Everything about Michael Madsen totally explained
Michael Soren Madsen (born
September 25,
1958) is an
American actor and poet. He is particularly well known for his "tough guy" image on screen.
Biography
Early life
Madsen was born in
Chicago, Illinois, the son of Elaine (
née Melson), an
Emmy-winning poet, producer and playwright who often works for
PBS, and Calvin Madsen, a fireman. Madsen's mother left a career in corporate business to pursue a writing career. Madsen's paternal grandparents were
Danish and his mother has
Irish and
Native American ancestry. His sister is actress
Virginia Madsen. He also has an older sister Cheri, who owns a restaurant with her husband and three children. They live in Wisconsin.
Madsen was nine when his parents separated and he frequently had to change schools. He began to steal and was sent to jail a few times. Madsen's acting career began at the
Steppenwolf Theatre Company in
Chicago, where he served as an apprentice under
John Malkovich.
Career
Madsen was cast in a small role in his first movie,
WarGames (1983). He moved to Los Angeles and appeared in other films, including as arrogant baseball player Bump Bailey in
The Natural (1984), a deranged killer in
Kill Me Again (1989) and as the tough but touching boyfriend of
Susan Sarandon in
Thelma & Louise (1991).
Then came a memorable role as the razor-wielding, sadistic ex-con and jewel thief "Mr. Blonde" in the bloody
Quentin Tarantino crime story
Reservoir Dogs. The film brought Madsen attention among critics and fans. During a scene in which Madsen's psychopathic Mr. Blonde tortures a police officer, actor Kirk Baltz ad-libbed a line about being father of a young child. Madsen, who himself had just become a father, was so upset that he'd a great deal of difficulty finishing the scene. On some copies of the DVD, as Baltz completes the line, a voice can be heard off-screen saying "Oh, no, no ..." The ad-lib compounded Madsen's original reluctance to do the scene, due to his real-life aversion to violence.
Subsequently, Madsen was cast in a variety of major studio films, including
Free Willy,
Mulholland Falls,
Wyatt Earp,
Species and with
Johnny Depp and
Al Pacino in the critically acclaimed
Donnie Brasco.
Since the mid 1990s, Madsen has appeared more often in lower-budget films released directly to video or television. Notable exceptions include his featured role in Tarantino's
Kill Bill, in the
James Bond adventure
Die Another Day and in the film version of the Frank Miller graphic novel
Sin City. He appeared in
Scary Movie 4 in 2006 parodying
Tim Robbins's character from
War of the Worlds.
Madsen has been in a few television series, including the short-lived
Vengeance Unlimited and most recently as "Don Everest" in the
poker-themed
ESPN series
Tilt. He was in
Michael Jackson's 2001 music video "
You Rock My World" and has provided voice work for several video games, including
Grand Theft Auto III, and
Driver 3. He provided voice work for the movie of as
Maugrim the wolf, captain of the
White Witch's secret police.
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He also provides narration for
Animal Planet.
Madsen's latest voice-over role is for the Playstation 2 game
Yakuza, where he voices the role of Futo Shimano, the violent and unforgiving leader of a Yakuza family. Tarantino has confirmed that he'll use Madsen again, this time in the lead role of Babe Buchinsky in his long-planned war story
Inglorious Bastards. Madsen also is expected to reprise his role as Bob in
Sin City 2.
The actor appeared in
Every Time I Die's music video "Kill The Music" and recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign, encouraging reading of screenplays by Tarantino.
Madsen has written a few books of poetry:
Burning in Paradise (1998) and
The Complete Poetic Works of Michael Madsen, Vol. I: 1995-2005 (2005)
Personal life
Madsen's first marriage was to Georganne LaPiere, the half sister of
Cher. He remarried, to Jeannine Bisignano, with whom he's two sons. Since 1996, he's been married to Deanna Morgan. Madsen has five children, all boys. Their names are Calvin (who has changed his name to Kalvin), Hudson, Luke and his sons Max and Christian from his marriage to Bisignano. He has said that the five films that he's proudest of are
Reservoir Dogs,
Donnie Brasco,
Species,
Free Willy, and
Kill Bill.
The actor lived in a Malibu house that once belonged to the late
Keith Moon, the original drummer of
The Who, but recently moved to another Malibu home.
Award(s)
September 20th, 2007 won "Best Actor" award at the 23rd Annual Boston Film Festival for his role as Sean Kelleher in
Strength and Honor.
Michael won the 9th Annual Malibu International Film Festival award on April 6th, 2008
Filmography
1982 - 1999
2000 onwards
Ides of March (2000)
Fall: The Price of Silence (2000)
Bad Guys (2000)
The Stray (2000)
Luck of the Draw (2000)
The Alternate (2000)
The Price of Air (2000)
Pressure Point (2001)
Grand Theft Auto III (2001) as Toni Cipriani
42K (2001)
Die Another Day (2002)
My Boss's Daughter (2003)
(2003)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
Driv3r (2004) as Officer Tanner
Frankenstein (2004)
Blueberry (2004)
Sin City (2005)
The Last Drop (2005)
Hoboken Hollow (2005)
All In (2006)
Scary Movie 4 (2006)
BloodRayne (2006)
Canes (2006)
Reservoir Dogs (Video Game) (2006)
UKM: Ultimate Killing Machine (2006)
Cosmic Radio (2007)
Living & Dying (2007)
Boarding Gate (2007)
Strength and Honor (2007)
Afghan Knights (2007)
Tooth & Nail (2007)
House (2007)
Croc (2007)
Deep Winter (2008)
Eyes Front (2008)
Last Hour (2008)
Vice (2008)
Hell Ride (2008)
Money To Burn (2008)
Outrage (2008)
The Portal (2008)
The Bleeding (2008)
Hired Gun (2008)
Serbian Scars (2008)
Fashion: The Movie (2008)
Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia (2008)
No Bad Days (2008)
Big Bug Man (2008)
Chamaco (2008)
The Big I Am (2008)
Sin City 2 (2009)
Inglorious Bastards (TBA)Further Information
Get more info on 'Michael Madsen'.
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