Danny Trejo - biography, filmography and best movies with the actor

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Life is an amazing thing, full of surprises, sometimes pushing into the abyss, and sometimes raising to a pedestal. The clearest example of this is Danny Trejo, whose biography seems incredible. This man, thanks to a happy accident, was able to drastically change his fate and rise from the very bottom of society to the shining heights.

The birthplace of the actor

Danny Trejo was born on May 16, on a wonderful spring day. It was 1944, somewhere in distant Europe they were bombing, shooting, killing, but in Los Angeles, the homeland of little Danny, it was quiet and calm. It seemed that the bloody war did not touch this paradise. However, even here prosperity was only visible. During these years, there were many laws in Los Angeles that restricted the rights of Hispanics. They were forbidden to live in decent areas, they were not hired for good work, and where they did, they paid mere pennies. In addition, many gangs operated in the city, drug trafficking and prostitution flourished, and armed raids and robberies werecommonplace. It was in this environment that Danny Trejo Jr. grew up.

Difficult childhood

The father of the future actor, Dan Trejo Sr., is an American with Mexican roots. To feed his family, he was forced to bend his back at construction sites all day long. Danny's mother, Alice Rivera, of Spanish origin, also worked all day. Danny was on his own. The street took over his upbringing. A quick-witted, agile and fast boy took part in fights more than once, committed petty thefts and raids on shops in a group of street boys like him. The police repeatedly brought him to justice, but did not subject him to serious punishments due to his young age. On the outskirts of the city, in a simple trailer, lived the younger brother of his father, unemployed, not engaged in anything traveling. When Danny Trejo was 9 years old, he gave his nephew to smoke weed. At 12, he treated him to cocaine, and then offered to do a profitable business - drug trafficking. For this, young Trejo went to jail.

Crazy youth

Los Angeles streets taught Danny a lot. There he received his first lessons in fisticuffs, learned to box. He liked boxing. The remarkable strength of the iron fists allowed him to emerge victorious in battles many times. Danny Trejo in his youth even dreamed of seriously pursuing a career as a boxer, but life turned out differently. In 1963, he was arrested for robbery and drugs and, by a court sentence, was sent to Tracy Prison for two years. Danny expected to be released soon, but his prison life lasted for a long 11years. Trejo failed to become a model prisoner. Behind bars, he often fought, tried to escape several times. For this, he was given a term and transferred to other prisons. For 11 years he has traveled to Soledad, Falsom, Sierra, Vacanville and many others. But Trejo did not waste time and used every free minute to improve his boxing skills, since there are gyms in American prisons.

First steps to glory

In America, for the purpose of educational work, sports competitions are held between prisoners. Trejo took part in boxing and became the champion of the state of Pennsylvania, and immediately in lightweight and middle weight. His fame as an excellent boxer quickly spread through prisons. The inmates began to respect and even fear Trejo. Danny, whose height is only 1 meter and 69 centimeters, could knock out anyone. But the prison, having raised him on a pedestal, did not rid him of drug addiction, because castles, guards and prison walls are not an insurmountable obstacle to drugs. Once, during an Indian holiday, Danny and his cellmates got drunk and stoned. Out of nowhere, a fight broke out. The police rushed to restore order, and someone launched a stone into the head of one of them. They blamed Trejo for everything and put him in a punishment cell for almost 4 months. There, Danny decided for himself to quit drug addiction. Subsequently, it became for him another stepping stone to fame.

Happy twist of fate

In order to finally get rid of drugs, future actor Danny Trejo agreed to become a participant in the 12 Steps program, one of the eventswhich are meetings of group members, their stories about the achievements in life without drugs, as well as helping others. After leaving prison, Trejo did not know what to do. His capital was equal to zero, he had no professional skills, except for boxing, he did not shine with a beautiful appearance. It is not known how his life would have turned out if at one of the meetings of the group of anonymous addicts he had not met with former cellmate Eddie Bunker. He recognized the boxing champion and after a while called him with a request to help a friend resist the drug temptation. Eddie Bunker at that time became a respected person, a screenwriter, just working with Andrei Konchalovsky on the film Runaway Train.

First role

Arriving, as requested by Bunker, in Hollywood, Trejo got on the set, where they were filming prison scenes. Seeing "prisoners" with the wrong tattoos and never sniffing prison life made Danny cheer. The guy who needed to be saved from drugs suggested that he play a convict, after asking Danny if he would pull such a role. This amused Trejo even more. He easily fit into the crowd, because he had to portray himself. When he was given an orange robe, Danny began to change clothes, but the director, amazed at his tattoos, suggested that he play naked to the waist. They paid Danny $15 a day and he was quite happy. But Eddie Bunker, remembering Trejo's wonderful fights, invited him to become a consultant to a young actor who also plays a prisoner andabsolutely unable to fight. Bunker promised a salary of as much as 320 dollars a day. Trejo happily agreed. One of his workouts with Eric Roberts - that was the name of that actor - was seen by Andrei Konchalovsky. The beefy, stern consultant with the face of a typical bandit struck him. Konchalovsky gave a small role of a boxer in his film to an unknown Danny Trejo. The filmography of the future star has begun.

Unstoppable career growth

The film "Runaway Train" was released and began to break all records. He even participated in the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar for best male roles in the first and second plan. And although Danny Trejo appeared there only in an episode, offers rained down on the aspiring actor. The vast majority of these were the roles of villains. Danny didn't refuse. He believes that bad guy roles are just as important as good guy roles because they teach that evil is always punishable. Trejo played most often in episodes, and all his remarks were reduced to two words: "Piss of reptiles!" etc. Gangster in Locked Up, Poacher in Anaconda, Hector in Marked for Death, Johnny 23 in Con Air, Jump in Gambling, Kumara in Jaguar, Navajas in Desperate”, bartender Charlie in the blockbuster “From Dusk Till Dawn” is all Danny Trejo. The actor's filmography includes about 270 films, and of course, it is difficult to list them all in a short article. The actor had a chance to work with such world stars as Antonio Banderas, George Clooney, Mel Gibson, Steven Seagal, Lady Gaga, Nicolas Cage and others. Especiallyhe speaks warmly of Robert de Niro, with whom everything is especially easy.

Main roles

In 2010, the list of films with Danny Trejo included the tape "Machete". In it, the actor played the main role. Robert de Niro, also involved in this film, heartily congratulated his partner, to which he offered to bring coffee to the star. Such is he, Danny Trejo, despite his fame, remaining a simple guy from the people. Danny sincerely believes that a star can only be considered for the public. And for yourself you need to be just a man. Machete was directed by Robert Rodriguez, Danny's second cousin. An eminent relative often invited him to his paintings, but not only in a family way, but also for the excellent acting and human qualities of a stern cousin. In 2013, a sequel to the tape called "Machete Kills" was released. Danny has proven that he can do more than play in short episodes. Now he began to be invited to the main roles more often. Moreover, Danny began acting not only in cool action movies, where rivers of blood flow, but also in comedies. With pleasure, he took part in the Russian film "Courier from Paradise". Russian actors Hollywood star liked.

Curious facts from the life of a star

Danny Trejo, having starred in more than two hundred films, decided to try his hand as a producer. His first production work was the film "Pet Factory", then there were the tapes "Night Hunter", "Jack's Law" and others. Danny also takes an active part in voicing cartoons for children. Athe himself has three children (according to some sources - five from different marriages). The actor keeps his personal life a secret. It is only known that he was married to Debbie Trejo and had already divorced her. Danny loves dogs, enjoys being photographed and signing autographs. He willingly speaks in schools and prisons, where he talks about what drugs are and what they can lead to. A distinctive feature of this wonderful person is his willingness to act in the films of young, yet unknown directors who are not able to offer the star a decent fee.