Michael Madsen Interview

Michael Madsen is known for his tough-guy, villainous roles in films like those in Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, and Donnie Brasco. His latest film, The Bleeding, deals with vampires and sees Madsen in the role of a priest. TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Ellen Stodola talked with Michael about his career, the film, and this role.

TheCelebrityCafe: The Bleeding, is coming out soon. What attracted you to it in particular? There are a lot of vampire movies out right now, what makes this one unique?

Michael Madsen: I didn’t actually know it was a vampire movie going into it. It started when I told someone that I had never played a priest before, so someone else heard that I’d said that. Then the guys who had the screenplay called me and asked if I’d be interested in being involved. I didn’t realize it was a vampire picture until I was already attached to the film. Going into the film, I just thought it would be fun, and I get to wear this priest outfit with a long cloak and everything, so it’s just a different and interesting experience.

TCC: What was your overall experience working on the film? Did you do your own stunts?

MM: I had a really good time with those guys. I like Charlie [Picerni], the director, a lot so it was a good experience. And yes, I usually do about 97% of own stunts. I’m kind of hard to double, but I did have one guy for a while as my double. I kind of like to do my own stunts though because it’s just the overall experience. Sometimes you have to step aside when the stuff gets really dangerous, but I feel like sometimes you have to do your own stunts to make the role seem real.

TCC: Tell me about your role in the film. You play a priest, correct? How does this role fit into the film as a whole? I don’t normally think of priests associated with vampires.

MM: Actually, my character is more like a priest with a gun. That’s one of the issues going on: he isn’t your traditional priest. He’s sort of helping to hunt down the vampires. My character’s name is Father Roy, and just so I don’t give too much away, all the questions about him should be answered seeing the movie. I like my character because he brings some morality. He’s less than a stereotypical bad priest, and we try to make fun of that in the film.

TCC: How did you first get your start in acting?

MM: I worked a lot of non-acting jobs for a really long time. They ranged from auto mechanic to landscaper to manual labor to working in a factory that made airplane parts. I even tried to go to school as a paramedic and ended up being an orderly in a hospital. I didn’t have much ambition, but I always had an idea in the back of my mind that I wanted to act. I would watch actors like Robert Mitchum, Humphrey Bogart and Kirk Douglas, and I understood them.

I met somebody when I was in school who was an actor and we took the train together. He was going to an audition and wanted me to come. I went with him, and when I was leaving, I was pulled aside and asked to audition even though I had never acted. I was asked for my phone number and address, but didn’t really want to give that out, but my sister, Virginia, had an agent and I gave him her name. Three days later, I ended up getting called to have a part in WarGames.

This was when I went to Los Angeles. I wasn’t on the set for that film for very long, but I just decided to stay out in California. Since I was from Chicago I felt lucky to be looking at a movie studio. I got a job in Beverly Hills pumping gas. A lot of famous film people like Warren Beatty, Jack London, John Cassavetes, and Don Knotts would come by the gas station, and it was just really interesting to see them in real life. One time, Warren Beatty even asked if I was an actor. This is pretty ironic looking back since Beatty was supposed to be the original Bill in Kill Bill and my character in the film would have been his brother.

TCC: Looking at your films, you do a lot of action/gangster type films, do you feel as though people tend to cast you in the same type of role?

MM: I do get cast in the same role a lot, but the truth is, I just want longevity. The thing is, I’d rather be stuck in a stereotype than be nowhere. The whole type-casting thing started because of Reservoir Dogs. And I did a bunch of other films like Wyatt Earp and Free Willy, but no one seems to remember those. The roles that I’m cast in gave people a certain idea of what I’m about. In one way it’s fine, and in another it isn’t. As long as I change once in a while, I’m fine. I’m in the system of the studio and filmmaking. Independent films are getting harder and harder to make, and it’s often very competitive to get roles, so in that way, I’m all right with being cast as the same type of character.

The Bleeding will out on DVD later this spring. It will also be at The Village Cinema East in New York from February 25 to March 3. You can like it on Facebook. Madsen currently has multiple projects in the works.