In a shocking turn of events, the late Michael Madsen lambasted Johnny Depp in what appears to have been his last interview. The Reservoir Dogs legend passed away on Thursday at 67, after being discovered unresponsive in his Malibu residence.
Famed for his iconic turns in Tarantino classics such as Kill Bill, Madsen’s final media appearance was next to Stephen Baldwin on the One Big Movie podcast. While Michael extolled Alec Baldwin, his sentiment towards Depp of Pirates of the Caribbean fame was less than complimentary.
Poster boy
This revelation followed Michael’s recounting of his once vast poster collection, lost when his house succumbed to the devastating Woolsey Fire in Malibu in 2018.
The conversation took an anecdotal detour when Stephen rang Alec during the podcast. Madsen reminisced about working with Alec’s former wife, Kim Basinger, on the 1994 film The Getaway and recounted a memorable prank Alec had played.
Pretending to be someone else with a comedic accent over the phone, Alec’s antics were well-remembered by Michael, prompting him to say with a chuckle: “‘Goddamnit, Alec, you’re the funniest mother f***er.”, reports the Mirror.
Mafia movie
Despite featuring alongside Johnny Depp in the acclaimed Mafia flick Donnie Brasco, Michael Madsen shared candid thoughts on his co-star’s hailed performance. The film saw Depp portraying an FBI agent delving deep undercover in the mob world, eventually being drawn into the very life he’s supposed to dismantle.
Madsen, who played Sonny Black, confessed to a sense of disillusionment with Johnny’s portrayal during a conversation. Professing bewilderment, he commented: “I don’t get it,” when discussion turned to Depp’s part.
“It just didn’t work for me,” he said, critiquing Johnny’s role. “There’s no way that guy would’ve been let into the family.”
‘Lifeless Depp’
Elucidating on Depp’s depiction in the mobster narrative, he added: “Yeah. It wasn’t terrible, it was just boring. It was lifeless. There was a lifelessness to it that I couldn’t comprehend. It made no sense to me.”
Tragically, Madsen passed away on Thursday, with suspicions pointing towards a cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department pointed out that there appears to be no signs of foul play involved.
A statement from his managers Susan Ferris and Ron Smith, along with publicist Liz Rodriguez, paid tribute: “In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions, and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life.”
Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, who will be missed by many.”