Michael Madsen miscast
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mercury4 — 14 years ago(February 08, 2012 11:38 PM)
"Madsen looks more Irish-American than Italian; which goes to show that he was just cast for his Reservior Dogs notoriety."
Agree 100%. I thought he was so out of place in this movie. Armand Assante or Sylvester Stallone would've made a great Sonny Black. Stallone even had the black hair. Pictures of the real Sonny Black remind me of Assante and Stallone. -
matt605 — 14 years ago(February 15, 2012 08:04 AM)
Stallone usually plays characters that the audience likes Rocky, Rambo, etc. If he played a gangster, he'd be the entire film. I liked his work in Copland though with Keitel, Liotta, and DeNiro. I haven't seen the other actor's work, which means he would fit into the general description of the character Madsen played. He would not have confused the audience over who the main characters were. Madsen was low-key in his style.
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manage-932-700755 — 14 years ago(February 21, 2012 06:54 PM)
I think Madsen was perfectly cast. Who cares if he looked Italian? He looked tough. Assante looks and is Italian, but more like the boss of the whole family, which was higher than the Sonnie Black role.
In "The Godfather" neither Marlon Brando nor James Caan looked Italian. It didn't matter. -
mercury4 — 14 years ago(February 24, 2012 04:11 AM)
For this part Madsen was very miscast. If you've seen pictures of the real Sonny Black or read about him, Michael Madsen is so wrong for the part. Even if it wasn't a real guy he was playing, Madsen is nowhere near believable as an Italian. As someone said, he looks Irish. Actually, I know a lot of people that think James Caan really is Italian. I told someone he was a Jew and they couldn't believe it. A lot of people think Edward G. Robinson was Italian. They'd be wrong again. He was also a Jew. Even Paul Muni, who played the original Scarface was a Jew. James Caan and Paul Muni were believable though in their parts. Casting Michael Madsen as an Italian is like casting Sylvester Stallone to play an Irishman. Michael Madsen looks so out of place.
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bigkua — 13 years ago(November 14, 2012 02:56 AM)
You're crazy. Brando looked extremely Italian to where people thought he was. And Caan not only looked but had the mannerisms down so good he was voted by Italians as being the most believable out of the cast.
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The_Angry_Critic — 13 years ago(December 08, 2012 09:39 AM)
Agreed with the OP, along with Pacino as well in my opinion. Madsen is an excellent actor and plays villians very well (Buck from Kill Bill being my favorite) but he just didn't fit. For some reason it just seemed like he was doing a bad Stevel Segal impersonation.
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cdz6969 — 13 years ago(January 30, 2013 02:31 PM)
He was very good as a gangster minus the Italian American caricatures one might expect to see on film from an NY Mafia boss. Still he wasn't a true Boss. He just ran his own crew, basically a Capo. Similar to Ralphie on the Sopranos and needed to kick up to the real boss every month.
To me, he didn't even try to have a real NY accent, so it wasn't that horrible to watch. Had they made him try to sound like Depp or even Pacino, then you guys have a right to complain.. but the way he played the role, he had stage presence and bravado, which was what you really need. Overall I'd give him a B+..
Jesus would support Universal Health Care -
NotForMeThanks — 9 years ago(June 10, 2016 03:11 AM)
I have to agree. He's a good actor and sure, he looks imposing but something about his presence just didnt fit.
I agree with the poster tha said he doesn't look like he belongs in the mob. Like he's from Upstate, NY or something.
Odd because Johnny Depp who was very pretty and never did a mob movie before this, was able to be more believable as a mob guy in the movie.
Another poster said his lack of accent, which I noticed and I think that had something to do with it. He just wasn't that believable as being Sonny Black, true blue Italian New Yorker.
It's hard to pin point EXACTLY why he didnt fit but just something about his presence did not fit.
He did a good job acting wise but something just didnt fit. Maybe it is his looks? Maybe the demeanor he went about playing wasn't as mobster like but more like a regular tough guy.
Not all Italians look the same, obviously. But just something was off about his presence in the movie. -
BigRich — 9 years ago(January 26, 2017 08:56 PM)
Madsen is an excellent actor and plays villians very well (Buck from Kill Bill being my favorite) but he just didn't fit.
You're trippin' he didn't play Buck in Kill Bill, lol! That was
Michael Bowen
.
_
Every person that served can be called a veteran, but not every veteran can be called a Marine. -
SausagePourVous — 13 years ago(March 06, 2013 06:52 AM)
If were just talking actors,italian actors,then exactly how italian does Joe Pantoliano look? Still with Bound and his work on the Sopranos,he is one of the best actors around to portray a sociopathic gangsteror was. Not all but much is in the portrayal,not just supposed heritage.
I personally think this is Madsens best work and he does the best work in the film,along with Pacino. How italian Depp looks,Im not even gonna touch with a 70-feet pole.
I watch a film to be entertained,moved or intrigued. If I were to watch this film first,love everythiung about it,then watch a documentary about Donnie Brasco and go"Wait a minute. Sonny Black didnt look a bit like Michael Madsenno,Madsen didnt work when I think about it." That would just be plain stupid.
And anyone thinking he looks irish,I have no idea what kind of irish people youve met but his face and voice is a bit from the stereotypical irish mug. So saying Michael Madsen doesnt work is saying he doesnt work as a gangster more or less,which in his case is saying he doesnt work as an actor to a large degreeopinions differ.
Alot of people watched gangsterfilms in the 2000s and then saw this film and thought he just was repeating what they already had seen. The problem is he perfected his gangsterpersona here,he played it lowkey,not like in the years to come. Anyone who thinks he gives the impression of not being a hard,violent sociopath as Black obviously see a real bad muthafu
Think he is cherokee,irish,danish and something else. As italian,especially concidering many being watered down coming over from the old land,he worked.
Assantes best role is without a doubt in Q & A,as Bobby Tex,there he got the mannerisms down perfect as a minor drug kingpinwho would not have worked at all if he was italian. If Assante got the part and he played it like in American Gangster,amusing but very selfconcious parody of Brando in the Godfather,complete with mumbling and allI dont know,would be fun but maybe not good. One things for certain,both guys deserved way better careers.
So its a film and we establish that at least looking like the real Sonny is extremely irrelevant. We dont even get to see what should be the films climax,Pistone ratting,we actually get the opposite(Fu
Kirby looked way too harmless and not even a hint of italian(though looks dont always matter,its about violence and being effective) and Russos halvdeveloped character with a confused,unspoken grudge against Donnie/Joey are more off base. -
Raven0024 — 12 years ago(July 11, 2013 08:44 PM)
I think he was excellent & I thought he was Italian the first time I saw it. Stallone I don't think so. Assante was perfect as Gotti but I think Michael was the perfect choice. He's a real badass but very likable. So what that he doesn't look like the real guy, Johnny doesn't look like Pistone either. Speaking as a woman they did Pistone & Sonny B major justice by having such gorgeous men playing them.
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MIJACology — 12 years ago(July 28, 2013 10:12 PM)
I kindly disagree.
Armand Assante would probably look more like the real Sonny Black, and yes he is Italian, but Michael Madsen is scary.
That scariness is what was needed to create the tension in this film that was felt by Joe Pistone during his years undercover. You identify with the lead character (Donnie Brasco) as he navigates shark infested waters to complete his mission as a mole. Michael Madsen is one of the only actors that can really scare a person without the typical cliche horror movie soundtrack to go along with a movie. He's scary just by turning around and looking at you. -
Getoboy730 — 12 years ago(August 06, 2013 05:01 PM)
WHile I think Madsen did a great job, mainly because he's very intimidating. I read about Sonny Red and Madsen fits his description better.
And Stallone coulda worked. In the 70's he play believable gangsters. He was Frank Nitti in Capone and did a great job. It probably helped his career almost as much as Rocky did. I saw him play another gangster in a different movie, not sure of the name, but he works as a mobster. However, at this point of his career, casting Stallone woulda made the movie look like a mob spoof, like when he played Snaps Provolone in Oscar.
Asante coulda done it. But it shoulda him as Black and Madsen as Red. That said, Sonny Red's actor did a great job. And Bruno Kirby seemed like the only one out of place. And that's why he got smacked by Madsen. Just kidding on the last sentence.
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