Danny Trejo

By Ed Donovan

I met Danny at the Spooky Film Festival here in Orlando. He was signing autographs and having his photo taken with fans. I approached him and asked if he would have time for an interview. He said “Yes I need to take a cigarette break in a few minutes.”

Before we got started on the interview I had read he was in a 12 step program for alcohol and drugs so to put him at ease I mentioned to him that I was sober 40 years and he grinned and said, “I’ve been sober 43 years.” “I laughed and said you had to beat me didn’t you. “

He said, “Can you believe this, I’ve spent most of my life in most of the hell hole prisons from San Quentin, Soledad and Alcatraz for crimes I was guilty of mostly armed robberies and drug offenses. Now I’m here talking with you Ed about my life as an actor”

I asked Danny, What was the turning point for you to change? He said “It was during the Cinco De Mayo  prison riots of 1968 when I found God in solitary confinement, where the words God Sucks  were written in the previous inmates excrement.  I then got involved with the 12 step program in prison.”

Trejo was born May 16, 1944 in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, to Mexican parents. He is the son of Alice Rivera and Dan Trejo, a construction worker.

Danny has over 250 film credits along with commercials and TV appearances. When asked how he got his start in acting he says “My first movie debut was as an extra in “Runaway Train” a part I got from reformed criminal Eddie Bunker. He hired me as Eric Roberts’ boxing trainer. Director Andrei Konchalovsky liked my work and gave me a better role in the film.”

I asked Danny about his relationship with Robert Rodriguez. He said  “He’s my second cousin. I didn’t find that out until we were shooting “Desperado”.  When I was down in Aculia, Mexico my relatives came down from San Antonio to visit me and my uncle says to me” Hey that’s your cousin”  So were lifelong friends now. I’ve done several films with him.

What can you tell me about the most recognizable tattoo on your chest? I understand it was voted the most recognized tattoo in the World by International Tattoo Magazine. The tattoo depicts a woman wearing a sombrero, how did you get it? “A friend of mine that I’ve known since I was 14 put it on me while I was in prison. He tattooed it on me with needle and thread.”

”What do you do now when you’re not making movies? “I travel a lot speaking at alcoholics Anonymous meeting, along with talking with students at various schools about what can happen to them.  I emphasize not everyone get a second chance of life as I did.”

Over the years Trejo has opened a series of successful Los Angeles restaurants. His first was Trejo's Tacos (2016), followed by Trejo's Cantina (2017), and Trejo's Coffee & Donuts (2017) a mobile food truck. The rainbow cauliflower tacos made the Los Angeles Times' list of 10 favorite recipes of 2017. The restaurants are overseen by executive chef Mason Royal. Their most recent venture will be an expansion of a donut food truck in Las Vegas Nevada.

Regarding his continued growth as a professional actor, Trejo has remarked, "I'm so blessed. I'm still scared that somebody's going to wake me up and say, 'Hey, we're still in prison. Let's go to chow”

For more on Danny Trejo’s film md television career go to: IMDB Danny Trejo.

Now whose the Villain?

Ed Donovan is a SAG-AFTRA member since 1982. He is a Writer, Biographer, Producer, Director, Screenwriter and the Editor of the Award winning online magazine, In Focus- Magazine. The magazine is linked World Wide with writers and readers throughout the World. For more on Ed Donovan go to IMDB,  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1105025/?ref_=rvi_nm