1. Danny Trejo went on to star in a multitude of other films, many of which were small parts as inmates, gangsters, or other criminals, appearing in Desperado, Heat, From Dusk till Dawn, Con Air, The Replacement Killers, Reindeer Games, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, among others.
From 2001 to 2003, Danny Trejo appeared in the Robert Rodriguez-directed Spy Kids franchise as Isador "Machete" Cortez.
Subsequently, in 2010, Danny Trejo reprised his role as Machete in the spin-off exploitation action film Machete as the protagonist.
Danny Trejo's voice acting work includes the characters Umberto Robina for the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, himself in Def Jam: Fight for NY, Raul Tejada in Fallout: New Vegas, Trainer Duke in The Fight: Lights Out, himself in Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of The Dead and Call of Duty Black Ops 4: Blackout and himself in Far Cry 6: Danny and Dani vs Everybody, and SCUM, among others.
Danny Trejo was born on May 16,1944, in Maywood, California.
Danny Trejo was raised on Temple Street in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, the son of Mexican-American parents.
Danny Trejo is the son of Delores Rivera King and Dionisio "Dan" Trejo, a construction worker.
Danny Trejo was the result of an extramarital affair; Delores's husband was away fighting in World War II.
Danny Trejo's parents met at a dance hall in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1943.
Danny Trejo had a maternal half-sister, Dyhan, but saw neither her nor Delores from 1949 until 1965; his father banned his mother from seeing him after Trejo sprained his arm in her care.
Danny Trejo's stepmother was Alice Mendias, "his only source of comfort" when he lived with his father.
Danny Trejo was using marijuana, heroin, and cocaine by ages 8,12, and 18, respectively.
At age seven, Danny Trejo participated in his first drug deal.
Danny Trejo was first arrested at the age of 10, but experienced his first incarceration at Eastlake Juvenile Hall in 1956.
However, Danny Trejo did time in various juvenile offenders' camps, including three years at Camp Glenn Rockey, San Dimas, for maiming a sailor, followed by numerous California prisons between 1959 and 1969; "I was in San Quentin, Folsom, Soledad, Vacaville, Susanville, Sierra".
Danny Trejo arrived at San Quentin State Prison in 1966, and his heroin use was exacerbated shortly thereafter.
Danny Trejo was a debt collector and drug dealer, often participating in or witnessing acts of serious violence, including murder.
Simultaneously while imprisoned, Danny Trejo focused on boxing and became a champion in San Quentin's lightweight and welterweight divisions.
From that fracas, Danny Trejo ended up in solitary confinement, facing capital charges and, potentially, the death penalty, after hitting a guard with a rock.
Danny Trejo successfully overcame his drug addictions, recalling in 2011 that he had been sober for the previous 42 years.
In July 1969, Danny Trejo was released from custody and returned to Pacoima, Los Angeles, having served five years of a 10-year prison sentence.
Danny Trejo was a gardener, salesperson, part owner of a lawn care company, and has been a substance abuse counselor since 1973.
Danny Trejo worked with Western Pacific Med Corp in the 1980s, assisting them with the establishing and operating of sober living houses within the San Fernando Valley.
Danny Trejo met a "good looking tattooed kid" during a meeting in one such house, who explained that he worked as a film extra and was paid $50 per day to stand there.
Intrigued, Danny Trejo considered becoming a film extra, initially due to the easy money and publicity it could afford his work with Western Pacific Med Corp.
Danny Trejo signed with an agent and would hand out his details while working on film sets, in the hopes of finding more opportunities to help those in need.
Late one night, Danny Trejo received a call from a teenaged patient, asking for his assistance in dealing with cocaine problems on the set of Runaway Train.
Danny Trejo says this worked to his advantage as a drug counselor, though, because clients would recognize him as an actor, therefore appreciating his presence and the humility of his work all the more.
Danny Trejo had made a dozen films by 1990, including Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, and Marked for Death.
Danny Trejo enjoyed the making of Guns, yet alleges Erik Estrada took issue with the cast and crew being more familiar with Trejo than himself.
Danny Trejo says Estrada's ego got the better of him; he believes Estrada arranged for Danny Trejo and a number of others to fly coach instead of first class on the way to Hawaii for filming.
Danny Trejo was unimpressed by the script and his initial meeting with Olmos.
In 2021, Danny Trejo stated that he believes Olmos has yet to accept him as a serious actor.
Danny Trejo found a new talent agent with the help of Raymond Cruz.
Danny Trejo was first cast in an episode of Baywatch, followed by a part in 1993's Last Light, Kiefer Sutherland's directorial debut.
Heat went through two script revisions while Danny Trejo read for the part.
Danny Trejo ultimately secured the role, which reunited him with Michael Mann, who had directed him in the television miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story a few years prior.
In 1996, Danny Trejo was cast in the French production Le Jaguar and reunited with Voight for Anaconda, both of which were filmed in Manaus, Brazil.
When production for Anaconda moved to Venezuela, Danny Trejo would go out socializing on his days off.
Danny Trejo described 1997's Con Air as a "macho fest from the start" and the cast were often pulling pranks on one another.
Danny Trejo remembers Nicolas Cage as being "cool as hell" and John Cusack as a "kickboxing badass".
Danny Trejo met many of his longtime friends on set, including: John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, and Dave Chappelle.
Danny Trejo described himself as having been pale and weak throughout production, and pre-occupied with keeping his diagnosis a secret within Hollywood for fear of reprisal.
Danny Trejo was "out of it" and struggling to remember his lines due to prescription medication.
Danny Trejo made a number of television appearances, including: Monk, Desperate Housewives, Stargate: Atlantis, and Breaking Bad.
Danny Trejo voiced Enrique and several other minor characters on King of the Hill.
Danny Trejo's life is documented in the independent biographical film, Champion, featuring some of Trejo's close friends: Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Steve Buscemi, and Robert Rodriguez.
Danny Trejo shared his tumultuous journey from convict to film star with KTTV in Los Angeles, 2013, in a segment filmed in Danny Trejo's home.
Danny Trejo played 'Machete' in a trailer made for Rodriguez's film collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, Grindhouse.
Danny Trejo starred in a full theatrical release of the film Machete, in 2010, based on the character Isador "Machete" Cortez and again in 2013 for the sequel film, Machete Kills.
In 2012, Trejo starred alongside Ron Perlman and Charles S Dutton in the Craig Moss action film Bad Ass.
Danny Trejo played the main character of Vietnam veteran Frank Vega, based on 67-year-old "Epic Beard Man" Thomas Bruso.
That same year, Danny Trejo appeared again with Ron Perlman, in a supporting role as Romero 'Romeo' Parada on season four of the FX television drama Sons of Anarchy.
In 2014, Danny Trejo produced his first film, titled Ambition, and produced his second film, the action film Bad Asses.
In 2015, Danny Trejo appeared in a television commercial for Snickers that aired during Super Bowl XLIX, in which he portrayed Marcia Brady prior to eating the Snickers candy bar.
In 2017, Danny Trejo played the role of 'Muerte' in Cross Wars and the 2019 film Cross: Rise of the Villains respectively.
In 2019, Danny Trejo played the roles of Jose in Wish Man, Eduardo Hernandez in Grand-Daddy Day Care, Miguel in The Short History of the Long Road, Carlos in The Outsider, himself in Madness in the Method, Grave-digger in Bullets of Justice, Rondo in 3 From Hell and himself in Slayer: The Repent less Killogy.
Also in 2019, Danny Trejo had a supporting role in the film Acceleration, as Santos.
Danny Trejo voiced the role of Clint Beltran in the Family Guy episode "Shanksgiving".
In 2021, Danny Trejo competed in season five of The Masked Singer as "Raccoon" and was eliminated in his second appearance.
In 2021, Danny Trejo portrayed the Ghost of Huet in the Disney+ puppet comedy Halloween special Muppets Haunted Mansion.
In 2022, Danny Trejo made his official Star Wars debut in the Disney+ space Western television series The Book of Boba Fett as a Rancor keeper on the episode "Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa".
In 2004, Danny Trejo made an appearance in the videogame Def Jam: Fight for NY, playing one of the villains, an enforcer for Snoop Dogg's character.
Danny Trejo's character is named after him and uses the street fighting style and was a Featured fighter and a Playable character.
In 2006, Danny Trejo reprised the role in the PSP videogame which was entitled Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover.
Danny Trejo lent his voice to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for the character Umberto Robina, who resembles Danny Trejo.
Danny Trejo voiced Raul Alfonso Tejada, a Ghoul, in Fallout: New Vegas.
Danny Trejo appeared in the PlayStation Move game The Fight: Lights Out as Duke, the instructor for the player's character.
Danny Trejo appeared as himself in the second map pack installation for Call of Duty: Black Ops, the "Escalation" map pack, on the zombie map "Call of the Dead".
In 2022, Danny Trejo made a guest appearance in the 2D-platforming skateboarding game Olli Olli World, appearing in the fictional Radlandia.
Danny Trejo appears as Machete in the 3rd DLC for the game Scum.
In 2023, Danny Trejo was revealed as a celebrity star in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, where he voices the Hawaiian mob boss Dwight Mendez.
Danny Trejo appeared in adult entertainer Lupe Fuentes's music video "We Are the Party" with her band, The Ex-Girlfriends.
In 2015, Danny Trejo appeared in the music videos "Repentless" and "Pride in Prejudice" from Slayer's album Repentless.
Plastilina Mosh, a Mexican alternative rock band, paid tribute to him with their song "Danny Trejo", featured in their album All U Need Is Mosh.
Danny Trejo was a contributor to the book Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars.
He's mentioned in Edward Bunker's prison autobiography Education of a Felon, calling him the Rona Barrett of San Quentin because Danny Trejo knew all the gossip.
In 2021, Danny Trejo published his memoir Danny Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood, co-written with his longtime friend Donal Logue.
Danny Trejo's first was Trejo's Tacos, followed by Trejo's Cantina and Trejo's Coffee and Donuts.
Danny Trejo's Donuts is located on the northeast corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Highland Avenue.
In 2019, Danny Trejo became ring announcer for the full contact karate league Karate Combat in the season Karate Combat: Hollywood.
Danny Trejo has been married and divorced four times and has three children.
Danny Trejo's parents did not approve of their relationship, and they were married in the backyard of Trejo's family home.
Danny Trejo believes his drug use and criminal lifestyle contributed to their marriage's demise; Laura filed for divorce during his second confinement at Youth Training School.
Danny Trejo was married to Debbie Schipek from 1971 to 1975, and to Joanne Discuillo from 1975 to 1978.
Danny Trejo is characterized in his acting roles by his distinctive appearance; in addition to his heavily lined face, scarred from cystic acne and boxing brawls, and the long hair often in a ponytail and full mustache that he usually sports.
Danny Trejo is a passionate fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles FC as well as the Los Angeles Rams dating back well into their original tenure in Los Angeles.
Danny Trejo frequently attends games and the team's training camps.
Danny Trejo helped him overcome his addiction, and they became good friends upon Castillo's release from prison.