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Michael Madsen Remembered: The ‘Reservoir Dogs’ Actor On His Journey From Gas Station Attendant To Hollywood Tough Guy: “I Was An Impatient Cat”


Michael Madsen remembered: The ‘Reservoir Dogs’ actor on his journey from pumping gas to Hollywood tough guy: “I Was An Impatient Cat”

The following interview took place 10 years ago in February, high in the mountains of Telluride during the shoot of The Hateful Eight, Tarantino’s wintry Western with a whodunit twist, in which he played the mysterious Joe Gage. I met Madsen during a lull in production; though the talk was ostensibly about the film at hand, the actor couldn’t help but digress, at one point welling up behind his rockstar shades as he recalled his early days as an actor, pumping gas for the likes of Warren Beatty, his odd-couple friendship with Sergio Leone, and, after getting a bit too cozy with Tarantino’s laser-like auteur specificity, his fractious interaction with the mainstream film industry. I wanna be John Ruth, man.” But then when I get to the part where he’s f*cking throwing up blood on the floor, I go, “Oh well, maybe not…” [Laughs] And he, then I realize Joe Gage is probably the best role in the film.

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