magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He was known as an avid promoter of capitalism ...

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...

, Billy Idol and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

, among others. The event was scheduled for October 25, 2009, but was ultimately canceled due to poor ticket sales and a decline in sponsorship. In 2016, Madsen hosted the event ''An Intimate Evening with Michael Madsen'' to benefit Children's Pediatric Cancer.

Awards

* Lifetime Achievement Award at

Red Hen Press Red Hen Press is an American non-profit press located in Pasadena, California, and specializing in the publication of poetry, literary fiction, and nonfiction. The press is a member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and was a fina ...

in 2006. * 9th Annual Malibu International Film Festival honored Madsen in April 2008 for his Achievements in the Art of Acting * Independent Firecracker Award for his book of poetry ''Burning In Paradise''. * 2007 Best Actor Boston Film Festival for ''Strength and Honour'' * 2008 Best Actor New York International Independent Film & Video Festival for ''Strength and Honour''. * Madsen won Ensemble of the Year for ''The Hateful Eight'' at the Hollywood Film Awards.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
''Guardian'' Interview

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madsen, Michael Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American people of Danish descent American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Scottish descent American people of Irish descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent Evanston Township High School alumni Male actors from Chicago Writers from California Writers from Chicago 1957 births American people of Scandinavian descent