'Reservoir Dogs' star Harvey Keitel pays tribute to Michael Madsen

Harvey Keitel finally broke his silence a day after his Reservoir Dog co-star Michael Madsen passed away at the age of 67.

Reacting to the shocking news of the actor’s passing, Keitel, 86, paid a moving tribute to Madsen, who shared the screen with him in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 crime thriller.

"We've lost another great American poet," he said in a statement to DailyMail. "Farewell, my dear friend."

The Pulp Fiction star continued, "I'll never forget one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen on film — of you and Chris Penn fighting in Reservoir Dogs."

"A great love scene. Give Chris a hug for me," he concluded. Iconic actor Sean Penn's younger brother Chris died in 2006 at the age of 40. He played Eddie Cabot in the 13-time award-winning film.

Keitel and Madsen played Vic Vega/Mr. Blonde and Larry Dimmick / Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs.

The late actor went on to star in three more Tarantino films, The Hateful Eight and Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.

For the unversed, Madsen was found "unresponsive" at his home in Malibu, California early Thursday morning, July 3.

Although his manager confirmed Madsen died from "cardiac arrest," lawyer Perry Wander claimed that the movie star drank himself to death and blamed the actor's two former wives for making him miserable.