Reservoir Dogs: Michael Madsen almost refused role as he ‘didn’t want to be killed by Tim Roth’
Madsen played diamond thief Mr Blonde in debut Tarantino film
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Michael Madsen almost refused his role in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs as he only wanted to be killed on-screen by Harvey Keitel.
Madsen played diamond thief Mr Blonde in the 1992 thriller, who meets a violent end at the hands of Tim Roth’s undercover cop Mr Orange during the climax of Tarantino’s debut film.
In a new documentary, QT8: The First Eight, Madsen reveals he wasn’t happy to be killed by an unknown actor like Roth.
“I don’t know why [Tarantino] had me stuck in his head to play Mr Blonde,” Madsen says in the film. “I didn’t want to play Mr Blonde. I didn’t want to get shot by Tim Roth. I didn’t want to be killed by Tim Roth.”
He continues, “I was like, ‘Hey man, who is Tim Roth?’ I would let Harvey Keitel kill me, but I’m not getting killed by Tim Roth.”
At the time of production, Roth was a newcomer to the American film industry with few acting credits outside his native UK. Madsen, meanwhile, had appeared in films including Thelma & Louise, The Natural and WarGames.
Both actors have gone on to reappear in a number of Tarantino projects. Madsen starred in Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, while Roth appeared in Pulp Fiction and Four Rooms. The pair also reunited in Tarantino’s 2015 film The Hateful Eight.
QT8: The First Eight explores the making of Tarantino’s first eight films, with appearances from collaborators including Roth, Samuel L Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lucy Liu, Christoph Waltz and the late Robert Forster. It will be released in the UK on 13 December.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments