Michael Madsen (1957-2025)

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jt938
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Re: Passages

#1 Post by jt938 »

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hearthesilence
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Re: Passages

#2 Post by hearthesilence »

jt938 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:21 pm Michael Madsen
He wasn't that old, but sorry to say it's not very surprising either. I know nothing of his personal life, I only know him through his film appearances, and I was taken aback by how much he visibly and audibly aged by the time he appeared in Kill Bill.
beamish14
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Re: Passages

#3 Post by beamish14 »

hearthesilence wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:57 pm
jt938 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:21 pm Michael Madsen
He wasn't that old, but sorry to say it's not very surprising either. I know nothing of his personal life, I only know him through his film appearances, and I was taken aback by how much he visibly and audibly aged by the time he appeared in Kill Bill.
Interesting to note than he published multiple volumes of poetry. He had an enormous amount of personal issues and financial challenges
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hearthesilence
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Michael Madsen (1957-2025)

#4 Post by hearthesilence »

I always liked him as a screen presence. His demeanor and behavior could suggest a lot under the surface that wasn't necessarily scripted, which seemed very fitting for characters who were profoundly traumatized, warped or damaged in some other way.
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FrauBlucher
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Re: Passages

#5 Post by FrauBlucher »

Michael Madsen
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Roger Ryan
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Re: Passages

#6 Post by Roger Ryan »

beamish14 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:59 pm
hearthesilence wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:57 pm
jt938 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:21 pm Michael Madsen
He wasn't that old, but sorry to say it's not very surprising either. I know nothing of his personal life, I only know him through his film appearances, and I was taken aback by how much he visibly and audibly aged by the time he appeared in Kill Bill.
Interesting to note than he published multiple volumes of poetry. He had an enormous amount of personal issues and financial challenges
Which is probably why he has a whopping 18 appearances completed in upcoming films/TV series according to IMDb. Given the sheer number of credits he wracked up over the last decade alone, one fears he may have worked himself to death.
beamish14
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Re: Passages

#7 Post by beamish14 »

Roger Ryan wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:43 pm
beamish14 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:59 pm
hearthesilence wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:57 pm
He wasn't that old, but sorry to say it's not very surprising either. I know nothing of his personal life, I only know him through his film appearances, and I was taken aback by how much he visibly and audibly aged by the time he appeared in Kill Bill.
Interesting to note than he published multiple volumes of poetry. He had an enormous amount of personal issues and financial challenges
Which is probably why he has a whopping 18 appearances completed in upcoming films/TV series according to IMDb. Given the sheer number of credits he wracked up over the last decade alone, one fears he may have worked himself to death.
He was likely taking the Eric Roberts route of reading cue cards and getting paid by the day
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hearthesilence
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Re: Passages

#8 Post by hearthesilence »

beamish14 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:45 pm
Roger Ryan wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:43 pm
beamish14 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:59 pm

Interesting to note than he published multiple volumes of poetry. He had an enormous amount of personal issues and financial challenges
Which is probably why he has a whopping 18 appearances completed in upcoming films/TV series according to IMDb. Given the sheer number of credits he wracked up over the last decade alone, one fears he may have worked himself to death.
He was likely taking the Eric Roberts route of reading cue cards and getting paid by the day
FWIW Glenn Kenny wrote an appreciation and discusses this:

“What people don’t always understand,” he told the British newspaper The Independent in 2016, “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. So 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.”
black&huge
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Re: Passages

#9 Post by black&huge »

hearthesilence wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 6:06 pm I always liked him as a screen presence. His demeanor and behavior could suggest a lot under the surface that wasn't necessarily scripted, which seemed very fitting for characters who were profoundly traumatized, warped or damaged in some other way.
Which I always felt this was embodied best in Budd from Kill Bill. Highly underrated but has been a personal favorite Tarantino character of mine since the movies came out.
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domino harvey
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Re: Passages

#10 Post by domino harvey »

Madsen's thoughts on some of his filmography from his personal website over 20 years ago:

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beamish14
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Re: Passages

#11 Post by beamish14 »

Interesting that he wouldn’t call WarGames his first big-budget film. He’s the very first person you see in that film, and he enters the nuclear silo in North Dakota
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Re: Passages

#12 Post by Maladroit Aggregator »

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jul 04, 2025 9:26 pm Madsen's thoughts on some of his filmography from his personal website over 20 years ago:
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Interesting and fairly brutal self-assessment of those flicks, if a bit too succinct. He's dead wrong about Iguana, though, that film is a masterpiece. There hasn't been an indie film made in 30-40 years with that sort of despairing, troubling tone.
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ChunkyLover
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Re: Passages

#13 Post by ChunkyLover »

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jul 04, 2025 9:26 pm Madsen's thoughts on some of his filmography from his personal website over 20 years ago:
The fact that he doesn't even bother to properly name Grand Theft Auto III speaks volumes of his experience; which isn't surprising considering how a lot of talent have been vocal about Rockstar over the years.
beamish14
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Re: Passages

#14 Post by beamish14 »

ChunkyLover wrote: Fri Jul 04, 2025 10:14 pm
domino harvey wrote: Fri Jul 04, 2025 9:26 pm Madsen's thoughts on some of his filmography from his personal website over 20 years ago:
The fact that he doesn't even bother to properly name Grand Theft Auto III speaks volumes of his experience; which isn't surprising considering how a lot of talent have been vocal about Rockstar over the years.

He hates Wyatt Earp because it prevented him from being in Pulp Fiction, but it’s an incredible work that deserves to be rediscovered
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dwk
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Re: Michael Madsen (1957-2025)

#15 Post by dwk »

Back in 2020, Madsen did a long interview on the Pure Cinema Podcast
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DeprongMori
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Re: Passages

#16 Post by DeprongMori »

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jul 04, 2025 9:26 pm Madsen's thoughts on some of his filmography from his personal website over 20 years ago:
A couple of surprising omissions:

Just watched Donnie Brasco for the first time, which he was good in but not a stretch from other roles I’ve seen him play. Surprised he didn’t mention it since it is a major role, with a stellar cast.

Also curious about The Getaway, which I’ve avoided watching because it’s a remake of a Peckinpah film and not a new adaptation of the novel. I’d be more intrigued if they attempted to include the novel’s ending.
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