Michael Madsen Lives on Through Iconic Quentin Tarantino Movies

While Michael Madsen may have sadly passed away, his legacy will continue to live on through his work with Quentin Tarantino.

Throughout his long career, Madsen starred in a number of beloved, high-profile movies. He was Lieutenant Steve Phelps in 1983’s WarGames. He acted alongside Robert Redford in 1984’s The Natural. He dated Susan Sarandon’s character in Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise.

Yet, perhaps more so than anything else, Madsen will be remembered for his collaborations with Tarantino, as the two worked together multiple times throughout their careers.

Michael Madsen’s Quintessential Tarantino Roles

Vic Vega

Only about ten years after he started professionally acting in Hollywood, Madsen landed the Vic Vega role in 1992’s Reservoir Dogs. Madsen told The Independent that he actually wanted to play Steve Buscemi’s role, Mr. Pink, because it had more scenes with Harvey Keitel. He wound up getting the Mr. Blonde part, instead, which led to one of Madsen’s most infamous scenes: the ear-cutting moment.

That scene has lived rent-free in Tarantino fans’ heads for the past three decades, and may very well be the reason why Madsen had such a long, prolific career. It showed the world how scary and menacing he can be when cast in the right role, as a lot of the most memorable parts of that moment were improvised.

Budd

Madsen plays one of The Bride’s targets in the Kill Bill series. This leads to another iconic scene where Madsen’s character gets killed by a black mamba, and Madsen sells that moment for all its worth. There’s an art to dying on-screen, and Madsen gets to have some real fun with it. Years after Kill Bill: Volume 2 came out, Madsen then non-canonically returned to that world when he starred in a Kill Bill-themed music video for Iggy Azalea.

Joe Gage

Madsen’s role in The Hateful Eight — a movie that I, admittedly, enjoy more than a lot of other folks — is great, especially because of how he comes across in the first half. We eventually learn that he’s an outlaw; however, he’s trying to hide his identity from Kurt Russell the whole first half of the film. He abandons the ‘tough guy’ act in those scenes and, rather, tries to sell himself as a mild-mannered cow puncher who loves his mother.

It’s a blast to watch him try to sell Russell on the bit. Madsen also hardly had to audition for the part, as he knew Tarantino well by then. He previously recalled not hearing from Tarantino for about a year, only to get a call asking him to come over, at which point he read “about five lines” before he then got the role.

Sheriff Hackett

Madsen has a short but memorable role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He plays Sheriff Hackett, a character in the fictional Bounty Law show that Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton stars in. It’s fun to see him show up, here, given the history that Madsen and Tarantino have, and it’s also noteworthy that Madsen’s character is partially inspired by Peter Breck, who served as Madsen’s inspiration for Joe Gage in The Hateful Eight.

Source: Comingsoon.net