Life is an amazing thing, full of surprises, sometimes pushing into the abyss, and sometimes elevating to the pedestal. The clearest example of this is Danny Trejo, whose biography seems incredible. This man, thanks to a happy occasion, was able to drastically change his fate and from the very bottom of society to rise to the shining peaks.
Actor’s homeland
Danny Trejo was born on May 16, on a wonderful spring day. It was 1944, somewhere in faraway Europe they bombed, shot, killed, but in Los Angeles, the birthplace of little Danny, it was quiet and calm. It seemed that a bloody war did not touch this paradise. However, here, well-being was only visible. During these years, there were many laws in Los Angeles restricting the rights of Hispanics. They were forbidden to live in decent areas, they were not hired for good work, and wherever they hired, they were paid pennies. In addition, many gangs were operating in the city, drug trafficking and prostitution flourished, and armed raids and robberies were commonplace. It was in this setting that Danny Trejo, Jr. grew up.
Difficult childhood
The father of the future actor, Dan Trejo, Sr. is an American with Mexican roots. In order to feed his family, he was forced to bend his back at construction sites for days on end. Danny's mother, Alice Rivera, a Spanish by birth, also worked all day. Danny was left to his own devices. His upbringing took up the street. A smart, quick and agile boy took part in fights more than once, committing petty thefts and raids on shops in a group of street boys like him. The police repeatedly prosecuted him, but did not subject him to serious penalties due to his young age. On the outskirts of the city in a simple trailer lived his father’s younger brother, unemployed, not involved in anything traveling. When Danny Trejo was 9 years old, he gave his nephew a smoke of weed. At 12 he treated him with cocaine, and then offered to do a profitable business - the drug trade. For this, the young Trejo went to jail.
Crazy youth
Los Angeles streets taught Danny a lot. There he received the first lessons of fist fighting, learned to box. He liked boxing. The remarkable strength of the iron fists allowed him to come out victorious in battles many times. Danny Trejo in his youth even dreamed of seriously pursuing a boxing career, but life turned out differently. In 1963, he was arrested for robbery and drugs and sentenced to a two-year sentence in Tracy Prison. Danny hoped to be freed soon, but his prison life lasted for a long 11 years. Trejo could not become an exemplary prisoner. He often fought behind bars, tried to run several times. For this he was added a term and moved to other prisons. For 11 years he has visited Soledad, Falsom, Sierra, Vacanville and many others. But Trejo did not waste time in vain and used every free minute to improve his boxing skills, since there are gyms in American prisons.
The first steps to glory
In America, sports are held between prisoners for educational work. Trejo took part in boxing and became the champion of the state of Pennsylvania, and immediately in the light and middleweight. His fame as a great boxer quickly spread to prisons. The cellmates began to respect and even fear Trejo. Danny, whose height is only 1 meter and 69 centimeters, could knock out anyone. But the prison, lifting it to a pedestal, did not save from 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 smoked. A fight arose from nothing. The police rushed to clean up, and someone threw a stone at one of them in the head. Trejo was accused of everything and put him almost 4 months in a punishment cell. There, Danny decided to engage in drug addiction for himself. Subsequently, this became for him another stepping stone to fame.
Happy twist of fate
To completely get rid of drugs, the future actor Danny Trejo agreed to become a member of the 12 Steps program, one of the events of which are meetings of group members, their stories about achievements in life without drugs, as well as helping others. After leaving prison, Trejo did not know what to do. His capital was zero, he had no professional skills except boxing, he did not shine with a beautiful appearance. It is not known how his life would have happened if at one of the meetings of a group of anonymous drug addicts he had not met with former cellmate Eddie Bunker. He recognized the boxing champion and after a while called him asking him to help one acquaintance resist the drug temptation. Eddie Bunker at that time became a respected man, screenwriter, just together with Andrei Konchalovsky worked on the painting "Runaway Train."
First role
Arriving, as Bunker requested, in Hollywood, Trejo got to the set, where prison scenes were filmed. Seeing the "prisoners" with the wrong tattoos and never smelling the prison life, Danny was amused. The guy who needed to be saved from drugs suggested he play a prisoner, after asking Danny if he would play such a role. This amused Trejo even more. He easily fit into the crowd, because he had to portray himself. When they gave him an orange robe, Danny began to change clothes, but the director, marveling at his tattoos, suggested that he play naked to the waist. Danny was paid $ 15 a day, and he was quite pleased. But Eddie Bunker, remembering the wonderful fights of Trejo, invited him to become a consultant to the young actor, also playing a prisoner and completely unable to fight. Bunker promised a salary of as much as 320 dollars a day. Trejo happily agreed. Andrei Konchalovsky saw one of his training sessions with Eric Roberts - that was the name of that actor. A pumped up stern consultant with the face of a typical gangster hit him. Konchalovsky gave a small role of a boxer in his film to the 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 the episode, offers began to shower on the beginning actor. The vast majority were the roles of villains. Danny did not refuse. He is convinced that the roles of bad guys are just as important as the roles of good guys, because they teach that evil is always punishable. Trejo played most often in episodes, and all his remarks boiled down to two words: "Urine reptiles!" etc. Gangster in the movie Locked Up, poacher in Anaconda, Hector in Death Marked, Johnny 23 in Air Prison, Jump in Gambling, Kumar in Jaguar, Navajas in Desperate ", Bartender Charlie in the blockbuster" From Dusk Till Dawn "- it's all Danny Trejo. The filmography of the actor has about 270 films, and of course, in a small article it is difficult to list them all. The actor had a chance to work with such world stars as Antonio Banderas, George Clooney, Mel Gibson, Stephen Seagal, Lady Gaga, Nicolas Cage and others. He speaks particularly warmly of Robert de Niro, with whom everything turns out especially easily.
Main roles
In 2010, the movie "Machete" was included in the list of films with Danny Trejo. In it, the actor played a major role. Robert de Niro, also employed in this film, heartily congratulated his partner, to which he suggested bringing coffee to the star. Such he really is, Danny Trejo, despite his glory, remaining a simple guy from the people. Danny sincerely believes that the star can be considered only for the public. And for yourself you just need to be a person. The Machete was filmed by Robert Rodriguez, Danny 's second cousin . A well-known relative often invited him to his paintings, not only in a family way, but also for the wonderful acting and human qualities of a stern cousin. In 2013, a sequel to the tape called "Machete Kills" was released. Danny proved that he could do more than play in short episodes. Now he began to be invited to the main roles more often. Moreover, Danny began to act 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 of the Hollywood star liked it.
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 films "Night Hunter", "Jack's Law" and others. Danny takes an active part in voicing cartoons for children. He 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 taking pictures and signing autographs. He willingly speaks in schools and prisons, where he tells what drugs are and what they can lead to. A distinctive feature of this wonderful person is his willingness to act in films of young, still unknown directors who are not able to offer the star a decent fee.