Michael Madsen. Credit :

Scott Kirkland/PictureGroup for The Game Awards/Shutterstock

• Michael Madsen died at the age of 67
• The actor’s longtime friend honored the Kill Bill star with a heartfelt tribute, sharing details about his final days
• Madsen was reportedly found unresponsive in his Malibu home on Thursday, July 3

Michael Madsen is being remembered by someone who knew him both professionally and personally, sharing details about his final days.

“I also spoke with [Michael’s] mother, who talked to him the night before he died, and I said to her that I almost felt like he was in a better place now,” his longtime attorney and close friend Perry Wander tells PEOPLE. “He came off like a tortured soul in some ways, and I just feel like it was for the best. I feel like he’s in a happier place now.”

Madsen died at the age of 67 after he was reportedly found unresponsive in his Malibu home on Thursday, July 3. The Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill actor was known for his tough, gritty characters on screen. But behind the scenes, he was deeply emotional and more vulnerable than many might have realized.

“Michael was one of the greatest actors of all time,” Wander continues. “I’ve represented him for 20 years, been friends with him for 20 years, and he was one of my closest friends. He was an emotional person, despite coming off as somewhat gruff.”

Michael Madsen. Monica Schipper/FilmMagic

In their final conversation just days before his passing, Madsen expressed a desire to move forward in his personal life. “I had spoken to him two days before his death, and he expressed the fact that he wanted his divorce finalized,” Wander says.

The actor filed for divorce from his estranged wife DeAnna in Los Angeles in September 2024. The two had been married since 1996.

Michael Madsen on April 21, 2014. Jerod Harris/Getty

While Madsen appeared in nearly 200 films and TV projects over his decades-long career, it was poetry — not acting — that he held closest to his heart.

“His true passion was his poetry, and he was really excited about his poetry book that was coming out soon,” Wander explains. “He would have preferred being known as a poet rather than an actor because with poetry you can express your true emotion, whereas with acting you have to play somebody else.”

Known for raw and reflective writing, Madsen published several collections throughout his life, including Burning in Paradise and Expecting Rain. 

In the end, those who knew him best remember not just his body of work but the emotion behind it.

Reps for Madsen confirmed the news of his death to PEOPLE. Per NBC4 Los Angeles, Madsen’s death appears to be from natural causes, with no foul play suspected, citing a local sheriff’s department. Madsen was pronounced dead after Los Angeles County deputies responded to a 911 call at his home, according to the outlet.

“What we understand is Michael had a cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive in his Malibu home earlier this morning,” Madsen’s manager Ron Smith told PEOPLE.