Michael Madsen (1957-2025)
- hearthesilence
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:22 am
- Location: NYC
Re: Passages
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.
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beamish14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 7:07 pm
Re: Passages
Interesting to note than he published multiple volumes of poetry. He had an enormous amount of personal issues and financial challengeshearthesilence wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:57 pmHe 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.
- hearthesilence
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:22 am
- Location: NYC
Michael Madsen (1957-2025)
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.
- FrauBlucher
- Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:28 am
- Location: Greenwich Village
Re: Passages
Michael Madsen
- Roger Ryan
- Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 4:04 pm
- Location: A Midland town spread and darkened into a city
Re: Passages
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 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:59 pmInteresting to note than he published multiple volumes of poetry. He had an enormous amount of personal issues and financial challengeshearthesilence wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:57 pmHe 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.
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beamish14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 7:07 pm
Re: Passages
He was likely taking the Eric Roberts route of reading cue cards and getting paid by the dayRoger Ryan wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:43 pmWhich 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 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:59 pmInteresting to note than he published multiple volumes of poetry. He had an enormous amount of personal issues and financial challengeshearthesilence 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.
- hearthesilence
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:22 am
- Location: NYC
Re: Passages
FWIW Glenn Kenny wrote an appreciation and discusses this:beamish14 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:45 pmHe was likely taking the Eric Roberts route of reading cue cards and getting paid by the dayRoger Ryan wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:43 pmWhich 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 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
“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.”
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black&huge
- Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2017 9:35 am
Re: Passages
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.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.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 6:42 pm
Re: Passages
Madsen's thoughts on some of his filmography from his personal website over 20 years ago:














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beamish14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 7:07 pm
Re: Passages
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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Maladroit Aggregator
- Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2024 12:44 am
Re: Passages
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.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:
Spoiler
- ChunkyLover
- Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2020 12:22 am
Re: Passages
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.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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beamish14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 7:07 pm
Re: Passages
ChunkyLover wrote: Fri Jul 04, 2025 10:14 pmThe 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.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:
He hates Wyatt Earp because it prevented him from being in Pulp Fiction, but it’s an incredible work that deserves to be rediscovered
- dwk
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:10 pm
Re: Michael Madsen (1957-2025)
Back in 2020, Madsen did a long interview on the Pure Cinema Podcast
- DeprongMori
- Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:59 am
- Location: San Francisco
Re: Passages
A couple of surprising omissions: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:
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.
- dwk
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:10 pm