‘Reservoir Dogs,' ‘Kill Bill' and ‘Donnie Brasco' actor Michael Madsen dies at 67

Los Angeles County deputies responded to Michael Madsen's Malibu home, where the actor was found unresponsive after a 911 call.

Prolific Hollywood actor Michael Madsen, whose decades-long film career included scene-stealing roles as the rugged tough guy, has died after he was found unresponsive early Thursday at his Malibu home, according to authorities and his representatives.

He was 67.

Deputies responded to the Los Angeles County home after a 911 call early Thursday. Madsen was pronounced dead at the residence.

The death is believed to have been from natural causes and no foul play is suspected, the sheriff's department said. In an email, manager Ron Smith confirmed Madsen died from cardiac arrest.

"In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films "Resurrection Road, "Concessions" and "Cookbook for Southern Housewives," and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life.," managers Susan Ferris and Ron Smith, and publicist Liz Rodriguez said. "Michael was also preparing to release a new book called "Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems," currently being edited.

"Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, who will be missed by many.”

Sister Virginia Madsen, who was nominated for a 2005 Academy Award for her performance in "Sideways," shared a photo of her brother on Instagram with a powerful heartfelt message.

"My brother Michael has left the stage," Madsen said on behalf of the family. "He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother—etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.

"We’re not mourning a public figure. We’re not mourning a myth, but flesh and blood and ferocious heart. Who stormed through life loud, brilliant, and half on fire. Who leaves us echoes—gruff, brilliant, unrepeatable—half legend, half lullaby."

Known for portraying enigmatic tough guy characters, the gravelly voiced Madsen amassed a long list of film credits during his career spanning four decades. Madsen, the brother of actor Virginia Madsen, brought complex characters to life in "Kill Bill: Vol. 1," "Reservoir Dogs," "Thelma & Louise," "Donnie Brasco" and more.

Madsen reflected on his career at a handprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in November 2020.

"I got out and I walked around and I looked and I wondered if there were someday some way that that was going to be a part of me. And I didn’t know because I didn’t know what I was going to do at that point with myself," he said. "I could have been a bricklayer. I could have been an architect. I could have been a garbage man. I could have been nothing. But I got lucky. I got lucky as an actor."

Madsen, who also published several volumes of poetry, was born in Chicago, where he was part of the Steppenwold Theatre Company. His Hollywood career was launched with an appearance in the 1983 sci-fi techno thriller "WarGames."

Madsen, playing the role of cruel criminal "Mr. Blonde," was part of Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut in 1992's "Reservoir Dogs." The two would collaborate frequently in Hollywood, including "Kill Bill: Vol. 1," "The Hateful Eight" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Madsen's "Reservoir Dogs" performance included a notoriously memorable scene in which Mr. Blonde, aka Victor "Vic" Vega, tortured a man he was tasked with guarding as he danced to the song "Stuck in the Middle With You."

Madsen's performance in Tarantino's seminal independent movies of the 1990s stood out to famed film critic Roger Ebert.

"One of the discoveries in the movie is Madsen, who has done a lot of acting over the years… but here emerges with the kind of really menacing screen presence only a few actors achieve; he can hold his own with the fearsome Tierney, and reminds me a little of a very mean Robert De Niro," Ebert wrote in his review.

Hudson Madsen, one of his six children, died by suicide at age 26 in 2022. He was one of three sons Madsen shared with his wife, DeAnna Madsen. He also had children from a previous marriage.