Michael Madsen has been axed from his next movie following his arrest for driving under the influence (DUI).
The 61-year-old actor was recently charged with two misdemeanour offences after crashing his car into a pole last month and now he’s been informed he’s lost his $100,000 role as an NYPD officer in ‘Chronicle of a Serial Killer’, with sources confirming to TMZ that he was dropped as a result of his run-in with the law.
Filming on the movie is scheduled to begin in New York next month and producers were said to be worried Michael wouldn’t be available because sentencing guidelines mean he could be sentenced to between four and 364 days in prison as he’s been convicted of a DUI offence in the past.
James Russo has just signed up for the movie alongside Tara Reid, DMX and Brendan Sexton III, so is expected to take on what would have been Michael’s role.
After the ‘Hateful Eight’ star was arrested in Malibu last month, his lawyer claimed the crash was likely due to him taking prescription medication at a different time than he usually does.
His attorney, Perry Wander, said: "We are waiting for the blood report but we suspect that his accident was caused by side effects to medication that he was taking under a doctor’s care.
"It works better when taken at night before bed and he took it earlier. Modifying the timing of drugs to achieve the greatest benefit with the lowest risk of unpleasant side effects is called drug chronotherapy."
In 2013, Michael was court ordered to enrol in rehab for 30-days after he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The actor was pulled over by police in 2012 for "erratically" driving a red sports car along the California coast – however a plea deal was met which involved attending regular alcoholics anonymous meetings.
Michael Madsen loses movie role
