Reservoir Dogs' most famous scene was improvised
In the script, it just said: 'Mr. Blonde maniacally dances around'
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When scenes become as iconic as Reservoir Dogs' 'Stuck in the Middle with You' cop torture one we tend to imagine that they must have been carefully orchestrated.
This is far from the case though, as Michael Madsen explained when he reunited with the cast and director Quentin Tarantino at Tribeca Film Festival this weekend.
"In the script it said, 'Mr. Blonde maniacally dances around,'" Madsen recalled (via THR), "and I kept thinking, 'What the fuck does that mean? Mick Jagger?'"
Tarantino apparently had faith he would come up with something on the spot, and Madsen didn't even listen to the Stealers Wheel song until the first take of the scene, which they only did three on.
On the inspiration for his unsettlingly casual dance, Madsen explained: "I started thinking about this weird little thing Jimmy Cagney did in a movie that I saw, that’s where it came from."
Reservoir Dogs was so low budget that the actors were expected to bring their own suits, but Tarantino said that making it was the happiest moment of his career.
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