MICHAEL MADSEN ON THE HATEFUL 8 ,DEATH IN THE DESERT, CHICAGO AND MORE.
Appearing in more than 170 films, Michael Madsen’s acting career has spanned four decades. Early on he became a familiar face to moviegoers with an appearance in War Games, and on the small screen in the shows Our Family Honor, and Crime Story. With his imposing size, gravely voice, and a dangerously handsome face, he quickly became a sought-after actor for bigger roles. In 1991, he performed in the mega-hit movies The Doors, and Thelma and Louise. This brought him to the attention of young filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who was making a darkly comedic crime story called Reservoir Dogs. Madsen says, “It was Quentin’s first movie, and nobody expected anything from that film.” The only well known star was Harvey Keitel, who had also appeared in Thelma and Louise with Madsen. He continues “I’ve done a lot of low-budget stuff that wasn’t expected to go anywhere, and nobody on that set had any idea that movie was going to be talked about 20 years later.” Michael brought a slashing spirit to his character Vince Vega, aka Mr. Blonde, and his horrifying cop torture scene became an iconic moment in movie history. It catapulted Madsen, and Tarantino onto the Hollywood “A list” and soon Michael Madsen had his choice of roles.
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His notoriety helped him earn parts in many of the most successful films of their time. He says,
“Back in the day I was in Species and Mulholland Falls.”
However, despite his critically acclaimed performance in Free Willy, it was his unusual burnished and steely-eyed approach to his amoral and violent portrayal of Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs that still informed casting director’s decisions. He appeared alongside Johnny Depp and Al Pacino in the true-crime movie Donnie Brasco. He played Dominick “Sonny Black’ Napolitano, a violent and doomed capo regime in the Bonanno crime family. Despite the high-powered big names in the cast billed ahead of him, it was Michael’s gleeful assassination of his rival Sonny Red that had critics comparing the film to The Godfather, and Goodfellas.
Throughout his long and celebrated career, he has played many different roles and when asked how he feels about being remembered for his highly acclaimed performances as killers he says, “It’s very flattering.” However, he goes on to talk about Richard Widmark, an actor who appeared in 75 films over a 50-year career. He says, “In the movie Kiss of Death, Richard Widmark pushed an old lady in a wheelchair down the steps.” With a laugh, he adds, “He made 75 movies, but that’s what people remember.” Madsen continues, “Right before he died, I read an interview with him where he says “Well, you know I don’t think I’m a bad actor. I've done some good pictures," which he, sure as hell, did, but he goes “most likely I’ll be remembered as the guy that pushed that woman in the wheelchair down the stairs.” In fairness, it was Widmark’s rookie performance, and he won an Academy Award for it. He set the bar very high, and it’s little wonder that was the role he became most remembered for. Madsen continues, “about six months after that, I was reading the newspaper and there was an obituary for Richard Widmark. He had died and, by God, sure enough, right at the top of the article it said, “Giggling psychopath Richard Widmark passes away." With an exasperated laugh Michael continues, “A giggling psychopath? And yup, I start reading the article, and it’s all about the guy who pushed the woman in a wheelchair down the stairs. I’m like c’mon!” Madsen pauses for a moment, then continues, “Widmark said, Ah, well it’s better to be remembered I suppose for something than for nothing.” As for being remembered as Mr. Blonde, Madsen adds, “That’s what it will always be.”
While being remembered for something is better than not being remembered at all, Madsen does make a good point. Many actors become associated with playing certain types of characters, and many actually find themselves so associated with a character that it becomes nearly impossible to find work. Though he’s not type-cast per set, his most acclaimed roles have almost always been darkly menacing characters. When asked about some of the other roles that he’s fond of, with understandable pride he says, “I did a picture called Strength and Honor. I played an Irish-American bare knuckle prizefighter. My character has to fight in a Gypsy camp to pay for an operation to save his son’s life. Sadly, that movie didn’t get strong distribution.” With an edge of bitterness he adds, “It’s 2 years old now, and no one's ever going to see it and that's sad.” Another production he spoke of is called Vice. He says,
“I did that movie with Darryl Hannah, and I really like it a lot. I’m a bad ass in the movie, there’s no doubt about it, but I’m a cop and the things I do are based in goodness. My character smokes, and he drinks, and he’s a womanizer, so there’s a humanistic side to it that I really like.”
Another example is the movie Hellride. “Hell Ride was produced by Quentin Tarantino, but it went to DVD pretty fast so not a lot of people saw it. It was a great biker film. I think it’s a wonderful picture.”
Good pictures disappear into what Madsen calls “DVD land” all the time, and you can’t help but wonder why? Madsen says, “A distributor told me that crap is easier to sell.” He continues, “I feel so sorry for this generation of moviegoers. They’ve never seen or heard of a great movie like Key Largo. If it came out now they probably wouldn’t even go see it.” Still, while some of his movies don’t become box office tigers, at 58, he has little trouble finding work in highly successful movies. He says with frank honesty, “I think I’m really fortunate because I get to be in a tremendously entertaining film like Hateful Eight. After that I was lucky enough to run into Josh Evans, who had a great idea for a lower budget film.” But why would an actor with such a well-known name and reputation want to work in low-budget films with little chance of big market success? He says, “I’ve said this before, and people get amazed, but I’m a blue-collar guy from Chicago, and I really don’t think of myself as being any different than a brick layer or the guy who cuts the grass at your house. I mean it’s a job and (like all working actors) I have to do my job.” He laughs, then says, “I have a wife, five sons, dogs and cats, so what do you say? Well, I don’t want to do this film. This isn’t my caliber of a movie? That’s not an option. Like all people, I’ve done a lot of stuff I didn’t want to do but what am I supposed to do move to a trailer park so I can have an esteemable career?” On the other hand, if he could have played any role, he wanted, what would it be? He says,
“I think I would have made a great Batman. I’d have killed it!”
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His most-recent feature being released to DVD and VOD is called Death in the Desert. Madsen was the Executive Producer and star of the project. Directed by Josh Evans the movie is based on the real crime book written by Cathy Scott. Though the character names were changed for the movie, it closely parallels the final part of Las Vegas casino owner Ted Binion’s’ life. Binion's murder is still officially unsolved, though the police and prosecutors seem pretty sure of the findings from the investigation. Madsen plays Ray Easley the doppelganger for Binion. He imbues his character with a gritty rapaciousness that is worthy of Binion. However, Madsen departs from his typical tough-guy persona with an accurate and disquieting portrayal of a man slowly succumbing to his demons, including a growing drug dependency. Ray Easley is a man liable to lash out both verbally and physically from almost any provocation. As his issues begin to swamp him, his family starts circling like vultures over a dying animal in the Nevada desert. Ray falls for a young stripper named Kim Davis, ably played by relative newcomer Shayla Beesley. He meets her at the club where she dances and whisks her away to his mansion.
While this sounds like a romantic adventure for Davis, it actually is rather tawdry because Easley is almost incapable of loving her and even tells her that her job is simply to“be seen” with him. As in Binion’s real life, Ray Easley hatches a plot to remove millions of dollars worth of silver from the casino. Eventually, this leads to shots being fired into Easley’s house in an unsolved drive by. Finally one morning, Davis finds Ray passed out and blue faced. She calls the paramedics, but it’s too late. Did he really overdose, or was it murder? The movie purposely doesn’t tie up the loose ends because the Las Vegas authorities were unable to tie them up in real life. Throughout, the movie is just a little drifty and off kilter, and that is summed up magnificently in Roxy Saint’s outstanding take on the Martha Davis, and The Motels 1982 hit Only The Lonely. Saint takes a relatively straightforward sad rock ballad and gives it a slightly atonal desolation which is the perfect metaphor for Madsen’s stellar portrayal of Ray Easley/Ted Binion.
Considering how closely the movie followed the real life and death of Binion it is curious Director Josh Evans would have changed the character's names. Madsen says, “Josh told me early on when he was in Las Vegas setting up the movie, that he was approached by a lot of people who were not really happy that he was making it, and a lot of people who wanted to have control over it. He quickly realized that the only way to keep that from happening was to change the names.” Because the movie was made with a short budget, other than Madsen, it was a cast full of mostly unknowns. For his female lead, Evans chose Shayla Beesley. Madsen explains, “Josh wanted to cast someone who could give the part a feeling of emptiness and confusion” He continues, “I thought she did a very commendable job. There’s other things she could have done or wanted to do, but Josh stopped her. Eventually, I think she gave up and just did what he wanted her to do. That was her job.” So did he like the move? He laughs and says, “I had my own feelings about it.” The story itself is rather sad and Madsen laughs again and says, “Yea, It’s a downer. It’s definitely not a Disney film." Though he sounds like he’s not completely happy with the movie, he says, “I trust Josh as a filmmaker, and he said (of Binion, and his girlfriend Gail Murphy) well, you know, that’s the kind of people they were.” Madsen feeling's about the movie might be a little misplaced because, as he admits, “I haven’t seen the final version of it, so I’m curious to see how people will like it.”
In real-life Michael Madsen has a charming gruffness and an easy laugh. Nevertheless, his most talked about roles are always his most overtly violent characters. So you have to wonder if people he meets in places like airports seem to think of him like that? “I’ve noticed over the years that there are people who will hesitate to get into an elevator with me. It will be really funny; it opens and there will be people waiting to get on, even if there’s room; they'll see me, and they're like, Oh geez. We'll get the next one!” With an exasperated laugh, he says, "it’s very very very odd. I either will get a really big smile and a handshake or a hug, or I get like a nasty frowny face, and I never know which way it’s going to go.” So how does he handle it? “ People are generally very nice to me, but when it happens, I’ll go out of my way so that person realizes that I’m really not there to cause any harm to anybody. It’s just odd man.” After 170 roles, many of them as good guys and heroes, Michael Madsen will most likely be remembered as the psychopath that cut off the cop's ear in Reservoir Dogs, and like Richard Widmark before him, Madsen shrugs and says, “It’s better to be remembered for something then for nothing.”
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