MICHAEL MADSEN

BIRTHDATE: September 25, 1958 BIRTHPLACE: Chicago, Illinois MARITAL STATUS: Married, one child WHY HE DESERVES HIS BIG BREAK: You've just gotta love a guy with a smile like in the photo on the right--mischievious and sexy all at once (and doesn't he look like he just rolled out of bed right before getting his picture taken?).  Long considered the poor man's Mickey Rourke, Michael Madsen should have hit the big time ten years ago when he starred as Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece Reservoir Dogs.  His performance as the joyfully malicious Mr. Blonde completely blew away his more experienced co-stars Harvey Keitel and Steve Buscemi.  And let's face it, what fan of Reservoir Dogs hasn't imitated the little dance Mr. Blonde does to 'Stuck in the Middle With You' just before cutting off poor Officer Nash's ear. Unfortunately, after Reservoir Dogs, Michael Madsen went right back to being the poor man's Mickey Rourke, appearing in many, many straight to video crime dramas like Beyond the Law, Dead Connection, The Girl Gets Moe (starring Tony Danza, for God's sake!!), and Love.com.  He has appeared in some high-profile projects, such as Wyatt Earp and the excellent Donnie Brasco, but more often than not you'll catch him in stuff like The Thief & the Stripper. Give Michael Madsen some credit for versatility, however--besides appearing in over 60 films in the past twenty years, he's also an accomplished writer, publishing three books of poetry with the titles Beer, Blood, & Ashes, Eat the Worm, and Burning in Paradise.  He's also tried his hand at TV recently, starring as the anti-hero Mr. Chapel, who get paid to take revenge on people who've done somebody else wrong in Vengeance Unlimited, and as a police detective on Big Apple.  Unfortunately, both shows were cancelled after only a few episodes.  We're sure that all he needs is one more Reservoir Dogs or Donnie Brasco, and a few less movies with titles like Extreme Honor, and he'll finally get the stardom this charismatic, handsome character actor deserves.

FILMOGRAPHY Films highlighted in yellow presents Michael at his best Dumping Ground (2002)--Detective Al Hamlin Kill Bill (2002)--Budd Bond 20 (2002)--???? Blueberry (2001)--Blount The Confidence Game (2001)--Daniel Extreme Honor (2001)--Sparks LAPD: To Protect and to Serve (2001)--???? Microwave Park (2001)--???? Outlaw (2001)--Conner Pressure Point (2001)--Jed Griffin "Big Apple" (TV Series--2001)--Terry Maddock Bad Guys (2000)--???? Choke (2000)--????  Fall (2000)--???? The Ghost (2000)--Dan Olinghouse Ides of March (2000)--???? Love.com (2000)--???? The Price of Air (2000)--Mr. Ball High Noon (TV Movie--2000)--Frank Milller Sacrifice (TV Movie--2000)--Tyler Pierce Luck of the Draw (2000)--Zippo Inspectors 2: A Shred of Evidence (2000)--Joe The Alternate (1999)--Agent Briggs The Stray (1999)--Ben The Florentine (1999)--Whitey Supreme Sanction (TV Movie--1999)--Dalton Ballad of the Nightingale (1998)--???? Detour (1998)--Burl Rogers The Thief & the Stripper (1998)--Jimmie D. Fait Accompli (1998)--Rick "Vengeance Unlimited" (TV Series--1998)--Mr. Chapel Species II (1998)--Press Lenox  Catherine's Grove (1997)--Joe Mason Executive Target (1997)--Nick The Girl Gets Moe (1997)--Donnelly Papertrail (1997)--Brad Abraham Rough Draft (1997)--Haynes The Sender (1997)--Dallas Grayson Surface to Air (1997)--Gunnery Sergeant Zach Massin The Maker (1997)--Skarney Donnie Brasco (1997)--Sonny Black The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1997)--Sal Man with a Gun (1996)--John Wilbur Hardin Red Line (1996)--Mr. Lawrence The Winner (1996)--Wolf Mulholland Falls (1996)--Eddie Hall Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)--Glen Greenwood Species (1995)--Preston Lennox Blue Tiger (1994)--Gun salesman Dead Connection (1994)--Matt Dickson Season of Change (1994)--Randy Parker Wyatt Earp (1994)--Virgil Earp The Getaway (1994)--Rudy Travis A House in the Hills (1993)--Mickey Inside Edge (1993)--Richard Montana Money for Nothing (1993)--Detective Laurenzi Free Willy (1993)--Glen Greenwood Almost Blue (1992)--Morris Poole Beyond the Law (1992)--Blood Trouble Bound (1992)--Harry Talbot Reservoir Dogs (1992)--Mr. Blonde/Vic Vega Baby Snatcher (TV Movie--1992)--Cal Hudson Straight Talk (1992)--Steve Fatal Instinct (1991)--Cliff Burden Thelma & Louise (1991)--Jimmy The Doors (1991)--Tom Baker The End of Innocence (1990)--Earl "The Outsiders" (TV Series--1990)--Mick Jenkins Montana (TV Movie--1990)--Pierce "War and Remembrance" (TV Movie--1989)--Lieutenant 'Foof' Turhall Kill Me Again (1989)--Vince Miller "Quantum Leap" (1989)--Blue (TV guest appearance) "Tour of Duty" (1989)--Sergeant Greg Block (TV guest appearance) Blood Red (1988)--Enzio Iguana (1988)--Sebastián Shadows in the Storm (1988)--Earl The Killing Time (1987)--Stu Our Family Honor (TV Movie--1985)--Augie Danzig "The Hitchhiker" (1985)--???? (TV guest appearance) Racing with the Moon (1984)--Wounded soldier in hospital The Natural (1984)--Bartholomew "Bump" Bailey "Miami Vice" (1984)--Sally Alvarado (TV guest appearance) WarGames (1983)--Steve Special Bulletin (TV Movie--1983)--???? "St. Elsewhere" (1983)--???? (TV guest appearance) Against All Hope (1982)--Cecil Moe "Cagney & Lacey" (1982)--Boyd (TV guest appearance)

OTHER MICHAEL MADSEN WEBSITES His official website offers sound clips of Michael reading his poetry OFFICIAL MICHAEL MADSEN WEBSITE MICHAEL MADSEN MANIA

A scan of the website owner's postcard

Michael off-screen

Mulholland Falls

Reservoir Dogs

Vengeance Unlimited

Reservoir Dogs