Remembering Michael Madsen, who voiced Toni Cipriani in GTA 3

On July 3, 2025, actor Michael Madsen passed away. You could see him in many Quentin Tarantino films and hear his voice in various video games, including the third GTA. In this article, we will briefly analyze his creative path.

Michael was born in Chicago. Before becoming a film actor, he tried many professions, from a painter to an ambulance attendant. At some point, the guy even led his own teenage gang. But we owe his acting career to director Martin Brest, known for the films Scent of a Woman and Meet Joe Black. It was he who convinced the guy to try himself on the theater stage. And in 1983, at the age of 26, Madsen appeared in his first full-length film. His film debut was the techno-thriller WarGames, which plays on the possibility of nuclear war involving supercomputers and teenagers who confuse the game with reality.

But Michael's first big role was Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. It was there that his image of a charming bad guy was formed. He would return to this role throughout his career.

Tarantino often cast Madsen in his films. The actor appeared in the Kill Bill duology, as well as in the films The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood. It was planned that he would play Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, but the actor was busy working on the western Wyatt Earp at that time, so the role went to John Travolta. Michael later admitted that he made the wrong choice and regrets it.

Madsen's other credits include the corrupt cop Bob from the first Sin City, Black Sonny from Donnie Brasco, and Maugrim from the first Chronicles of Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe).

Michael has also appeared in TV series, including Quantum Leap, CSI: Miami, 24, and Miami Vice. The latter was one of the main sources of inspiration for GTA: Vice City.

Michael has been invited to voice video game characters from time to time. He voices John Tanner in the third Driver, Don Rafferetti in True Crime: Streets of LA, Dowd in the Dishonored series, Futoshi Shimano in the first Yakuza, and William Carver, the main villain of the second season of The Walking Dead from Telltale Games. We can also note the official game based on Reservoir Dogs. In it, Mr. Blonde's appearance is based on Madsen.

Michael also appeared on the cover of the co-op shooter Crime Boss: Rockay City, which many perceived as a worse analogue of Payday 2. It featured a surprisingly large number of famous actors and actresses, including Chuck Norris, Danny Trejo and Kim Basinger. However, this did not help the game itself.

But the very first game Madsen worked on was the third GTA. He gave his voice to the mafia boss Toni Cipriani. Many decided that we have a comedy character in front of us, a kind of parody of the head of the Soprano clan from the series of the same name. Meanwhile, the character is remembered largely thanks to Madsen's voice. Tony's fate after the death of his boss Salvatore remains unknown. Fans assume that it was he who eventually took control of the Leone family's activities.

It should be noted that Cipriani turned out to be the main character of Liberty City Stories, the prequel to GTA 3. But there he was voiced by another actor — Daniel Mastrogiorgio.

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What works of Michael Madsen do you remember? Share your opinions in the comments!