Michael Madsen, the prolific actor best known for playing tough guys in Quentin Tarantino films like Reservoir Dogs and the Kill Bill series, has died at the age of 67.
Madsen’s manager, Ron Smith, confirmed the actor’s death to NBC News, adding that he died Thursday morning from cardiac arrest in Malibu, California.
After beginning his acting career in the Eighties and spending much of that decade in bit roles — including a small part in Oliver Stone’s The Doors biopic — Madsen found overnight success in 1992 with his unforgettable turn as “Mr. Blonde” in Tarantino’s debut film Reservoir Dogs.
In that acclaimed film, Madsen portrayed a sadistic criminal who — in one of the most infamous scenes in Tarantino’s filmography — cut off the ear of a policeman with a straight razor while dancing to Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You”:
After his turn in Reservoir Dogs, the now-prolific Madsen continued filling the big screen in tough guy roles in films like The Getaway, Donnie Brasco, Mulholland Falls, and Wyatt Earp; in an against-type role, Madsen also portrayed the protagonist’s adopted father in the 1993 drama Free Willy and its sequel.
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From Rolling Stone US
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