HOLLYWOOD actor Michael Madsen, in town to promote his Pinoy-made sci-fi film, ?Outrage,? describes this return trip to the Philippines as a ?spiritual journey.?

Madsen, 52, first came to the country in 2008 to make ?Road Raiders? with the late director/producer Cirio Santiago. ?I know he?s been cremated. I?ve come to pay my respects,? Madsen told Inquirer. ?I have fond memories of working here with Cirio.?

Friday morning shortly after arriving, the actor made sure to have some lambanog, a local coconut-based liquor. ?[The late Hollywood actor] David Carradine said it was good. He was right,? said Madsen.

He would like to visit Boracay Island in Aklan, the actor said. ?Sounds like a nice place. It?s good to get out of the US right now; a lot of bad things are going on in my country.?

One of the lead performers in memorable action movies ?Kill Bill? and ?Reservoir Dogs,? among others, Madsen was set to attend last night?s premiere of ?Outrage,? by Filipino filmmaker Ace Cruz, at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. Madsen is also scheduled to visit TV and radio studios before flying back to the United States on Aug. 27.

In ?Outrage,? Madsen plays Farragut, whom he describes simply as ?an ex-Marine spinner out to get some money.? The film is about a vacation gone wrong for a group of friends in Northern Georgia.

?I wish I had more time to work on the film,? said Madsen. ?I shot for only three days because I had to leave to make another film. But Ace is a genius who makes do with what he has. The movie didn?t suffer.?

Award-winning

?Outrage? won the 2009 Best Sci-Fi Picture award at the Action on Film (AOF) International Festival in Pasadena, California. It was later screened at the 2010 Cannes International Film Festival in France.

Madsen, known for character roles, said: ?I?m trying to get away from playing the bad guy. But with the US movie industry falling apart, I?m lucky to have a job. I was just so happy to do ?Outrage.? Hollywood seems obsessed with guys like Nick Cage, Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis. I do small films just to stay employed?I have five kids.?

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Emmy-winning poet/ TV producer Elaine Nelson and firefighter Calvin Madsen. Actress Virginia Madsen is his sister.

Madsen?s acting career began at the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, as an apprentice for John Malkovich. At 25, Madsen made his first movie, ?Against All Hope,? then appeared in small independent productions till he moved to Los Angeles in 1984. That year, he played baseball player Bump Bailey in ?The Natural? (1984).

He was also the tough boyfriend of Susan Sarandon in ?Thelma and Louise? (1991). In 1992, he landed the role of the razor-wielding, sadistic ex-con and jewel thief Mr. Blonde in the bloody Quentin Tarantino crime story, ?Reservoir Dogs.? He was also cast in ?Die Another Day? and the film version of the Frank Miller graphic novel, ?Sin City,? plus ?44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout? in 2003.

Last year, he appeared with Martin Sheen and Kirk Harris in the boxing film, ?Chamaco.? He is expected to reprise his role as Bob in ?Sin City 2,? currently in pre-production.

A poet, too

Madsen has been married since 1996 to Deanna Morgan. He has two sons with ex-wife Jeannine Basignano.

He is an accomplished poet. In 2005, 13 Hands Publications compiled his work and released ?The Complete Poetic Works of Michael Madsen, Vol I: 1995-2005.? The next year, he released his first book of photography, ?Signs of Life,? and dedicated it to ?Reservoir Dogs? co-star Chris Penn.