Michael Madsen, a fetish actor of Quentin Tarantino and iconic face of Le Iene and Kill Bill, died at 67 years of age from a cardiac arrest in his home in Malibu
It is almost impossible to imagine a film by Quentin Tarantino without thinking about him: the marked face, the magnetic presence, that detained malice that defined some of the most iconic characters of the 1990s and 2000 cinema. Michael Madsen, actor symbol of Tarantinian cinema, died at the age of 67 years in his villa of Malibu. This was confirmed by his managers, Susan Ferris and Ron Smith, together with the spokesman Liz Rodriguez.
“In the last two years Michael has done an incredible job with independent cinema and was really looking enthusiastically at the next chapter of his life. He was one of the most iconic actors in Hollywood and will miss many”, reads the joint note.
According to the American media and confirmed by manager Ron Smith, the actor was struck down by a cardiac arrest at dawn on Thursday.
Born in Chicago on September 25, 1957son of a director and a fireman, Madsen has built a solid and recognizable career in over forty years, becoming a family presence on the big screen, often in intense and ambiguous roles. After the debut in the early 80s with films such as Wargames – War Games And The best (next to Robert Redford, Robert Duvall and Glenn Close), found the consecration in the early 90s thanks to the role of Mr. Blonde in The hyenas of Tarantino, who became legendary for the scene in which he torture a policeman on the notes of Stuck in the middle with you.
With Tarantino, Madsen has made an artistic partnership that led him to recite even in Kill Bill, The Hateful Eight (2015) e Once upon a time to … Hollywood (2019). But his filmography is much richer: we also saw him in Thelma & Louise, The Doors by Oliver Stone, Donnie Brasco And many other titles loved by the general public.
Madsen’s talent did not express himself only on the set. He was also a sensitive and prolific poet, with several collections of verses, including Burning in Paradise and Expecting Rain. At the time of his death he was working on a new book of poems, Tears for My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems.
Discovered by Tarantino in the film Kill me twice By John Dahl, where he played a psychopathic killer, Madsen became a cult figure for at least two generations of spectators. And even now that he has gone, his gaze, his roca voice and that mixture of danger and melancholy that he led to each role will continue to live in the unforgettable frames of American cinema.
