‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dead at 67

Actor Michael Madsen, best known for his roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill films, has died. He was 67.

Madsen was found unresponsive in his Malibu home Thursday morning, his rep told Variety, and he appeared to have suffered cardiac arrest.

“In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life,” Madsen’s managers Susan Ferris and Ron Smith and publicist Liz Rodriguez said in a joint statement to the outlet. “Michael was also preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems currently being edited. Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, who will be missed by many.”

Madsen first collaborated with Tarantino on 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, in which he played Mr. Blonde alongside fellow actors Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, and Edward Bunker.

Mr. Blonde earned Madsen a place in film history as he was one of 400 nominees for the American Film Institute’s list of the all-time greatest movie villains, remembered most for the scene in which he cuts off a police officer’s ear while dancing to “Stuck in the Middle With You.”

Madsen went on to work with Tarantino on both Kill Bill films in 2003 and 2004, portraying Budd, a former assassin-turned-bouncer, before reuniting with the director for 2015’s The Hateful Eight and 2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.

Madsen is also remembered for his roles in films including Donnie Brasco, Thelma & Louise, Sin City, The Doors, Species, Mulholland Falls, Sin City and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

Born on Sept. 25, 1957, in Chicago, Ill., Madsen first started off his career in Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater company, where he apprenticed under John Malkovich before being cast in 1980s films including War Games, Racing With the Moon, The Natural and Kill Me Again.

Madsen also had published numerous poetry collections throughout his career, including Burning in Paradise and Expecting Rain.

In 2024, Madsen was arrested on charges of domestic battery following an alleged altercation with estranged wife DeAnna Morgan. Madsen, who was married two other times, is survived by five children, including actor Christian Madsen. Another son, Hudson, died in 2022.