Michael Søren Madsen (September 25, 1957 – July 3, 2025) was an American actor. In addition to his frequent collaborations with Quentin Tarantino— Reservoir Dogs (1992), (2004), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)—he was known for his appearances in films including WarGames (1983), The Natural (1984), The Doors (1991), Thelma & Louise (1991), Free Willy (1993), Species (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), Die Another Day (2002), Sin City (2005), and Scary Movie 4 (2006). He played voice roles in various video games like Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Narc (2005), the Dishonored series (2012–2017), and (2023). Madsen had seven children including actor Christian Madsen.
His first notable film role was a small part for the science fiction film, WarGames. He appeared in John Dahl's thriller Kill Me Again as criminal Vince Miller opposite Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley. In Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut film Reservoir Dogs, Madsen played "Mr. Blonde", a cruel criminal. Steve Buscemi 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. Madsen starred in the crime film Donnie Brasco. He said of his later choice of film roles: "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... 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 1993, Madsen appeared in Free Willy as Glen Greenwood, the apprehensive but devout foster father of the film's main character played by Jason James Richter (a role that reprised in the second). Madsen played assassin Budd, the brother of Bill (David Carradine), in . 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 said is "an abomination... It's a horrifying and preposterous movie." He won Best Actor awards at the Boston Film Festival 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. He played , the old friend of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), in the eighth season of 24. Madsen starred in the comedy film Let the Game Begin. On January 5, 2012, he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house and he finished in 4th place in the competition. In February 2014, he played Las Vegas casino mogul Ted Binion in Josh Evans' film Death in the Desert. The screenplay was written by John Steppling, based on the book Death in the Desert by crime writer Cathy Scott.In August 2014, Madsen starred in the Kill Bill-themed music video for the song "Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora.
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 that 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 was an executive producer in Vilan Trub's crime drama film The Dirty Kind, which is loosely inspired by Anthony Weiner.
In February 2022, Michael Madsen was arrested on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. On August 17, 2024, he was arrested on a battery charge after he reportedly assaulted his wife. His bail was set at $20,000. Madsen was released from custody after posting the same bail. He reportedly filed for divorce from Morgan in 2024, after 28 years of marriage. In the filing, Madsen claimed that they had been separated since 2022 after their son Hudson's suicide. In October 2024, he debunked rumors via Instagram that said he was filing for divorce from his wife. He said, "A few recent articles have suggested my disillusionment with my marriage and a dark connection between my wife and the loss of our son. I was not the writer of this story and wish my wife no harm or embarrassment," further adding that he has "no desire for divorce or blame."
Madsen had a line of called American Badass.
Madsen hosted the event An Intimate Evening with Michael Madsen to benefit children's pediatric cancer for Advocate Children's Hospital and the Tyler Robinson Foundation on November 3, 2016.
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