Hollywood actor Michael Madsen died in his California home on Thursday morning, US media reported. He was 67.
He was found unresponsive by authorities responding to a 911 call at his Malibu home and pronounced dead at 08:25 local time (15:25 GMT), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He is believed to have died of cardiac arrest, according to a representative.
Madsen was a prolific actor, best known for his roles in the Quentin Tarantino movies Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
In Reservoir Dogs, one of the seminal movies of the 1990s, he played the thief Mr Blonde, described by fellow characters as “psycho”, and shocked audiences in a scene where he cut off a policeman’s ear.
During a career spanning four decades, Madsen also took on a number of TV roles.
In both TV and film, he often portrayed the law enforcers like sheriffs and detectives, as well as the law breakers, such as a washed-out hitman in the Kill Bill franchise.
In recent years, he lent his voice to video games, including Grand Theft Auto III and the Dishonoured series.
Michael Madsen was born in Chicago in September 1957. His father was a Navy veteran of World War Two who later became a firefighter, and his mother was a filmmaker.
He was the brother of Virginia Madsen, who is known for several movies, including Sideways, for which she was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
He was married three times and is survived by four children, including actor Christian Madsen.
Madsen divorced his wife of 28 years, DeAnna, in 2024, over the death of their son Hudson, according to People magazine.
“My brother Michael has left the stage,” his sister Virginia wrote in a statement to Variety.
“He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother – etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”
