Biography
Early life
Madsen was born in Chicago, Illinois to Cal Madsen (a firefighter of Danish descent) and Elaine (an award-winning producer, writer and poet of Irish and Native American descent); he is the brother of actress Virginia Madsen.
Madsen's youth was characterized by tragic events: at age nine his parents separated and he frequently had to change schools. He began to steal and was sent to jail a few times.
Madsen's acting career started at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where he served as an apprentice actor under John Malkovich.
Film career
Soon after his apprenticeship, he was cast in a small role in the movie WarGames (1983). He moved to Los Angeles and appeared in a series of minor film roles, including playing a deranged killer in Kill Me Again (1989) and Susan Sarandon's tough but touching boyfriend "Jimmy" in Thelma & Louise (1991).
Madsen (left) Playing Mr. Blonde in the film Reservoir Dogs
He played a knife-wielding, sadistic ex-con and jewel thief, "Mr. Blonde", in the film Reservoir Dogs. The film gained attention among film critics and fans, as did Madsen's performance and the brutality of his character. Subsequently, Madsen was cast in a variety of supporting roles in major studio films, including Free Willy, Mulholland Falls, Species, and the critically-acclaimed Donnie Brasco. Quentin Tarantino wanted Madsen to play Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, a role that ultimately went to John Travolta (the character is the brother of Vic Vega, Madsen's character in Reservoir Dogs). However, Madsen was already committed to Wyatt Earp (1994) and couldn't appear in the film.
Madsen, playing Budd.
Since his peak in the mid 1990's, Madsen has appeared in a large number of lower-budget films that have been released directly to video or television. Some notable exceptions include his major role in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill and appearances in the James Bond film Die Another Day and the film version of Frank Miller's Sin City.
Madsen has also appeared in a few television series, including the short-lived series Vengeance Unlimited and most recently as "Don Everest" in the poker-themed ESPN series Tilt. He appeared in Michael Jackson's 2001 music video, "You Rock My World" and has provided voice work for several video games, including Grand Theft Auto III, True Crime: Streets of L.A. and Driver 3.
Private life
Madsen's first marriage was to Georganne LaPiere, the half sister of Cher. He remarried, to Jeannine Bisignano, with whom he had a son, Christian. Since 1996, he has been married to De Anna Morgan. Madsen has five children, all boys. He has been noted to say that he appears in movies of lower quality in order to support his family [1]. He has said that the five films he has acted in that he is proudest of are Reservoir Dogs, Donnie Brasco, Species, Free Willy, and Kill Bill.
Selected filmography
2006 - Inglorious Bastards - Babe Buchinsky
2006 - BloodRayne - Vladimir
2005 - Sin City - Bob
2004 - Kill Bill: Volume 2 - Budd; alias Sidewinder
2003 - Kill Bill: Volume 1 - Budd alias Sidewinder
2002 - Die Another Day - Damien Falco
1997 - Donnie Brasco - Sonny Black
1996 - Mulholland Falls - Eddie Hall
1995 - Species - Preston Lennox
1992 - Reservoir Dogs - Mr. Blonde/Vic Vega
Interviews
Michael Madsen interview, 2002
Madsen interview
