Michael Madsen - The Best Performance in Reservoir Dogs!
My Top Five Favourite Performances (and a Few Other Shout Outs!)
Upon hearing the news earlier today of the death of character actor Michael Madsen, I reflected on the impact he made in many significant films - yet, the feeling I have is that he never got his due. He is one of the many breakout stars of Quentin Tarantino’s shocking 1992 Sundance sweetheart Reservoir Dogs that is a genuine 90’s cult classic. Many actors from that movie went on to consistently work in A-material like Tim Roth, the previously deceased Chris Penn, and Steve Buscemi. Of course, Tarantino himself worked his way into auteur status with the one-two punch of Dogs and Pulp Fiction. However, Madsen seemed to vary between small and large roles in Tarantino movies, a few notable Hollywood films, but mostly a lot of straight to video (or streaming) B-movies. He apparently still has 18 television and movie roles yet to be released. He worked all the time, but never got to the critical heights of Buscemi or Samuel L. Jackson or Uma Thurman - all actors who benefitted from appearing in 90’s Tarantino movies.
The fact is that the first time I was truly shocked in a Quentin Tarantino movie is when the seemingly cool-headed Mr. Blonde turns into the raging psychopath that other characters describe - especially Harvey Keitel’s Mr. White and Buscemi’s Mr. Pink - in early scenes. To be able to be both cool and frightening within the same scene is not easy. Michael Madsen should have been given more consideration for awards for Reservoir Dogs. Every time I hear “Stuck in the Middle with You” I think of Michael Madsen. He led me into the dangerous dark side of Tarantino’s work as much as Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction or Christoph Walz in Inglourious Basterds. It is a great performance. More on that later.
To commemorate the loss of this underrated character actor, this is my hurried top five favourite performances (some movies he is in are ultimately better than the ones I describe, but they do not fully use him - an example would be his wonderful cameo in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which is one of the best movies of the century). You will also indulge me in three runner-ups from movies that are entertaining and show other sides of Madsen’s range. The three I want to highlight are 1993’s Free Willy. He went from one of the darkest crime movies to a child-friendly film about a boy’s friendship with an orca. Not everyone can do that.
Another highlight is the B-movie science fiction film from 1995, Species. Madsen appeared in several films like this, but this is a memorable 90’s summer alien film with a great deal of sexuality. In the case of Free Willy and Species, Madsen continued with these roles in many sequels for these franchises.
I am also a big defender of Lawrence Kasdan’s Wyatt Earp which had the misfortune of being released six months after the popular (but overrated) Tombstone. Madsen plays Virgil Earp, Wyatt’s tough U.S. Marshal brother who leads Linden Ashby at Morgan Earp, Kevin Costner as Wyatt Earp, and Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday into the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Madsen was convincing in urban crime films, biker action movies, and the traditional western. He was a man of all genres!
Now to my five favourite performances. Yes, three of them are from Tarantino movies. He ultimately got his best roles from his relationship with Tarantino. However, anytime you get a chance to watch a movie with Michael Madsen in it he will be interesting, even if the movie is not strong.
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015)
Michael Madsen was part of another isolated mostly one-set Tarantino film that featured the most horrible characters you ever wanted to spend an evening with. I love this long, cold western where characters are not who they appear to be. Madsen is remarkable in his moments with Kurt Russell’s John “the Hangman” Ruth. Ruth trusts no one, as he should, and interrogates a smiling and confident Madsen in the haberdashery where the strangers are stranded during a vicious blizzard. This is an ensemble like Dogs, but everyone brings their A-game to this unpleasant and dark western.
KILL BILL (2003/2004)
Michael Madsen shines in Kill Bill Volume 2 - as part of the Western half of Tarantino’s epic. He plays Bill’s brother, Bud, who is the loser who appears to have pawned off a valuable sword to stay in booze and the comfort of his mobile home in Texas. However, there is a lot more to Bud than David Carradine’s Bill, Darryl Hannah’s Elle, and certainly Uma Thurman’s Bride are aware of. If one thinks about Kill Bill, The Bride is incorrect in crossing off Bud’s name. Not to ruin a movie that is more than twenty years old, but it is not the Bride who outmatches Bud. He presents arguably the biggest challenge for The Bride in her quest for revenge. Madsen has a significant role in this Tarantino classic. Kill Bill is not personally my favourite Tarantino film, but I love the Texas section of the film starring Madsen, Hannah, and Thurman.
DONNIE BRASCO (1997)
Donnie Brasco is a solid true-crime film about the mafia and an undercover agent played by Johnny Depp who infiltrated one of the biggest crime families in New York. Depp and, especially, Al Pacino are strong in this believable and entertaining crime film. Michael Madsen plays Sonny Black who ascends to the role of Boss bypassing Pacino’s long suffering Lefty Ruggiero who mentors Donnie Brasco and helps him move up in the organization. Madsen’s ability to be scary plays well in several suspenseful and violent scenes. Madsen rarely got to play The Boss and it showed the power he could bring to a great screenplay. I feel like Madsen deserved more roles like this. He could have been a James Gandolfini, who eventually got recognized as one of the greats later in his career. That did not happen, but Madsen is again a welcome and frightening presence in Donnie Brasco.
THELMA AND LOUISE (1991)
As the years pass, my love of Thelma and Louise grows. This is one of the great feminist action films. It was a wonderful cast choice that three incredibly “macho” actors in 1991 played the secondary roles that were often relegated to strong female character actors. Harvey Keitel played the Detective who tries to bring Thelma and Louise safely home, Brad Pitt played the good looking con artist that Geena Davis’s Thelma falls for, and Michael Madsen plays the caring and out of touch boyfriend to Susan Sarandon’s Louise. This role showed off Madsen’s sensitivity, but also the frustration and rage that kept Louise from fully trusting him. Everyone was near-perfect in Thelma and Louise. I feel that Madsen’s big scene with Sarandon helped her earn a deserved Best Actress nomination. He is simply perfect for the role of Jimmy. I saw this movie before I saw the predictable number one choice. Years later, I thought - how does this guy inhabit so many different types of flawed men? This may be his most three dimensional performance - the next time you watch Thelma and Louise, I hope you appreciate the choices Madsen makes in his precious few scenes.
1. RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)
Duh! Yes. My choice is predictable, but I feel that Mr. Blonde is one of Tarantino’s scariest creations to this day. I am on the record that the best performance in Reservoir Dogs is Michael Madsen as Mr Blonde/Vic Vega. He is the brother of John Travolta’s Vincent Vega (and nearly got Travolta’s role in Pulp Fiction, but was committed to Wyatt Earp). The Vega Brothers movie never came to be. I can only dream about the magic of Travolta and Madsen playing off each other. I feel that Madsen is the more intelligent of the two brothers, but neither of them were master criminals.
I am sad to see another great actor pass away in 2025. I hope this brief tribute, among the many published today, captures the greatness of an underrated character actor.