Anecdotes

According to his interview in Maxim magazine, he doesn't own a cell phone nor does he use the Internet to send e-mails; he still writes letters by hand.

Owned the yellow Cadillac that his character Mr Blonde drove in Reservoir Dogs (1992).

Was offered role of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction (1994) but turned it down because he couldn't get out of rehearsal for Wyatt Earp (1994). He cited this as the the worst mistake of his career.

Godfather of his sons, Hudson Madsen and Kalvin Madsen, is Quentin Tarantino.

In 2002 he was presented an award for his work with the Shriners Hospital For Children.

After the deaths of Lawrence Tierney, Edward Bunker and Chris Penn, he has a hard time watching Reservoir Dogs (1992).

Because of his strong aversion to violence, Madsen was very uncomfortable filming the torture scenes in Reservoir Dogs (1992), especially in the scenes in which he was required to hit Kirk Baltz.

One of his dogs is "Buftea", a recent addition. He found it emaciated, wild and roaming the forests of Romania while he was filming Opération Matchbox (2006). Madsen gradually tamed the dog, adopted it, named it after the town in Romania where they were shooting and whisked it back to beach-front Malibu.

Has worn the same pinky ring in numerous movies.

He was originally asked to play "Harland", the man who rapes Geena Davis in Thelma & Louise (1991), but he refused the part and, when director Ridley Scott asked what part he would like instead, Madsen asked if he could play "Jimmy Lennox", the well meaning but short tempered boyfriend of Susan Sarandon's Louise. Scott initially scoffed at the idea, but Madsen got the part of "Jimmy" after having lunch with Sarandon.

Announced the second greatest movie villain of all time by Maxim Magazine's "Greatest Movie Villains of all Time" for his character in Reservoir Dogs (1992) of "Mr. Blonde".

Had a parrot called Marlon (after Marlon Brando).

Good friends with Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton and Nick Nolte.

The Boys Republic once a year gives a scholarship on behalf of Michael Madsen. Steve McQueen attended that school.

Good friend Harvey Keitel served as godfather to his son Max Madsen.

The films he acted in have grossed over 2 billion dollars world wide.

He has a line of hot sauces.

His character of Mr. Blonde was one of the 200 nominees on the American Film Institute's list of 100 years of the best Heroes and Villains. He was also the only character from Reservoir Dogs (1992) who was nominated. However, he didn't make it into the top 50.

Dennis Hopper wrote the introduction to his book of short stories and poems "Burning in Paradise".

Has worked as a car mechanic, a landscaper and a hospital orderly before turning to acting.

He painted houses, repaired cars, worked as an orderly in a hospital and pumped gas in his late teens and early twenties before he moved to Los Angeles.

Poetry collection: 10-Year Anniversary Edition of his poetry book, "The Complete Poetic Works of Michael Madsen, Vol I: 1995-2005/," available at Amazon.com.

He points to Robert Mitchum as his idol and role model. Many similarities are apparent, as both are large, intimidating "tough guys" who are generally underrated and Madsen (as did Mitchum) doesn't always appear in films for their artistic merit. They both shared a love for poetry. He and Mitchum also both appeared in Les orages de la guerre (1988), though they never had any scenes together.

Hobbies include cars and bikes.

The character of Officer Wendell 'Bud' White in L.A. Confidential (1997) was written with Madsen in mind, but Russell Crowe got the part.

Former brother-in-law of Danny Huston and Cher.

He has an older sister named Cheryl Madsen (Cheri). She's the owner of a restaurant in Wisconsin.

He enjoyed working with Uwe Boll on BloodRayne (2005) and would certainly work with him again if asked.

He has said in an interview once that his feminine characteristic would be that he has soft feet.

Won the Maverick Award 2007 Method fest, presented to him by good friend David Carradine.

On Dec. 26, 2004, David Carradine and his wife Annie were married at Madsen's home by Vicki Roberts.

Was offered the role of Seth Gecko in Une nuit en enfer (1996), but couldn't accept due to scheduling conflicts.

Close friends with actor Chris Penn, and acted as a pallbearer at the latter's funeral.

For his past, present and ongoing commitment to independent film, was presented with the inaugural Rebel Award by good friend/actor Harvey Keitel at Rebelfest 2005, Toronto.

Will Rogers pioneer award 2007.

In September 2009, Madsen announced his participation in the Love Ride 26 to help raise money for local charities and those less fortunate. Love Ride began in 1981 and has included celebrities Malcolm Forbes, Peter Fonda, and Larry Hagman with musical entertainment from Billy Idol, Bruce Springsteen, and others. The event was to have taken place on October 25, 2009 but was canceled two weeks before the event due to poor ticket sales and a decline in sponsorship and vendor support.

Children with Jeannine Bisignano: Christian Madsen (born 1990) and Max Madsen (born 1994). Children with DeAnna Madsen: Hudson Lee (born 1995), Calvin Michael (born 1997) and Luke Ray (born 2005).

TV commercial (voice-over): Boeing Corp.

Has starred in three films as a gangster whose organization is infiltrated by undercover law enforcement: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Donnie Brasco (1997) and Arizona Rider (1993).

"Burning in Paradise" won the Independent Firecracker Award for Poetry in 1998.

Studied at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre.

He was offered the role of Perfect Tommy in Les Aventures de Buckaroo Banzaï à travers la 8e dimension (1984), but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with Le meilleur (1984).

Married his wife, DeAnna Madsen, in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

September 2007 - outstanding achievement award in acting at the 13th annual Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival.

His parents, Cal and Elaine Madsen, divorced when Michael was 9.

His mother has English, Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry, and is also said to have Native American roots.

Has lent his voice to several seasons of Animal Precinct (2001) on The Animal Planet.

He was considered for the role of Mickey Knox in Tueurs nés (1994), but Warner Bros. wanted somebody less intimidating, and with a softer persona, as they felt this might alleviate the brutality of the character somewhat.

Wanted to be a police officer as a child but instead graduated high school with a juvenile rap sheet for stealing cars, breaking & entering and gun possession.

His wife DeAnna's ex-husband is Stray Cats guitarist Brian Setzer.