Danny Trejo Biography

Dan Trejo was born on May 16, 1944, in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA, to Dionisio Trejo, a construction worker, and his wife Alice Rivera. He is of Mexican descent.

During his late-teens and 20s, Trejo was jailed several times on drug possession and robbery charges, serving terms in legendary prisons, such as ‘Folsom State Prison’ and ‘San Quentin State Prison.’ During his incarceration in San Quentin, he channeled his energy and focused on boxing, winning multiple championships in the prison’s lightweight and welterweight divisions.

To combat drug addiction, he attended a 12-step program, which helped him to overcome his addiction. He worked as a labor foreman before his acting career took off.

Danny Trejo wanted to give back to his community by reaching out to young people and help them fight against drug addiction and other problems. Thus, he worked tirelessly on various rehabilitation and counseling programs.

During this period, he was requested by a struggling teenager to assist him in dealing with his cocaine addiction. Trejo met him on the sets of the film ‘Runaway Train’ in 1985 and was recognized by screenwriter Edward Bunker, an ex-convict, who hired him to train Eric Roberts for a boxing scene. Director Andrei Konchalovsky later offered Trejo a small part in the project.

He then went on to land acting roles in various other projects. In 1987, he acted in ‘Penitentiary III,’ ‘The Hidden,’ and ‘Death Wish 4: The Crackdown.’ He followed that up with films, such as ‘Bulletproof’ (1988), ‘Lock Up’ (1989), ‘Marked For Death’ (1990), ‘Wedlock’ (1991), ‘Nails’ (1992), ‘Last Light’ (1993), and ‘Against the Wall’ (1994). He then became part of the cast of Michael Mann’s directorial venture ‘Heat’ (1995), which also included actors like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

He was then cast in projects like ‘Point Blank’ (1998), ‘Animal Factory’ (2000), ‘Bubble Boy’ (2001), ‘The Devil's Rejects’ (2005), ‘Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror’ (2006), ‘Delta Farce’ (2007), ‘Grindhouse’ (2007), ‘Valley of Angels’ (2008), ‘Zombie Hunter’ (2013), ‘The Book of Life’ (2014), and ‘All About the Money’ (2017).

Trejo has also starred in several Hollywood blockbusters, including ‘Anaconda’ (1997), ‘Con Air’ (1997), ‘XXX’ (2002), and ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’ (2004). Apart from the ‘Spy Kids’ franchise, his collaboration with Rodriguez has produced films like ‘Desperado’ (1995), ‘From Dusk till Dawn’ (1996), ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’ (2003), and ‘Predators’ (2010).

In the 2012 action film ‘Bad Ass,’ Trejo portrayed ‘Frank Vega,’ a Vietnam War veteran. He then reprised his role as ‘Frank Vega’ in its sequels ‘Bad Asses’ (2014) and ‘Bad Asses on the Bayou’ (2015). He played a criminal named ‘Jack’ in Philip Shih’s crime horror ‘Reaper’ (2014).

Trejo is equally good at playing characters on the small screen. He has also guest-starred in some of the biggest TV shows of the last two decades. He has appeared in ‘Baywatch,’ ‘Alias,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘Monk,’ ‘Bones,’ and ‘The Family Guy’ to name a few.

In 2017, Trejo was seen as a guest on the popular TV show ‘Hell's Kitchen’ in the 16th season's final dinner service.

He played the supporting role of ‘Santos’ in the 2019 action film ‘Acceleration.’

In 2020, he was seen in many TV shows, such as ‘Paragon,’ ‘Victor & Valentino,’ ‘Dynasty,’ ‘Muppets Now,’ and ‘My American Family.’

Danny Trejo is best known for portraying the character of ‘Machete’ in several films. While he has often portrayed antagonists, director Rodriguez has always cast him in roles that the audience can sympathize with.

When they first met, Rodriguez thought that Trejo could pull off such characters portrayed by actors like Charles Bronson and Jean Claude Van Damme. He then came up with a character named ‘Machete.’ The gradual development of the character Isador “Machete” Cortez coincided with Danny Trejo’s rising popularity.

Trejo first portrayed the role in the 2001 adventure comedy film ‘Spy Kids,’ which starred Antonio Banderas as Machete’s brother ‘Gregorio Cortez.’ It also starred Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara as his niece ‘Carmen’ and nephew ‘Juni’ respectively. He also appeared in its sequels, ‘Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams’ (2002), ‘Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over’ (2003), and ‘Spy Kids: All the Time in the World’ (2011).

In 2010, the film ‘Machete’—featuring Trejo in the lead role—premiered to rave reviews and earned US $14 million in its first weekend at the box-office in America. The film is a bloody and violent tale of hatred and vengeance. Trejo reprised the role in its sequel ‘Machete Kills’ (2013), which won him an ‘Eyegore Award.’

In 2007, Danny Trejo won the ‘Best Actor Award’ for ‘Valley of Angels’ at the ‘New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.’

He was inducted into the ‘Texas Film Hall of Fame’ on March 8, 2012.

For ‘The Weight of Blood and Bones’ (2015), he received the ‘Best Picture Trophy’ (shared with Chris Ekstein) at the 2016 ‘United International Film Festival.’

Danny Trejo married actress and realtor Debbie Shreve on December 12, 1997. They have two children, Gilbert and Dannielle. After 12 years of marriage, they divorced in 2009. Trejo is also the father of Danny Boy, Jose, and Esmeralda from other relationships.

He currently resides in San Fernando Valley. He is an ardent fan of ‘Los Angeles Rams’ and ‘Los Angeles Dodgers.’

Apart from having a thriving career in the entertainment industry, Trejo has also made a name for himself as an investor, particularly in the food and beverage sector. He is the owner of a successful restaurant chain in Los Angeles, including a taco restaurant in La Brea Avenue. He has also begun to operate a doughnut food truck in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the majority shareholder of numerous brands of coffee, beer, ice cream, sandwiches, baseball caps, and shirts.

In 2005, director Joe Eckardt made ‘Champions,’ an award-winning documentary on Danny Trejo’s life.

The Mexican alternative rock band ‘Plastilina Mosh’ composed the track ‘Danny Trejo’ for their third album ‘All U Need Is Mosh’ (2008) as a tribute to the actor.

Danny Trejo once worked as a youth drug counselor, using his own experiences overcoming addiction to help others.

He started his acting career in 1985 after being discovered by a film director while working as a drug counselor.

Danny Trejo is a successful restaurateur, owning several locations of his popular Mexican restaurant chain, Trejo's Tacos.

He is a dedicated animal lover and has worked with various organizations to promote animal welfare and adoption.

Despite his tough-guy image on-screen, Danny Trejo is known for his kind and approachable demeanor off-screen, often taking time to interact with fans and participate in community events.