Quotes from Michael Madsen

I don't love being an actor, but I'm not qualified to be anything else. I was an auto mechanic and drove a tow truck and tried to go to school to be a paramedic.

When you play a character that's someone real, when you're playing a true story, it's really great 'cause you're not pretending to make up some silly thing.

You know, every movie you make can't be great, no matter who you are.

My career has been very strange. My career is like a heart monitor. I get involved in a good project now and then to keep things going. And then I make things that I work on that I hope are going to be good so I can make a living and keep a roof over the heads of those little monsters I have in my house.

I don't walk around the street thinking, 'I'm Michael Madsen,' but then again, I am that guy, and sometimes people do take notice of me. Sometimes it's really not comfortable.

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 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 typecasting 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.

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.

Kids are a great excuse for you to stop acting like one.