Quentin Tarantino: He is reminiscent of deceased Michael Madsen

With an intimate commemoration in his Vista Theater in Los Angeles, Quentin Tarantino (62) paid tribute to his long-time companion Michael Madsen (1957-2025). The actor died on July 3 of this year at the age of 67 in his home in Malibu. the star director shared a particularly moving anecdote on the filming of his debut film “Reservoir Dogs”, in which Madsen played the Gangster figure Mr. Blonde.

The story leads back to the early 1990s when Tarantino made his first feature film. “It was the last hour of the last day of filming of the first week,” the director recalled on stage. “I had never made a film before.” The situation was tense: actor Lawrence Terney (1919-2002) caused significant problems for the inexperienced director. “He was a damned nightmare. Completely crazy,” Tarantino described the atmosphere on the set.

The crew and the other actors could no longer endure Terney. When he finally crossed a border and treated Tarantino disrespectfully in front of the assembled team, the young director made a drastic decision. In a heated confrontation, Tarantino fired the actor in front of everyone involved. The team broke out in applause.

Although his team was enthusiastic, Tarantino believed that his career was over before she had really started. “I thought live entertainment would fire me. That was it for my career,” he confessed. But on the same evening he received a voice message that changed everything. Madsen had called to signal support to his young director. In his typical manner, he strengthened Tarantino in his decision: “Quentin, here is Michael. I call to tell you that I really respect what you did tonight. It was important and had to be done.” The message ended with the words: “I’m on your side, buddy.”

Again and again Michael Madsen stood in front of the camera for master director Tarantino – after “Reservoir Dogs” followed “Kill Bill 1 and 2”, “The Hatublul Eight” and finally “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”.

According to “TMZ”, celebrities, including Sean Penn (64) and Daryl Hannah (64), were also present at the funeral service last Friday, which also included an exhibition with various memorial pieces by Michael Madsen.