Reservoir Dogs Actors You May Not Know Are Dead

"Reservoir Dogs" came to help define not only both indie movies and crime films but cinema itself for an entire generation. It also put writer-director Quentin Tarantino on the map — even though his true breakthrough came by way of "Pulp Fiction" two years later, and only then did "Reservoir Dogs" retroactively get the full attention and acclaim it truly deserved. On top of all that, with the possible exception of Harvey Keitel, every cast member either counts "Reservoir Dogs" as their breakthrough role, the role that pushed them over into mainstream recognition, or the role that helped introduce them to a whole new generation.

As time has passed, several members of the legendary ensemble that helped bring "Reservoir Dogs" to life have unfortunately passed away. Some were steadily working actors who continued to amass roles in the years after — including one that had several more major collaborations with Tarantino — while others were already in the twilight of their careers and only appeared in a few more projects. From guys who were part of the main crew of "Reservoir Dogs" and had their own color-coded nicknames, to characters who were outside that group but still served an important role within the relatively small cast, these are the actors from Tarantino's feature directorial debut that are no longer with us. 

It isn't easy for an actor to have a more famous sibling, but that's especially true if your more famous sibling happens to be Sean Penn. Even so, Chris Penn carved out quite a respectable career for himself, actually only appearing in two films with his brother. In fact, it might be specifically because he wasn't constantly co-starring in things with Sean that Chris did such a good job at differentiating himself, his career, and his acting style.

His "Reservoir Dogs" role as "Nice Guy Eddie" Cabot is definitely one of his most iconic, but it's not a given that this is the role he's best known for. Chris also appeared in hit movies like "Footloose," "Best of the Best," and "Rush Hour," and he was also in the Quentin Tarantino-written (but not directed) "True Romance." In addition to Tarantino, Chris got the opportunity to work with other dream directors like Robert Altman, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola. He also scored a voice role in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," one of the most popular video games of all time. He died of complications from heart disease in 2006. He was only 40 years old. 

While Mr. Blue (Edward Bunker) doesn't have an especially huge part in the main cohort of "Reservoir Dogs" and also lacks any particular stand out trait — he's not the nervous one, the loose canon, the brains, the muscle, etc. — he does have strong opinions about Madonna. After the movie's iconic discussion about the supposed true meaning of the pop star's megahit "Like a Virgin," Mr. Blue mentions that he was a fan until her "Papa Don't Preach" era.

Bunker was perhaps more qualified to play a criminal in "Reservoir Dogs" than anyone else in the cast. At 17 years old, he became the youngest inmate at the infamous California prison San Quentin, making him an actual convicted felon. But Bunker turned his life around, eventually writing several novels and appearing in not only "Reservoir Dogs" but also "The Running Man," "Tango & Cash," and the 2005 remake of "The Longest Yard," to name just a few of his many films. He died in 2005 at age 71 during surgery to improve bad circulation resulting from diabetes. 

The man who assembles the team and plans the heist in "Reservoir Dogs" is gangster Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney). It's Joe's idea that the men all be as unfamiliar to one another as possible, and that they only know one another by code names, reasoning that familiarity just gets in the way and leads to mistakes and double crosses. To say Tierney is a Hollywood veteran would be an understatement. His filmography stretches all the way back to the 1940s, where his intimidating size and presence were already being put to use in playing legendary tough guys like Jesse James and John Dillinger.

After he became an actor, Tierney stayed busy, never going more than a few years without an acting role. His most noteworthy films after "Reservoir Dogs" (which contains a nod to his breakthrough role, with Joe noting that one his henchmen is as "dead as Dillinger") were "Junior," "2 Days in the Valley," and "Armageddon," in which he played Eddie "Gramp" Stamper. His final screen credit was in a 1999 film called "Evicted." He died three years later of pneumonia following complications from an earlier stroke. He was 82 years old. 

There's a secret lurking in the credits of "Pulp Fiction" that only true fans know about. It relates to actor Robert Ruth, who is credited as "Coffee Shop." Fans dug into it, and the reason Ruth got such an unusual credit was eventually figured out: During the film, his character aims to tell robber Ringo (Tim Roth) that he's "just a coffee shop manager." He's interrupted by Ringo, and all he ends up saying is, "I'm just a coffee shop–" before he is cut off. Quentin Tarantino decided to have a little fun with that in the end credits, and take the character literally in calling himself a coffee shop. What does all this have to do with "Reservoir Dogs," you're probably wondering?

Well, Ruth was in that movie, too, as one of the cops who is shot by the gang. He doesn't have any lines and has very little screen time, but he's indeed a credited member of the film's small cast. Tarantino fans will obviously better know Ruth from "Pulp Fiction," but he was also in the filmmaker's debut feature and is still worth memorializing among the other departed cast members. Ruth also played small roles in the movie "Catch Me If You Can" and the TV shows "Mannix," "Mission: Impossible," "Frasier," and "Everybody Loves Raymond." The latter, alongside "Reservoir Dogs," were his two most frequently mentioned projects in articles about his 2018 passing at age 82 from complications of pneumonia.  

When considering the most iconic scene from every Quentin Tarantino movie, there's little question which one gets that honor in "Reservoir Dogs" — when Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) dances his way to removing the ear of a hostage. It's the kind of scene that will be included in every montage of both Madsen's and Tarantino's work forevermore. And even with over 300 screen credits to his name, Madsen will always be heavily associated with his collaborations with Tarantino, which also include "Kill Bill: Volume 2," "The Hateful Eight," and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." 

That being said, even if you took all of Tarantino's movies out of Madsen's filmography entirely, he still wouldn't be remotely lacking in noteworthy films. "Thelma & Louise," "Donnie Brasco," "Die Another Day," "Sin City," "The Natural," "WarGames," "Species," and "Wyatt Earp" are just a few of Madsen's many well-known movies. And that's to say nothing of also appearing on TV shows like "St. Elsewhere," "Miami Vice," "Quantum Leap," "CSI: Miami," and "24." On July 3, 2025, Madsen was found unresponsive in his home and pronounced dead at age 67. A few days later, the cause of death was determined to be heart failure related to heart disease and other contributing factors.