Reservoir Dogs icon Harvey Keitel breaks silence on Michael Madsen's shock death at 67
Tributes are pouring in from family, friends and the people Madsen worked with in his long and successful career as one of Hollywood's best actors.
Now, Harvey Keitel, 86, is chiming in to share his wishes for his late friend.
'We've lost another great American poet,' Keitel said in a statement to The New York Post.
'Farewell, my dear friend.'
Madsen and Keitel starred in Quentin Tarantino 's film Reservoir Dogs as Vic Vega/Mr. Blonde and Larry Dimmick / Mr. White.
Keitel continued: 'I'll never forget one of the best scenes I've ever seen on film — of you and Chris Penn fighting in Reservoir Dogs.
'A great love scene. Give Chris a hug for me,' he added.
Chris, Sean Penn's younger brother, died in 2006 at the age of 40. He played Eddie Cabot in Reservoir Dogs.
Madsen went on to star in three more Tarantino films, The Hateful Eight and Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
The actor played a violent ex-convict who plans to rob a jewelry store with seven other men in Reservoir Dogs.
The role Vic Vega even led to him being typecast.
'I guess it's part of the whole bad-boy package,' he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018.
'But I'd rather have a movie like Reservoir Dogs than not have it. There are a lot of actors that are a lot more recognized or famous than me, who get paid a lot more than me who haven't done even one film that you'd remember.'
The legendary actor was found 'unresponsive' at his home in Malibu, California early Thursday morning. His manager said Madsen had died from 'cardiac arrest.'
But Madsen's lawyer Perry Wander hinted that the movie star drank himself to death and blamed the actor's two former wives for making him miserable.
I just spoke to Michael two days ago,' Wander told Daily Mail, admitting that 'I knew he was not well.'
'Michael was suffering from the effects of alcoholism. He had multiple stints in and out of rehab. He struggled to maintain his sobriety. He was not happy about his life.'
Madsen was also facing a crippling legal battle with his estranged wife, which saw the pair fighting over child support and other finances, his lawyer claimed.
'I blame her for putting in the screws over his last years of life,' Wander said, alleging the legal battle, which saw his passport be 'maliciously revoked', impacted his ability to travel and work abroad.
It is too soon to tell if Madsen's alleged alcoholism contributed to his sudden death, but studies by the National Institutes of Health have found that heavy drinking can significantly increase the risk of cardiac arrest.
The star's battle with addiction appears to span back many years.
He was axed from a $100,000 role in the movie Confessions of a Serial Killer in 2019 after he crashed crashing his Land Rover into a pole and was subsequently arrested for DUI. He was later sentenced to four days in jail.
In 2012, he was also arrested for DUI after driving erratically but struck a plea deal that involved attending AA meetings in lieu of more severe punishment.
However, after Madsen failed to attend his court ordered Alcoholics Anonymous meetings his probation was revoked.
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