One Problematic Reservoir Dogs Actor Tried To Punch Michael Madsen In The Face

"Reservoir Dogs" centers on one of the most chaotic movie heists of all time — one that quickly descends into an equally chaotic standoff that leaves virtually everyone involved riddled with bullets. Hence, it may come as no surprise to learn that things were just as wild behind the scenes on the film.

Mr. Blonde, as played by the late, great Michael Madsen (who sadly passed away on July 3, 2025), steals Quentin Tarantino's feature directing debut with his infamous torture routine set to the slick song "Stuck in the Middle with You." However, even the character's colorful personality paled in comparison to the reputation of the cast's most problematic actor: Lawrence Tierney.

Tierney had a long history of playing mobsters in classic Hollywood pictures like "Dillinger," and off-screen, he did his best to live up to that tough guy image. He was a notorious drinker with a reputation for starting bar fights wherever he went. In fact, he was even stabbed during one of these altercations in 1973. So, when Tarantino cast the veteran in the role of mob boss Joe Cabot in "Reservoir Dogs," the film's producers gave him a strict rule to never, ever let Tierney drink during the production. Unfortunately, this ultimately teed up a fateful clash with Madsen.

Madsen, ever the rule breaker, took pleasure in flaunting the rule set by the film's producers, and so he and co-star Tim Roth took the first opportunity they could to take Tierney out for drinks at the famed Hollywood steakhouse known as Musso and Frank's. Tierney quickly got "really loaded," as Madsen once told The After Movie Diner, and proceeded to walk outside onto Hollywood Boulevard and drop his pants in the middle of the street.

As if that wasn't hectic enough, Tierney began to badger Madsen to give him 20 bucks. When Madsen declined his demand, Tierney persisted until he got so riled up he took a "wild crazy swing" at Madsen. As the latter recalled:

"I backed off, and he missed me by inches. I felt the breeze. God bless him, he's passed away now, but he was quite a character."

Madsen wasn't the only one to clash with Tierney during production. Quentin Tarantino called him a "complete lunatic" by the time he made it on set, and he made their first week of shooting extremely challenging. At the very end of that week, Tarantino fired him, and "the whole crew burst into applause."

Far from feeling empowered, Tarantino feared this would be the death knell to his career before he had even finished the first week of filming on his first movie. Luckily, one of the more responsible members of his cast, Harvey Keitel, was able to assuage the film's producers that everything was under control, and the rest is cinema history.