Biography
A legitimate tough guy who made a name for himself playing gun-toting psychopaths, actor Michael Madsen - brother to Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen -demonstrated his versatility throughout his career by playing a wide-range of roles, including a well-meaning foster father in "Free Willy" (1993) and its unfortunate sequel. But it was his turn as the sociopathic Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino's seminal "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) that …
Michael Madsen SlideShow
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Career Milestones
| Encouraged by Sergio Leone to pursue a career in acting after the director saw him perform at the Steppenwolf Theater | ||
| Moved to Los Angeles in his early 20s | ||
1983 | Feature acting debut, "WarGames" | |
1983 | TV movie debut, Edward Zwick's Emmy-winning "Special Bulletin" (NBC) | |
1985 | TV series debut, "Our Family Honor" (ABC) | |
1988 | TV miniseries debut, "War and Remembrance" (ABC) | |
1989 | Portrayed a psychotic killer in John Dahl's "Kill Me Again" | |
1991 | Co-starred as Susan Sarandon's boyfriend in "Thelma & Louise" | |
1992 | Breakthrough screen role as sadistic Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" | |
1993 | Played the foster father in "Free Willy" | |
1994 | Had featured role as Virgil Earp in "Wyatt Earp" | |
1995 | Co-starred in "Species" | |
1995 | Reprised his role in "Free Willy 2" | |
1996 | Associate produced and starred in "Executive Target" (HBO) | |
1997 | Delivered a strong turn as Mafia hood Sonny Black in "Donnie Brasco" | |
1998 | Reprised role in the sequel "Species II" | |
1998 | Starred on the ABC drama "Vengeance Unlimited" | |
2001 | Narrated the Animal Planet series "Animal Precint" | |
2001 | Returned to series work as co-star of the short-lived CBS police series "Big Apple" | |
2002 | Cast in the James Bond feature "Die Another Day" | |
2003 | Cast in Quentin Tarantino's saga "Kill Bill;" film released in two parts "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003) and "Kill Bill Vol.2" (2004) | |
2005 | Starred in "Sin City," the adaptation of comic book icon Frank Miller's uber-noir series of grapic novels; co-directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez | |
2006 | Starred as Vladimir, a vampire hunter in the big-screen version of the popular video game "BloodRayne" | |
2007 | Co-starred in "Funny Money" a film adaptation of the 1994 play written by Ray Cooney | |
2007 | Co-starred with Dennis Hopper in the independent horror/thriller "Hoboken Hollow" | |
2010 | Landed a recurring role on Fox action drama "24" as an old friend of lead character Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) | |
2012 | Appeared on the British reality series "Celebrity Big Brother"; finished in 4th place | |