Michael Madsen
Birthday: 25 September 1958, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Birth Name: Michael Soren Madsen
Height: 188 cm
Michael Madsen's long career spans 25 years and more than 170 films in which he has played memorable characters in myriad box office hits, including: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 ( ...Show More
You get these horrifying straight-to-video things for very little money, then you go to the Cannes F Show more
You get these horrifying straight-to-video things for very little money, then you go to the Cannes Film Festival and they got some poster of you, 40 feet high, in the worst movie in the world. You're like, "Oh my God. Take the fucking thing down!" Hide
[on Donnie Brasco (1997)] Great film, sure, but not a payday. [Al Pacino] and [Johnny Depp] got all Show more
[on Donnie Brasco (1997)] Great film, sure, but not a payday. [Al Pacino] and [Johnny Depp] got all the money. There was none left for me. Hide
L.A. Confidential (1997) was written with me in mind, but Russell Crowe got the part. Go figure.
L.A. Confidential (1997) was written with me in mind, but Russell Crowe got the part. Go figure.
The oddest thing is when children recognize me from Free Willy (1993) and their parents recognize me Show more
The oddest thing is when children recognize me from Free Willy (1993) and their parents recognize me from Reservoir Dogs (1992). The kids are, like, "There's Glen!" and the parents are, like, "Don't go near that guy!" Hide
I probably made a few pictures I shouldn't have done, but I have four sons and I have to pay the ren Show more
I probably made a few pictures I shouldn't have done, but I have four sons and I have to pay the rent. If you have a decision to make about whether or not you can buy groceries at the market or whether or not you're going to make a bad movie, you're going to make a bad movie. Hide
[2004] Maybe I was just born in the wrong era, man. I'm a bit of a throwback to the days of black-an Show more
[2004] Maybe I was just born in the wrong era, man. I'm a bit of a throwback to the days of black-and-white movies. Those guys back then, they had a certain kind of directness about them. A lot of the screenplays, the plots were very simplistic - they gave rise to a type of anti-hero that maybe I suit better. Hide
[2002] The thing with Wyatt Earp (1994)] was, I think every guy in that picture did it because they Show more
[2002] The thing with Wyatt Earp (1994)] was, I think every guy in that picture did it because they wanted to walk down the streets of the OK Corral. That's part of history. That's a historical event that actually happened. I remember standing on top of the street with Dennis Quaid on the morning that we started to shoot this sequence and he said, "Let's face it, what we're about to do is the reason that we're all here." And he was right and we all knew he was. It was kind of ironic, if any of us had known how far it was down to the OK Corral, then we would have taken the horses . . . I might have even grabbed a cab. Having seen the movie, it was a long boring exercise in nothingness, so . . . But I still have to say that doing something that was historically accurate and had to do with history was very appealing to me. Hide
Your children don't have to fear you to respect you.
Your children don't have to fear you to respect you.
I grew up in a time when I watched actors like Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum . . . those are th Show more
I grew up in a time when I watched actors like Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum . . . those are the movies that I liked and I responded to. They're all gone now and there's no talent like that anymore, there's no immensity of talent that exists like that in the motion picture industry. Even the movies are turning into a bunch of junk. They think if they put a handsome face in there or a good-looking body and they surround it with enough cars blowing up, that it is going to be entertaining . . . but in the long run it's just not going to last. It's all empty, there's no story anymore . . . the same thing is happening to the motion picture industry that is happening to the landscape. Hide
I'm a leading man trapped inside a bad guy's body.
I'm a leading man trapped inside a bad guy's body.
[on his role in Strength and Honour (2007)] It's a movie about fighters, not fighting. You know, I g Show more
[on his role in Strength and Honour (2007)] It's a movie about fighters, not fighting. You know, I got over seeing myself on screen a long time ago, but watching this film really affects me. Hide
(On the films he's proud of) Kill Bill, Species (1995), Free Willy (1993), Thelma & Louise (1991 Show more
(On the films he's proud of) Kill Bill, Species (1995), Free Willy (1993), Thelma & Louise (1991), Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Donnie Brasco (1997). Six, that's it. That's not a low number. I'm just hard to please. I've made some crap but you've got to pay the bills. Hide
[2002] I liked The Getaway (1994). I think "The Getaway" is pretty good. It was exciting. I don't th Show more
[2002] I liked The Getaway (1994). I think "The Getaway" is pretty good. It was exciting. I don't think that it's comparable to the original [The Getaway (1972)] by any stretch of the imagination, but I still think it stands on its own. I think it was a little bit more exciting than given credit for. Hide
My career has been very strange. My career is like a heart monitor. I get involved in a good project Show more
My career has been very strange. My career is like a heart monitor. I get involved in a good project now and then to keep things going. And then I make things that I work on that I hope are going to be good so I can make a living and keep a roof over the heads of those little monsters I have in my house. You know, every movie you make can't be great, no matter who you are. Even [Marlon Brando] made some clinkers. Hide
Well, one thing for sure, I won't be remembered for Free Willy (1993). Or maybe I will.
Well, one thing for sure, I won't be remembered for Free Willy (1993). Or maybe I will.
Is it really selling out if it feeds your family?
Is it really selling out if it feeds your family?
I like to diversify. And I am all about longevity. I want to be doing this for as long as I can. I h Show more
I like to diversify. And I am all about longevity. I want to be doing this for as long as I can. I have made, I think, 72 pictures now. And I have made a lot of studio stuff and I have made a lot of low-budget stuff. The fun of making independent films is that they are a lot more open and it is a lot easier to ad-lib and create a character and collaborate with the director. With a studio picture, you are a lot more controlled and your whole environment and your whole presentation is a lot more monitored. Hide
I encourage my boys to do stuff in the arts, but I'm also an advocate of not taking any shit . . . I Show more
I encourage my boys to do stuff in the arts, but I'm also an advocate of not taking any shit . . . I have a heavy bag and every morning the boys go three three-minute rounds on the heavy bag with the gloves. Hide
Encourage your kids' artistic side. Toughen up everything else.
Encourage your kids' artistic side. Toughen up everything else.
I say my [tough guy] acting days are over. But then [Humphrey Bogart] made 30 pictures playing a [to Show more
I say my [tough guy] acting days are over. But then [Humphrey Bogart] made 30 pictures playing a [tough guy], and it wasn't until The Maltese Falcon (1941) that he was thought of as a leading man. Hide
I've been in a few brawls in my time.
I've been in a few brawls in my time.
[in Men's Health, March 2004] Kids are a great excuse for you to stop acting like one.
[in Men's Health, March 2004] Kids are a great excuse for you to stop acting like one.
Michael Madsen's FILMOGRAPHY
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as Actor (233)
Michael Madsen'S roles
