Today, Danny Trejo is 82 years old. He was born on 16 May 1944.
Trejo is a character actor who somehow became a star. His backstory seems to be more legend than anything. He started using drugs very early in life. This led to spending much time in jail and eventually prison. I don’t doubt that. But by the age of 25, all that was in the past. And he seemed to find a good life as a working man in Southern California. That led to work as an extra. And the rest is pretty well documented.
On screen, he comes off as a mean guy. But I saw him at the 2024 FAN EXPO San Francisco, and he reminded me so much of all the men I grew up with in the construction industry. He seemed downright sweet with an obviously fake humility. It would not have been surprising if he’d said, “Gee! I can’t believe all you people like me!”
Of course, no one gets upwards of 500 screen credits without being easy to work with. If he were anything like the characters he plays, he would have gone back to lawn care long ago!
Trejo is a classic screen actor. He always seems authentic. But he doesn’t exactly play varied characters. It’s absurd to imagine him being hired to play an old Scottish man from Ferguslie Park. That’s not what he does. Nor is it what he should do! And I’m not waiting around to see his Broadway debut. (Just the same, I don’t think he is any more limited as an actor than Robert De Niro!)
So let’s celebrate Danny Trejo’s birthday by watching him in his iconic role in Machete. It’s a wonderful film. And extremely funny. It is Robert Rodriguez at his over-the-top best!
Other 16 May Anniversaries
Filmmakers:
- Henry Fonda (1905-1982): Actor known for 12 Angry Men and Once Upon a Time in the West.
- Barry Atwater (1918-1978): Actor known for playing the vampire in The Night Stalker.
- Yvonne Craig (1937-2015): Batgirl on the Batman TV series.
- Pierce Brosnan (1953-): Actor who was the best Bond and starred in The Ghost Writer.
- Debra Winger (1955-): Big star who was in Legal Eagles and Black Widow.
Films:
- Peeping Tom (1960): A serial killer films his murders — for science!
- The Blood Beast Terror (1969): Half woman and half moth needs blood.
- Don’t Look in the Basement (1973): Things go wrong at an insane asylum.
- The Bare Wench Project (2000): Jim Wynorski’s sexy parody of The Blair Witch Project.
- Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (2002): The second of the first (but really the second) trilogy.
- Slaughterhouse Phi: Death Sisters (2006): Slasher mystery.
- The Parchene Conspiracy (2009): Space alien birds.
Danny Trejo by Super Festivals under CC BY 2.0.