Danny Trejo's life is documented in the 2005 independent biographical film, Champion, which features Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Steve Buscemi, and Robert Rodriguez. In 2019, he participated in promotions for Magic: The Gathering Arena, along with Sean Plott.[31]. It depicts a fictionalized account of the founding and rise to power of the Mexican Mafia in the California prison system from the 1950s into the 1980s. Another consultant to the film, 49-year-old grandmother Ana Lizarraga, commonly known as "The Gang Lady", was murdered when she was gunned down in her East Los Angeles driveway while unloading groceries. Violent as it is, American Me is seldom dramatic enough to bring its material to life. Everything. Upon his release he tries to relate his life experiences to the society that has changed so much since he left. Machete star Danny Trejo has signed on to join action cartel thriller American Sicario, which VMI Worldwide has picked up and will be presenting at the upcoming virtual American Film Market. [5][14] While there, Danny Trejo was offered a job as an extra in the film's prison scenes. [29], In the TV show, The Flash, Danny Trejo appears as a breacher (an inter-dimensional bounty hunter) who can manipulate the space-time fabric and travel to other parallel worlds. Danny Trejo)", "Danny Trejo talks vegan tacos at the new Trejo's Tacos on La Brea", "Danny Trejo Is Setting Up Shop At The Former Donut Time Space In Hollywood", "Actor Danny Trejo Slashes Into Hollywood With Coffee and Donut Shop - Eater LA", "Danny Trejo comes to aid of baby that was trapped in overturned car", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danny_Trejo&oldid=1017938973, John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from April 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 April 2021, at 12:49. It insists that there are no quick fixes, but that solutions are of the utmost urgency. Trejo was in and out of jail for 11 years. Scenes shot in Los Angeles included gang members as extras. His films include Heat (1995), Con Air (1997), Bubble Boy (2001), and Desperado (1995), the latter with frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez. According to reportage by CBS News weekly 60 Minutes, three consultants on this film were later murdered because of the depiction of a homosexual rape scene which offended the Mexican Mafia gangsters' machismo. [citation needed] He was also featured in the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, on Season 5, Episode 1 “Comedy”. "[2], Janet Maslin writes in The New York Times, "But Mr. Olmos's direction...is dark, slow and solemn, so much so that it diverts energy from the film's fundamental frankness. A child drug addict and criminal, Trejo was in and out of jail for 11 years. [41][42], In August 2019, Trejo witnessed a car colliding at an intersection with an SUV and helped extract a five-year-old trapped in a child safety seat inside the overturned SUV. Trejo was quoted saying about the incident: "Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else. Malevolent. People & Blogs Category: People & Blogs. between 1959 and 1969. Trejo was perhaps most recognized as the character Machete, originally developed by Rodriguez for the Spy Kids series of movies and later expanded into Trejo's own series of films aimed at a more adult audience. While serving time in San Quentin, he won the lightweight and welterweight boxing titles. [1], Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times liked the reality that came through in the film and that it rang true: "What I felt watching American Me, however, is that it is based on a true situation—on the reality that street gangs and prison, mixed with the drug sales that finance the process, work together to create a professional criminal class. Since then, Danny Trejo has become a prolific actor in both films and television, appearing in five or more movies per year, in various genres. [12][13] He recalled that his last prison term was five years. "[43], "Danny Trejo: Sober 46 Years and Giving Back | AARP", History of the Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, "Watch Slayer and Danny Trejo Film Gory Video at L.A. Prison", "Danny Trejo Talks 'Predators,' 'Machete' and The Jonas Brothers", "ROBERT RODRIGUEZ WEARS A HOST OF HATS, STAYS AWAY FROM TINSELTOWN AND EMBRACES DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY WITH GRITTY END TO 'MARIACHI' TRILOGY", "Robert Rodriguez and Danny Trejo cutting a short story long", "Danny Trejo: The actor who went from prisoner to film star", "Prison Legal News Interviews Former Prisoner and Famous Actor Danny Trejo", "Danny Trejo: 'I went to the hole looking at three gas-chamber offenses, "The Most Badass Moments from Danny Trejo's Actual Life", "Meet Danny Trejo as the Badass Cuchillo in New 'Predators' Character Profile", "AdWatch: Snickers Super Bowl Ad Brings Out Different Side of Marcia Brady", "The Snickers 'Brady Bunch'-themed Super Bowl 2015 commercial starring Danny Trejo and Steve Buscemi", "Rick and Morty season 3 episode 3 review: The blood-soaked adventures of Pickle Rick! [3][4][5] He was the son of Alice Rivera and Dionisio "Dan" Trejo (1922–1981), a construction worker,[6][7] and a second cousin of filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (born 1968 in San Antonio, Texas), though the two were unaware that they were related until the filming of Desperado. In 2012, Danny Trejo starred alongside Ron Perlman and Charles S. Dutton in the Craig Moss action film Bad Ass (2012). Trejo was a contributor to the book Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories From Behind Bars (2015). As of January 2016, these included a taco restaurant on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, his own brands of beer, coffee, and various merchandise, with ice cream sandwiches under development. Mr. [32], Danny Trejo had made a number of cameo appearances in various music videos throughout his career, these include Kid Frost - “La Familia” (1995), Sepultura - “Twisted” (1996), Jay Chou short movie-music video "Double Blade" (2003), Mobb Deep - “Got It Twisted” (2004), Plastilina Mosh, a Mexican alternative rock band, paid tribute to Trejo with their song "Danny Trejo", featured in their album All U Need Is Mosh (2008). The film depicts 30 years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles. Danny then proceeded to take off the mask and later quoted "Hey, when you guys said take it off, I'm glad somebody stopped me!". The restaurants are overseen by executive chef Mason Royal. Whether as retaliation over their depiction in the film, or as a routine criminal racket, Mexican Mafia member Joe "Pegleg" Morgan allegedly attempted to extort money from Olmos. Danny Trejo".[19][20]. Danny Trejo had affiliation with the Mexican Mafia, However he never joined the gang, he grew up with the guys who were members of the Mexican Mafia & he said that boxing was what kept him away from the gang. His films include Heat, Con Air, and Desperado, the last with frequent collaborator Robert Rodriguez. [citation needed] He can be seen in the intro of Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball Max'd ("Play for Real", B-Real & DJ Lethal). Segments of the Mexican Mafia were enraged by the film, specifically, the lead character's rape as a juvenile and his death at the hands of his own followers at the end of his criminal career. According to reportage b… 13 comments [8][9] When he was 13 he moved to the diverse Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles, and recalls never really experiencing racism while growing up. Early life. How Danny Trejo Built a Decades-Long Film Career After Prison After years of playing ex-cons and bodyguards, the prolific actor became an iconic leading man in … [30], In 2021, Trejo competed in season five of The Masked Singer as "Raccoon". This article is about the film. It demands no less of its audience. Danny Trejo was born Dan Trejo in Echo Park, Los Angeles, to Alice (Rivera) and Dan Trejo, a construction worker. He is fatally stabbed and thrown off the balcony to his death. (2010). [8], Segments of the Mexican Mafia were enraged by the film, specifically, the lead character's rape as a juvenile and his death at the hands of his own followers at the end of his criminal career. In addition to his heavily lined face, scarred from cystic acne and boxing brawls, and the long hair and mustache he usually sports, he has displayed the large tattoo on his chest for many roles (the tattoo depicts a woman wearing a sombrero). In 2017, the rainbow cauliflower tacos made the Los Angeles Times' list of 10 most favorite recipes of 2017. Dan Trejo (/ˈtrɛhoʊ/;[1] Spanish: [ˈtɾexo]; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor and restaurateur who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films. [6] On Metacritic the film has a score of 66% based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [12], While Trejo was working as a youth drug counselor, a teenage patient asked for his assistance dealing with cocaine problems on the set of Runaway Train (1985). There, he tells his former friend, lieutenant J.D., that he is no longer interested in leading La Eme. This was a very funny movie its like an mexican version of friday, so if you like friday you will like American Lowrider. In juvenile hall, Santana murders a fellow inmate, who had raped him, and as a result has his sentence extended into Folsom State Prison after he turns 18. This is the name of the Danny Trejo character that brings the horror anthology together. Prior to his film career, Trejo worked as a labor foreman in construction. Mainly because of the rape scene in Juvenile detention. Edward Bunker, himself an individual who was formerly incarcerated and at the time a well-respected crime author who was writing the screenplay for the film, recognized Trejo, with whom he had done time at San Quentin. Since the film deals with a Latino subculture, the music included in the soundtrack was Latino oriented; late 1970s urban sounds and oldies from the 1950s. On October 26, 2019, Danny Trejo appeared in the Tyga - “MAMACITA” ft. YG and Santana music video. ", "Sasha Grey and Danny Trejo Star in Arthouse Thriller 'China Test Girls, "Why Did Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Stephanie Beatriz Cry In An Interview? The final box office gross amounted to $13.1 million. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana. Court documents show that Olmos was a victim in one extortion count contained in a 33-count federal indictment. 5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Funny Movie Just Thought Danny Trejo woulda Been In It More. Whether as retaliation over their depiction in the film, or as a routine criminal racket, Mexican Mafia member Joe "Pegleg" Morgan allegedly attempted to extort money from Olmos. There’s a scene in Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo where the subject remembers when he was a teenager, high on heroin and robbing an electronics … His first was Trejo's Tacos (2016), followed by Trejo's Cantina (2017) and Trejo's Coffee & Donuts (2017). [18] His role on King of the Hill was referred to in the HBO series, Unscripted, where he had a cameo appearance. According to him 10 people were killed over that movie and a hit was put on Edward James Olmos for not going through the proper … In 2011, he appeared in the action movie, Recoil with WWE wrestler Steve Austin. [16], He voiced the character Enrique on King of the Hill,[17] Octavio character on the show is based on Danny Trejo’s appearance. Shooting lasted for three weeks and included 800 inmates and guards, who appeared as extras. Trejo was known for his distinctive appearance. In 2017, Trejo appeared on Hell's Kitchen Season 16 as a guest in the final dinner service. … [23] Many of Danny Trejo's characters in Robert Rodriguez movies have been named after knives or sharp instruments: Machete in Spy Kids, Razor Charlie in the From Dusk till Dawn series, Navajas (Spanish for folding knife) in Desperado, and Cuchillo (Spanish for knife) in Predators. Trejo appeared in the PlayStation Move game The Fight: Lights Out (2010) as an instructor, for the player's character. On July 15, 2014, Trejo featured as his Robert Rodriguez character Machete in the official music video of Train - "Angel In Blue Jeans”, which also additionally featured Canadian television hostess and actor Hannah Simone. 0 0. 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