Danny Trejo - 80: crazy facts about the life of the actor who died on screen 65 times (10 photos)

He spent 11 years in prison, overcame addiction and now helps others.





“Dead Man from Tombstone”, 2013. Photo: still from the film

On May 16, Danny Trejo turned 80 years old, an actor whose face you will never forget if you have seen him at least once. He himself says that he hates this face, because on it, like on a map, there are marks of Danny’s life path. And this path was very difficult - especially at the beginning. Having overcome difficulties, Trejo became a great actor in small but striking roles that have gone down in history forever.



“Operation Delta Farce”, 2007. Photo: still from the film

Trejo was born into a poor family in a dangerous area of Los Angeles. He dreamed of becoming a boxer, but there was no money for work. To make them appear, Danny began breaking into cars and stealing little things, and pretty quickly it turned into armed robberies, and then into drug trafficking. Trejo also used illegal substances himself. In total, he served 11 years in nine different prisons - and in each one he became a local boxing champion.





"Jaguar", 1996. Photo: still from the film

Danny got into cinema thanks to his prison connections. He came to the set at the request of a man whom he supervised in the Alcoholics Anonymous program. And there he met former cellmate Eddie Bunker, who became a screenwriter. He offered Trejo to work as an extra for $320 a day. Working hard at a construction site after prison, Danny didn’t earn that much in a month.



“The Fight”, 1995. Photo: still from the film

The film Trejo was taken to turned out to be “Runaway Train” by Andrei Konchalovsky. Danny's physical fitness and skills so impressed people on the court that Trejo was appointed personal trainer to Eric Roberts. The latter respected Danny and was even a little afraid. He obeyed his new mentor unquestioningly and did not dare to contradict anything. Noticing this, Konchalovsky gave Trejo a full-fledged role - a bandit with whom Roberts’ character will fight in the story. This is how Danny made his debut in a big movie.



“Con Air”, 1997. Photo: still from the film

Throughout his career, Trejo played essentially the same role. And really, who else to play with such external characteristics, if not murderers, thugs and generally inveterate scoundrels. True, sometimes Danny’s filmography included projects that were atypical for him in tone. So, he starred in Desperate Housewives. Moreover, he did it reluctantly, since he himself did not watch this show and knew nothing about it. But Trejo’s friends, those with whom he once sat together, learned about his new work, were so delighted that, returning to the set, Trejo asked Eva Longoria to sign several photographs for his friends.



“Machete Kills,” 2013. Photo: still from the film

Trejo calls the trash action movie “Machete” his favorite film. And not only because there Danny finally turned around to the fullest, but because there Trejo kissed Jessica Alba, thereby fulfilling the dream of millions. By the way, Trejo persistently asked his mother not to watch “Machete”, there was too much violence and debauchery on the screen, but she watched it anyway. And I was delighted!



Danny Trejo and Jessica Alba on the set of "Machete"

After leaving prison and quitting drugs and alcohol, Trejo firmly decided that he had to help others. He works with drug addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous, donates money to charity, opened a chain of taquerias where he employs young children from poor families, and participates in a project to protect Mexican workers on US farms. And once Danny helped save a child with autism. He was driving a car with his grandmother. There was an accident and the car overturned. Trejo climbed into the cabin, pulled the boy out of there, and calmed him down until the ambulance arrived. Since Danny worked a lot with autistic people, he knew well how to properly behave with a child before the specialists arrived.



“Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams”, 2003. Photo: still from the film

Coming from a Mexican family, Trejo knows a thing or two about Mexican cuisine. And he even wrote a cookbook, which included many of his mother’s gastronomic inventions. But Danny still keeps the recipe for his signature sauce a secret. According to Trejo, to obtain this recipe, "the spies would have to go through 12 fortified doors."



“Machete”, 2010. Photo: still from the film

The woman in the sombrero on Danny's chest is officially the most famous tattoo in the world. Of course, she was shown in more than 180 films! Tattoo Art magazine even held a vote for the most famous tattoo, of which this masterpiece became the winner. Moreover, they created the image for two whole years - from 1964 to 1967, when Trejo was in prison. Work had to be interrupted for good reasons - Trejo was either transferred to another prison, or sent to a punishment cell for attempting to rebel, or was caught preparing to escape.



“Desperado”, 1995. Photo: still from the film

Trejo is definitely the most "dying" actor. He has about 350 works in films and on TV, and he died in 65 of them, that is, in almost every fifth film. Another noteworthy fact: Danny's characters often have nicknames that are somehow related to sharp blades. Machete, Navaja (this is a Spanish knife) in “Desperado”, Razor in “From Dusk Till Dawn”, Cuchillo (also a knife) in “Predators”.