The actor Michael Madsen, who has died aged 67 of a cardiac arrest, saw himself as a “throwback” to the era of noir heavies such as Robert Mitchum and Lee Marvin. But plying his jocular menace in the modern Hollywood era gave the actor expanded possibilities for movie violence that elevated him, at certain moments, to a timeless screen presence.
When he severed a policeman’s ear in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 debut Reservoir Dogs, after sadistically bopping to the sounds of Stealers Wheel’s pop hit Stuck in the Middle With You, it became Madsen’s calling-card scene. He had originally auditioned for the part of Mr Pink, the role eventually played by Steve Buscemi, before the director realised his imposing qualities were perfect for the loose-cannon psychopath, Mr Blonde. “Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?” Madsen taunts Harvey Keitel’s Mr White, sipping a soda.
