Michael Madsen

Michael Søren Madsen (September 25, 1957 – July 3, 2025) was an American actor. He was widely known for starring in Quentin Tarantino's films such as Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), and The Hateful Eight (2015). His other film roles included WarGames (1983), The Natural (1984), The Doors (1991), Thelma & Louise (1991), Free Willy (1993), Species (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), Die Another Day (2002), Sin City (2005), and Scary Movie 4 (2006). Madsen also voiced characters in video games such as Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Narc (2005), the Dishonored series (2012–2017), The Walking Dead: Season Two (2014), and Crime Boss: Rockay City (2023). Madsen had six children, including actor Christian Madsen.

Michael Søren Madsen was born in Chicago on September 25, 1957, the son of Elaine (née Melson), a filmmaker and author, and Calvin Christian Madsen, a World War II Navy veteran and firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department. His mother had Irish and Native American ancestry, while his paternal grandparents were Danish immigrants. He had two sisters: actress Virginia and entrepreneur Cheryl. His parents divorced in the 1960s; his mother, having been encouraged by film critic Roger Ebert, left the financial world to pursue a career in the arts. Madsen attended Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois.

Madsen began working at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where he served as an apprentice under John Malkovich and appeared in a production of Of Mice and Men.