By Drew Dietsch
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Michael Madsen died on July 3, 2025. He’s an actor most people will know from any variety of powerful man roles. In all probability his most recognizable elements had been within the collaborations he had with Quentin Tarantino. He crafted one of the disturbing and magnetic characters in crime cinema with Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Canine, gave great depth and empathy to retired murderer Budd in Kill Invoice, and didn’t seem in Pulp Fiction in any respect like the AI rubbish at The Guardian would have you ever consider.
However upon listening to of Michael Madsen’s passing, the Tarantino function that instantly jumped to thoughts was Joe Gage a.okay.a. Grouch Douglass, one of many mysterious denizens of Minnie’s Haberdashery in The Hateful Eight. It’s arguably the final main studio launch that gave Madsen the highlight he deserved.
A Dude Enjoying A Dude Disguised As One other Dude
The Hateful Eight is partially an ode to performing. The story includes a lot of characters who’re pretending to be different individuals in an effort to pull off a violent rescue. As such, it implies that actors get the possibility to layer their performances with extra motivations. Their characters get to create characters.
Michael Madsen performs a member of a ruthless gang who’s launched as a touring cattle wrangler (or cowpuncher, because the film calls him). Though he’s actually a vicious assassin because the film will reveal, Madsen has to do his finest to idiot bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) into believing he’s nothing greater than a mild-mannered rancher on his approach dwelling to go to with Mom for Christmas.
What’s so humorous is that casting Michael Madsen isn’t only a matter of Tarantino giving one in every of his actor buddies one other paycheck. His recognized persona as an actor instantly makes him essentially the most suspicious of the bunch. Nonetheless, Grouch Douglass does what he can to craft Joe Gage right into a believably easy man who’s simply making an attempt to sit down out a blizzard.
And it’s that stage of expertise in his performing that makes The Hateful Eight Madsen’s final nice highlight.
Michael Madsen Was A Soldier
The drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs (creator John Bloom enjoying a manufactured function himself) as soon as eulogized the trailblazing horror host John Zacherle by calling him “a soldier” in reference to Zacherle’s understanding of being a working entertainer. He didn’t view himself as a celeb (which he was among the many crew of Joe Bob’s present) however slightly as somebody there to do a job to one of the best of his talents and never make the manufacturing a trouble for anybody.
While you have a look at the majority of Michael Madsen’s filmography, there isn’t a query that he held an identical outlook in direction of his chosen occupation. The person himself as soon as acknowledged that he took so many roles as a result of he needed to feed his children. He didn’t get snooty or valuable in regards to the enterprise facet of remaining a working actor.
However Madsen was additionally an expert. Though many films he did had been nothing greater than a paycheck (even my beloved Species II), he nonetheless delivered what his administrators requested of him.
It’s his floor standing as a purely mercenary actor that brings me again to Joe Gage and The Hateful Eight being the final actually lovely highlight for the way proficient Madsen actually was and why he wasn’t given his correct accolades.
We Deserved Far Extra Michael Madsen Performances Price His Expertise
Madsen isn’t enjoying one of many extra centralized characters in The Hateful Eight, and it’s undeniably a job that’s relying on his repeated model of powerful man charisma, however it’s additionally one in every of his final instances he’s given prominence in a serious studio launch. That alone makes it worthy of highlighting.
However it additionally presents a window into the sort of Michael Madsen roles we might’ve gotten extra of. Grouch Douglass provides Joe Gage a sympathetic backstory about wanting to go to with Mom for Christmas after he’s made his first actual cash as a associate in a cattle operation.
“…you don’t appear like the coming-home-for-Christmas kind,” says John Ruth after Gage spins his origin story. Gage laughs and responds that he undoubtedly is the coming-home-for-Christmas-to-spend-time-with-Mom kind. “Christmas with Mom, it’s an exquisite factor.” Simply the concept this hardened felony is making an attempt to current himself as a sweethearted mama’s boy hints at an actor who would’ve preferred to play extra of these roles.
I believe after I end The Hateful Eight, I would placed on Free Willy the place Madsen bought to showcase a larger emotional vary as an actor. That’s not a joke, he’s nice in that flick. I want he had gotten extra roles like that, however I’ll accept The Hateful Eight being his final massive hurrah.
…May additionally watch the Species films once more.
