Michael Madsen was born on September 25 1957 in Chicago. His mother was documentarian and author Elaine Madsen. His father, Calvin, was a firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department. His older sister was Cheryl Madsen, who operates a restaurant, while his younger sister was actress Virginia Madsen. His parents divorced when the three siblings were still children. When he was growing up, Michael Madsen was inspired by such films as Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (1957), Cool Hand Luke (1967), and The Scalp Hunters (1968). He grew up admiring Robert Mitchum.
It was in Chicago that Michael Madsen began his acting career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He apprenticed under John Malkovich. He moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a mechanic at a gas station. He made his film debut in 1982 in the movie Against All Hope. In 1983 he made his television debut on two episodes of St. Elsewhere. In the Eighties, he guest starred on the shows Cagney & Lacey, Miami Vice, The Hitchhiker, Crime Story, Almost Grown, Tour of Duty, Jake and the Fat Man, Quantum Leap, and The Outsiders. He was a regular on the short-lived show Our Family Honor and appeared in the mini-series War and Remembrance. He appeared in the movies WarGarmes (1983), Racing with the Moon (1984), The Natural (1984), The Killing Time (1987), Iguana (1988), Shadows in the Storm (1988), Blood Red (1989), Kill Me Again (1989), and The End of Innocence (1990).
It was in 1992 that he appeared as Vic Vega, better known as Mr. Blonde, in Reservoir Dogs. In the Nineties, he also appeared in the movies The Doors (1991), Thelma & Louise (1991), Straight Talk (1992) Fatal Instinct (1992), Inside Edge (1992), Trouble Board (1993), Free Willy (1993), Money for Nothing (1993), A House in the Hills (1993), The Getaway (1994), Blue Tiger (1994), Season of Change (1994), Final Combination (1994), Wyatt Earp (1994), Species (1995), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Man with Gun (1995), Almost Blue (1996), Mulholland Falls (1996), The Winner (1996), The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1996), Red Line (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997), The Maker (1997), The Girl Gets Moe (1997), Executive Target (1997), Catherine's Grove (1997), Rough Draft (1998), Papertrail (1998), The Sender (1998), Surface to Air (1998), Species II (1998), Detour (1998), Fait Accompli (1998), The Florentine (1999), Ballad of the Nightingale (1999), Flat Out (1999), The Stray (2000), Luck of the Draw (2000), The Alternate (2000), The Price of Air (2000), The Thief & Stripper (2000), Ides of March (2000), and Bad Guys (2000). He was a regular on the short-lived TV show Vengeance Unlimited. He guest starred on the show Gabriel's Fire.
In the Naughts, Michael Madsen was the narrator on the Animal Planet documentary television series Animal Precinct. He was a regular on the TV shows Big Apple and Tilt. He guest starred on the shows Mad TV, CSI: Miami, and 24. He appeared in the movies Fall (2001), The Ghost (2001), Choke (2001), Pressure Point (2001), L.A.P.D: To Protect and Serve (2001), Extreme Honor (2001), Love.com (2002), Die Another Day (2002), The Real Deal (2002), Welcome to America (2002), Pauly Shore Is Dead (2002), My Boss's Daughter (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Vampires Anonymous (2003), Blueberry (2004), Kill Billl: Voll. 2 (2004), Smatyvay udochi (2004), Sin City (2005), L. A. Dicks (2005), Muzhskoy sezon. Barkhatnaya revolyutsiya (2005), Chasing Ghosts (2005), BloodRayne (2005), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005), All In (2006), Scary Movie 4 (2006), The Last Drop (2006), Hoboken Hollow (2006), Canes (2006), UKM: The Ultimate Killing Machine (2005), When the Devil Rides Out(2005), Machine (2007), Living & Dying (2007), Boarding Gate (2007) Afghan Knights (2007), Strength and Honour (2007), Tooth and Nail (2007), Cosmic Radio (2007), Hell Ride (2008), Last Hour (2008), Vice (2008), Break (2008) No Bad Days (2008), 45 R.P.M. (2008), House (2008), Deep Winter (2008), You Might as Well Live (2009), A Way with Murder (2009), Hired Gun (2009), Road of No Return (2009), Shannon's Rainbow (2009), Put (2009), Outrage (2009), Serbian Scars (2009), Lost in the Woods (2009), The Kid Chamaco (2009), Ligeia (2009), Clear Lake, WI (2009), The Killing Jar (2010), Let the Game Begin (2010), The Big I Am (2010), Krach (2010), Terror Trap (2010), Federal (2010), The Brazen Bull (2010), The Portal (2010), Corruption.Gov (2010) Now Here (2010), Six Days in Paradise (2010), and Money to Burn (2010).
In the Teens, Michael Madsen had a recurring role on the television show Big Time in Hollywood, FL. He guest starred on the shows Bob's Burgers, Blue Bloods, The Mob Doctor, Golden Boy, Hawaii Five-0 Real Detective, Those Who Can't, Powers, Explosion Jones, Real Rob, and Dystopia. He appeared in the movies A Cold Day in Hell (2011), Not Another Not Another Movie (2011), Dirty Little Trick (2011), Loosies (2011), A Matter of Justice (2011), Refuge from the Storm (2012), Cole Younger & the Black Train (2012), Sins Expiation (2012), Desperate Endeavors (2012), Beyond the Trophy (2012), Terrible Angels (2012), Magic Boys (2012), Prince of the City (2012), Prince of the City (2012), Madoff: Made in America (2013), Day of Redemption(2013), Along the Roadside (2013), Infected (2013), The Sorrow (2013), ICE Agent (2013), Gabrielle (2013), Nomad: The Beginning (2013), Lionhead (2013), Ashley (2013), I'm in Love with a Church Girl (2013), Skoryy 'Moskva-Rossiya' (2014), The Ninth Cloud (2014), Water Wars (2014), 2047: Sights of Death (2014), Turnaround Jake (2014), A Turn in the Sun (2015), The Whole World at Our Feet (2015), The Just (2015), No Deposit (2015), Lady Psycho Killer (2015), Death in the Desert (2015), Skin Traffik (2015), Lumberjack Man (2015), Sacred Blood (2015), Flipped (2015), The Hateful Eight (2015), Vigilante Diaries (2016), The Lost Tree (2016), Beyond the Game (2016), Kidnapped in Romania (2016), Last Man Club (2016), Unbelievable!!!!! (2016), Magi (2016), Back in the Day (2016), Talons (2016), Devil's Domain (2016), Unfallen (2017), Garlic and Gunpowder (2017), Rock, Paper, Scissors (2017), The Broken Key (2017), Love Addict (2018), Papa (2018), Dirty Dealing 3D (2018), Assassins Revenge (2018), Hangover in Death Valley (2018), CobraGator (2018), Dead on Time (2018), God's Eye (2018), Trading Paint (2019), The Garden Left Behind (2019), Welcome to Acapulco (2019), Born2Race (2019), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Red Handed (2019), Conjuring: The Book of the Dead (2020), 2 Graves in the Desert (2020), Serpent in the Bottle (2020), Shark Season (2020), Dirty Fears (2020), Puppy Love (2020), and Nishabdham(2020).
In the 2020s, Michael Madsen appeared in the movies Missiya: Prorok (2021), Burial Ground Massacre (2021), American Night (2021), Every Last One of Them (2021), Christmas Thieves (2021), The American Connection (2021), Damon's Revenge (2022), Until We Meet Again (2022), Incarnation (2022), Numbers (2022), Waking Karma (2023), The Wraith Within (2023), Assault on Hill 400 (2023), The Lurking Fear (2023), Outlaw Johnny Black (2023), and Resurrection Road (2025).
Michael Madsen also provided voices for several video games, including Grand Theft Auto III, Reservoir Dogs, Dishonored,. The Waking Dead Season Two, and Crime Boss Rockay City, among others. Michael Madsen was also an award winning poet who published several books of poetry.
Michael Madsen was an extremely prolific actor, with over 300 credits to his name. If he was so prolific, it was because he was also so very talented. He may be best known for the many tough guys he played, particularly in Quentin Tarantino movies. Indeed, his best known character may be the sadistic Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. Joe Gage in The Hateful Eight was on the quiet side, but still nonetheless a tough customer. In the movie Sin City he played the treacherous, corrupt cop Detective Bob.
While Michael Madsen was very good at playing very evil characters, he could play other sorts of roles as well. In the Free Willy movies he played Glen Greenwood, who was the foster father of the movie's protagonist. In the movie Thelma & Louise he played Louise's boyfriend, the laid-back musician Jimmy. In The Doors he played Jim Morrison's friend and Andy Warhol associate Tom Baker. Michael Morrison could play a wide variety of roles. What is more, he left an impression no matter how briefly he appears on screen. In Once Upon a Time..in Hollywood he appears in a clip of the fictional show Bounty Law as a sheriff who informs bounty hunter Jake Cahill some bad news. There is no forgetting Michael Madsen in the clip. If Michael Madsen made a lot of movies, it was because he was so very talented.
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