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The Most Killed Man In Hollywood - Danny Trejo | Modern Wisdom Podcast 347

Danny Trejo is an actor and restaurateur. Danny is one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood history. He's just written a new memoir about his life and today we get to hear his craziest stories. Expect to learn what it was like to meet Charles Manson in jail, who was the hardest guy on-set at Con Air, how Danny nearly ended up with the death penalty, whether he actually robbed Antonio Banderas, how he saved Keifer Sutherland from a psychopath and much more... Sponsors: Get over 37% discount on all products site-wide from MyProtein at http://bit.ly/modernwisdom (use code: MODERNWISDOM) Get 10% discount on your first month from BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Extra Stuff: Buy Trejo - https://amzn.to/3ieE3vi Get my free Ultimate Life Hacks List to 10x your daily productivity → https://chriswillx.com/lifehacks/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #dannytrejo #hollywood #crime - 00:00 Intro 00:30 The Most Killed Actor in Hollywood 01:20 Danny's Writing Experience 03:55 Danny's Uncle 06:02 Violence in San Quentin 08:27 Gang Conflict 09:56 Danny's Biggest Robbery 11:53 Did Danny Rob Antonio Banderas? 12:29 Refusing to Join the Mexican Mafia 14:53 Danny's Toughest Prison Wing 18:10 Meeting Charles Manson in Prison 22:20 Being Sentenced to Death 26:51 Surviving & Thriving 28:37 Overcoming Addiction 32:27 Getting Into Movies 39:22 Challenges of Being an Actor 43:13 Becoming Serious in the Industry 45:22 Danny's Favourite Deaths 47:49 Saving Kiefer Sutherland 53:08 Filming Con Air & Anchorman 58:26 Where to Find Danny - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Danny TrejoguestChris Williamsonhost
Jul 19, 202159mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 0:30

    Intro

    1. DT

      I remember not wanting to die screaming and yelling and begging and peeing my pants. I said, "Dear Heavenly Father, just let me die with dignity. I'll say Your name every day and I will do whatever I can for my fellow inmate." And I said, "Inmate?" I never thought I was getting out of jail. And by the grace of God, he said, "Okay, punk, I'm gonna give you a chance here."

    2. CW

      Danny Bloody Trejo in the building. How are you doing, man?

    3. DT

      Great. Thank you.

    4. CW

      Pleasure

  2. 0:30 – 1:20

    The Most Killed Actor in Hollywood

    1. CW

      to have you here. Are you the most killed actor in Hollywood history?

    2. DT

      Yeah, they've got me. Yeah, I'm at... I, I, I was... The last time I counted, I was 68. I think I'm about 90 now.

    3. CW

      (laughs) But it's kind of ironic, right? 'Cause you've been killed on screen a lot, but somehow managed to make it out of your life so far alive.

    4. DT

      Yeah. (laughs) That, that's what everybody says. (laughs) They didn't... I remember when the pandemic, everybody was scared of the... Not the pandemic. Everybody was scared of the millennium. "Oh, the millennium 2000. The millennium, the millennium." And they asked me, "What do you think about the millennium?" I said, "I wasn't get... I wasn't supposed to get out of the '60s. I don't care." (laughs)

    5. CW

      (laughs)

    6. DT

      I'm on, I'm on God's time. I've been on God's time since 1968, you know?

    7. CW

      Borrowed time, man. Yeah, this is extra time.

  3. 1:20 – 3:55

    Danny's Writing Experience

    1. CW

      It's weird, right? Because most people's impression of what, like a tough guy or a, a hard lad or a guy from the streets is, it comes from movies, you know? Not everybody gets to see-

    2. DT

      Yeah.

    3. CW

      ... those people in the flesh, but then most of the people that play those roles aren't from the streets.

    4. DT

      (laughs)

    5. CW

      So it's different for you 'cause you've sort of earned your stripes. You are, and then you get to display it as well, right?

    6. DT

      You know, it's really funny, uh, what you just said. When I was trying to write my book, I, I, I kept getting people that were, like, English literature majors. They just... It... They would change a few words and it didn't sound, sound like me. It sounded like a, like a, like an English lesson. And so, so, uh, uh, Donald Logue, who is a friend of mine... We've been fri- friends since 1991. And, uh, uh, he was, he was raised in Calexico, uh, uh, right by the Mexican border, okay? His, his, his, uh, his town crosses the Mexican border, you know? And so, so, uh, uh, uh, it was like when we started talking as friends, he not only knew that... He was, like, a, an English literature major, but he, he knew the streets. In fact, his whole town had nothing but alleys. So, so it was like we understood each other. And we started writing it, and it just flowed. I gave it to my, uh, kids' mom, Maeve, (clears throat) "Read this," and she goes, "It sounds like I'm talking to you." And I thought, "Okay, cool. Then that's what we wanted," yeah.

    7. CW

      What was the process like, writing that?

    8. DT

      About two year and a half years just... We would sit together out in my backyard, or, or driving around, or just wherever. We, we just stayed... Kind of like hung real close and for about two and a half years, almost three years, and put it together.

    9. CW

      That's awesome, man. I had, uh, Mark Manson on, who's, uh, an author that's just written Will Smith's memoir/biography/autobiography. So him and Will Smith have worked together for the last three years.

    10. DT

      Yeah.

    11. CW

      And he said exactly-

    12. DT

      Yeah.

    13. CW

      ... the same thing, just lived together. It wasn't go into a room-

    14. DT

      Yeah.

    15. CW

      ... for 13 hours talking to a tape recorder and then someone leaves.

    16. DT

      Exactly. Exactly.

    17. CW

      It's this long, very emergent process.

    18. DT

      Yeah. Uh, uh, Donald and I would... Sometimes we would, like, we would just, like, wake up. You know, he'd be on one couch, I'd be on the other. We, we fell asleep, you know? I mean, it was just... And it was amazing 'cause, you know, he's got two boys. I got two boys. I got, I got, uh, my daughter. She's... You know, they're all grown now, so we, we were able to, able to kind of

  4. 3:55 – 6:02

    Danny's Uncle

    1. DT

      hang.

    2. CW

      So rolling it back, right, to your childhood. You had this uncle that really shaped your childhood, right? Like, what lessons did you learn from him?

    3. DT

      Everything. Learned... I learned what I thought was how to be a man. And it was, but it only was, it only was a good deal in San Quentin. (laughs) You know, it was only a, uh... Uh, you know, I learned, I, I learned how to survive in a, in an un-survival world, you know? It's like a... San Quentin is kind of the, the epitome of, of you're not gonna come out, you know? And if you do, you, you, you are either a predator or you are prey, you know? A lot of prey doesn't come out.

    4. CW

      So what were some of the lessons? What did he... What were the, the tactics and the tools that he gave you to make sure-

    5. DT

      Right.

    6. CW

      ... that you weren't prey?

    7. DT

      Well, first of all, don't, don't ever fight down. You know, don't ever be a bully. Don't take a step backwards ever. You know? I mean, just never. It doesn't matter. It, it... You know, it, it... In San Quentin... Prison, it's kind of like there are no tough guys. People think there are these tough guys. There are no such things as tough guy in prison because first of all, uh, four inches of steel will take care of a tough guy in a minute, you know? Now, I am not gonna... If I sock, uh, somebody, they're gonna sock me back, and then we're gonna fight, and then we're gonna roll around, and then we're gonna get shot. Okay? We're gonna get caught. So if, if I have a resentment or I'm angry or somebody disrespected me and I come up behind them and stab them three times and walk away, I didn't get caught and I won, you know? I won. And that, that enhanced my reputation. And now, out... Well, that was a cowardly act. Yeah, but I'm still alive.

  5. 6:02 – 8:27

    Violence in San Quentin

    1. CW

      You tell-

    2. DT

      the story, I think it was after you moved to a school, and somebody started up against you. And then there was a big group of their friends outside. Yeah.

    3. CW

      And you mentioned something like, you were prepared to go to a level of violence that-

    4. DT

      Yeah. They weren't-

    5. CW

      ... they weren't at all.

    6. DT

      They w- yeah. They haven't s- didn't have no... The, the, the average, the average person on the street doesn't know the level of violence that i- is in San Quentin, it's r- ridiculous. I'll fight, I don't fight, shoot, let me find something I can beat you over the head with. And people don't understand that the bottom line to an argument is a murder. You know? The bottom line. I'm not, you know, I, I've watched people argue, oh, uh-uh, but basically, I have never seen anybody killed, except for in prison, that didn't start with an argument. You know, in prison, I always say it's the most right now place in the world because you can die because somebody that you didn't even know didn't get a letter or got a letter. (laughs) You understand? You know? It's like bad new-, whatever. And it's like, all of a sudden, somebody comes running down, bang, bang, bang, and he stabs you and, you know, "Why'd that happen?" You know? And so, so it's like, uh, I don't, I don't fight, I don't argue. I don't, I don't argue with people, I- because I know, it's like, wait a minute, man, I don't, I don't want... I don't know if he knows that the bottom line to an argument is a murder. I don't know how bad he wants to win this argument. So, so, see because in prison, if we argue and you win, then I walk away thinking, "Wow, that guy made me look like a punk. I mean, he really did. I'm really a punk. Everybody thinks I'm a punk. Uh-oh, I might get raped. Watch out. Let me fix this." So, that's, so that's what you're taught. So, it's like, wait a minute, it doesn't happen.

    7. CW

      The cost of losing an argument and both people still being alive is too great-

    8. DT

      Yeah.

    9. CW

      ... to rep, the reputation of the one that lost.

    10. DT

      Exactly. Wow, that was good. That's a good... I'mma, I'mma write that down and I'm not gonna give you credit for it, that's good.

    11. CW

      That's fine. That's absolutely fine.

  6. 8:27 – 9:56

    Gang Conflict

    1. CW

    2. DT

      (laughs)

    3. CW

      Wasn't there a story about how a Mexican gang rivalry started over a pair of shoes?

    4. DT

      Yeah. That's the Me- Mexican mafia. Shoe wars. It was, uh, uh, Pie Face, this, this, uh, Mexican mafia m- member gave a pair of shoes that he stole, uh, from somebody from a different area. Like, there was north and south. There's, there's southern Mexicans and there's northern Mexicans. Southern Mexicans are, are, uh, uh, Mexican mafia, La Eme. The, the northern Mexicans are La Familia Nuestra. They're another... So Pie Face stole a pair of shoes from one of the nortenios, one of the guys from... And he gave it to Robot Salas, who was one of the leaders of the Mexican mafia. He gave them. And so, when the guy from the northern saw his shoe, "Hey those are my shoes," blah, blah. And, um, Robot ended up saying, "Yeah, well take them then." And so, Robot ended up going in there, stabbing both him and his cell partner. And so, that's how that started.

    5. CW

      For a pair of shoes?

    6. DT

      Over a pair of shoes, yeah.

    7. CW

      So, what were the...

  7. 9:56 – 11:53

    Danny's Biggest Robbery

    1. CW

      What was one of the biggest robberies that you were a part of when you were younger?

    2. DT

      Uh, God, man. I would say, uh, Circle Liquor was pretty good. And then, uh, Dale's Market, I think. Dale's Market was a pretty big market in the neighborhood and we took that down, and it was, uh, got away with it.

    3. CW

      How did that come about?

    4. DT

      Just, we needed money. You know, i- i- you know, that was... It was funny as like, th- there's one, this therapist or this girl that knew about therapy, we were talking, and she said, "Danny, you have a robbery mentality." I said, "What are you talking about?" She said, "You always think there's money coming." (laughs) You know what I mean? Robbers, "I need money." "Oh, go get some," you know what I mean? (laughs)

    5. CW

      (laughs)

    6. DT

      So, (laughs) life is not an ATM, I mean. (laughs) Life is not an ATM machine, you know?

    7. CW

      Well, I suppose it is when you can go and pick it off the streets as a young guy if you need money-

    8. DT

      Yeah.

    9. CW

      ... then there's a corner shop, there's a corner shop, there's a man on the street, there's a whatever.

    10. DT

      Exa- exactly. You know, until somebody shoots you. And you got to remember that, that, and especially nowadays, I feel sorry for people that are committing crimes now 'cause everybody got guns. There was a time in America when, you know, only the bad guys and the cops had guns. (laughs)

    11. CW

      (laughs)

    12. DT

      Now... (laughs)

    13. CW

      The shopkeeper's got one and his daughter's-

    14. DT

      Yeah.

    15. CW

      ... got one and-

    16. DT

      Grandma's, grandma's, grandma's got an automatic-

    17. CW

      Yeah.

    18. DT

      ... you know, nine millimeter so you better cool it, you know? And, but, you know, good, bad, it's terrible because we keep having these, you know, these, uh, mass shootings, you know? And, and I'm sorry, but, but I'm one of the people that say, automatic weapons are only good for killing people. That's it. Uh, you know, I, I'm not against for, not... Automatic weapons, the only thing they're good for is killing people. You can't shoot rabbits with them.

  8. 11:53 – 12:29

    Did Danny Rob Antonio Banderas?

    1. DT

    2. CW

      Didn't you end up robbing Antonio Banderas by accident?

    3. DT

      No. No, no, no. Everybody says that. I never robbed Antonio... Uh, uh, there's this-

    4. CW

      Where's the st- who's, who's trying to stitch you up with a story of Antonio Banderas?

    5. DT

      (laughs) I love, I love when people-

    6. CW

      Are they start, trying to start-

    7. DT

      ... when people... uh, Cheech Marin went to a school called Alemany. I went to a school called San Fernando. We used to take money away from the kids from Alemany, nice Christian Catholic school, you know what I mean? But- but, uh, but I never (laughs) robbed Cheech. I love Cheech. (laughs)

    8. CW

      That's funny.

  9. 12:29 – 14:53

    Refusing to Join the Mexican Mafia

    1. CW

      So how come, uh, if the Mexican mafia's floating around, how come you never joined it?

    2. DT

      My uncle, Gilbert, bless his soul, said, "Don't get into any, any prison gang." He said, "Once you get into a prison gang, you have dedicated your life to being incarcerated," you know, not just to the gang, but to the state of California. Yeah, that's it, yeah. And, uh, most... (sighs) It's unbelievable. And so I- I just never, you know, they- they... ƒ€B&% great. Um, I knew 'em all. I mean, you know, Edward James Olmos, I saved Edward James Olmos 'cause I knew some guys, you know, and, uh, he won't admit it though, you know what I mean? But- but, uh- but, uh, it's, uh, it's, you know, it's like... You know, I told him when he was gonna make that movie, "Don't..." You know, " come on." Me and Eddie Bunker, the guy that got me into the movies, right? 'Cause Eddie knew Joe Morgan, they were best friends, and Joe Morgan ran the Mexican mafia. And so- so Eddie Bunker, uh, and I talked to Edward James when he had asked me to be in the movie American Me, and- and, uh, we asked him, "Did you talk to Joe?" And he goes, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah," and it was a lie, he didn't, you know. And he kept saying that- that... He made this movie very theatrical. I says, "You, Joe- Eddie, you're not dealing with theatrical people here," you know? (laughs) And, uh, you know, you're dealing with guys that wake you up in the middle of the night and slit your throat. And he was saying, "No, but, you know, but, uh..." He wouldn't listen, so got in big trouble. In fact, he got in so much... If- if after American Me, you don't- you didn't see Edward James until they gave him this break on, uh, on The Mayans. And it's funny, any film that Edward James is on, won't call me on it because, you know, he kind of is still... you know, as I understand, you know, it's like he's scared of me, you know. I think it's funny. (laughs)

    3. CW

      (laughs) All

  10. 14:53 – 18:10

    Danny's Toughest Prison Wing

    1. CW

      right. So you get through the youth system and then you end up in big boy prison after a bit of time. What was the-

    2. DT

      I like it. (laughs)

    3. CW

      Big boy prison. Yeah, exactly. (laughs) You're out of the kindergarten, you're into the proper school now.

    4. DT

      Yeah.

    5. CW

      What was the toughest prison wing that you ended up in eventually?

    6. DT

      Well, w- w- you talk about Soledad, Quentin, Folsom, Tracy, they're all, they're all tough prisons. And, uh, uh, uh, B section in prison is like you're just locked up and- and, uh, I used to... I- they used to let me out to the yard, the B section, and it was funny because- because, uh, uh, the guards would always tease me, and- and I'd... There's two baseball mitts and- and (laughs) there's a baseball, right? And, uh, the guard, "Hey Trejo, who you gonna play- who you gonna play catch with?" (laughs) You know, because I bought that by myself. "Your mother." (laughs)

    7. CW

      (laughs)

    8. DT

      "Yeah, well how you- why you like to play catch with this bullet? You little bastard," you know. They would... You know, we'd banter and... It was just... You know, but I'll- I'll never forget San Quentin B section, you're right on the bay. You're- you're right on the bay. And so there's a two- a chain link fence and another chain link fence down there, and the gun towers. You're not gonna get out of there, they're gonna shoot you, but it's probably the best view in the prison, you know? (laughs) And- but you're by yourself. But I used to sit there, and there was this song that came out, it goes, "Sitting on a dock in the bay, wasting time." And I would sit there and I go, "My God, I wonder if you wrote that. Did you write that for me, God?" You know what I mean? I mean... (laughs) Leggo. And I used to... It was just, uh... And, uh, and the- and it was funny, the guard knew that that song, he would play it, and they would, uh, ƒ&%$@# and he'd go, "Hey, hey, was that for you, Trejo?" (laughs) "Here." I'd give him the finger, you know? (laughs) . But- but, uh, uh, I think that's the only time I felt any kind of, uh, "Oh, why am I here?" You know what I mean? Otherwise, I'd be into it, you know, you don't think of anything else, but- but, uh, the beautiful view.

    9. CW

      But especially when you've been in the system for a long time, right? When that's- when your friends are there, your community's there, your culture's there.

    10. DT

      Everything. You know what? I went to juvenile hall. There were so many Mexicans in juvenile hall when I went, I thought Mexicans weren't supposed to go (laughs) you know, the rite of passage or something, you know, 'cause it was all- it was Mexican American, African American, and poor whites. No- no rich whites. They didn't... you know, they didn't... Well, rich white ain't going to... You know. But- and, uh, and most of the white guys in juvenile hall kind of gravitate towards the Mexicans 'cause there's not enough of 'em to stand alone. Now there is 'cause there's so many poor white guys. It's not like... (laughs) We're even now, you know? (laughs) You know, the world- the world's made us all poor, you

  11. 18:10 – 22:20

    Meeting Charles Manson in Prison

    1. DT

      know?

    2. CW

      So you met Charles Manson in prison, didn't you? What was that story?

    3. DT

      In jail.

    4. CW

      Can you tell us that?

    5. DT

      In County Jail.... in the county jail. But let me tell, Charlie wasn't the guy that you saw on the TV specials. All right? He was a, a, a, a, God, he was like 5'4" or 5'5", little scrawny, uh, he was poor, kind of like a bum really. He, he had a, he had a, a, a, a string for a belt. He tied his pants with a string 'cause he couldn't afford a belt, you know, and, and, and everybody else, we dressed, you know, cool. Ironed our pants and, and, uh... And so the, some of the prisoners were gonna take advantage of him 'cause they'd take advantage of anybody that's small. And, uh, we found out that he could hypnotize you, so we, phew, we let him sleep in front of our cell to, to, you know, to make sure that nobody would hurt him and, and, uh, he got us loaded on weed and, and three other guys in his cell. Everybody else had, like six guys in their cell. We only had three 'cause we were special. (laughs) I had two killers with me, so, so, so, uh, and then, uh... And then he got us loaded on weed and I said, "Well, get us loaded on heroin." So the three of us tried to get loaded on... He got two of us loaded on heroin. One guy just woke up and afterwards I asked him, "How come, why come he couldn't do him?" And he says, he asked, uh, "Did you ever get loaded on heroin?" He goes, "No." Well, your mind doesn't know how to work. Do you understand? Your mind doesn't know how to react. So if I tell you to do something while you're hypnotized and you haven't done it before or you don't know how to do it, uh, you'll just wake up. And that's what kept happening. It's like-

    6. CW

      Yeah. So you're saying that he got, he got you guys loaded up on heroin or weed, but there was no heroin or weed-

    7. DT

      Oh, a-

    8. CW

      ... in the room, right?

    9. DT

      I mean, people think-

    10. CW

      He was doing this-

    11. DT

      Other, oth-

    12. CW

      ... purely through hypnosis.

    13. DT

      People know when I get loaded on heroin, my eyes, I get red under my eyes. And that's like literally, uh, uh, the first thing, blah, you, you throw up, you dump. And I mean, uh, me and Chato is like, is like we both gone blah. He dumped in the sink, I dumped in the, in the toilet. And looked around, "Hey, what you doing?" And, and whoa, everybody was like shocked. And, and this, uh, uh, uh, uh, Johnny Ronnie Cruz, he was like, "Whoa, what happened?" You know, w- w- he'd never gotten loaded. And, and, uh, boy, I kept, I, you know, God, I was sorry when they transferred Charlie out. (laughs)

    14. CW

      You've basically got unlimited access to anything that you want.

    15. DT

      Hey.

    16. CW

      'Cause he can just keep on hypnotizing you back into it.

    17. DT

      Yep, absolutely.

    18. CW

      What was he in for? Do you know why he was there?

    19. DT

      Yea... I have no idea. I have no idea. You know, yeah, he was nothing, nothing of any... You know, 'cause he, he was a petty thief. He was, he wasn't, uh... You know, and not to speak ill of the dead, but Charlie couldn't have done that any place, any time, but right there. And my friend, George Perry, knew him in Frisco, knew him in Oakland. Okay? And he was a, he was a, uh, a scrawny little hippie and the girls that he got, Linda Kasabi, all of them were broken. You know, all of 'em. They were up in Oakland and San Francisco being ripped off by the pimps and, and raped by the pimps. And, and so he came around with a big bus and some acid and said, you know, "Let me lead you." So it was kind of like they looked at him like, yeah, he's the messiah, you know?

    20. CW

      They were already vulnerable. They were already primed for somebody-

    21. DT

      They, they were-

    22. CW

      ... like him to come in and save them.

    23. DT

      They were already... They were so broken, you know, and so needed, needed somebody to take care of them. Yeah.

    24. CW

      In the same way that you could've done with a bit of extra heroin or weed and, in prison?

    25. DT

      Absolutely. (laughs)

    26. CW

      All right. So you ended

  12. 22:20 – 26:51

    Being Sentenced to Death

    1. CW

      up, um, you ended up looking at the death penalty at one point.

    2. DT

      Yeah.

    3. CW

      What's the story behind that?

    4. DT

      We, we, um... It was Cinco de Mayo, 1968 and Cinco de Mayo to a Mexican, a real Mexican, spelled backwards is get bail money because (laughs) you know, you're gonna do something stupid, you know, your... Tequila, yeah! And, and, uh, and so there was like, you know, they had 2,000 drunk Mexicans in Cinco de Mayo and a riot... When, when a riot starts, Ray Pacheco socked a free person, death penalty, uh, um... When a riot starts, it is like an explosion. Boom. Everybody. Any resentment you have, you start taking care of it, any... You just start... You know, you hate prison so you start breaking glass. So there's this huge explosion of violence. Henry kicked the coach, Straumott. He ki- kicked Coach Straumott. It was alleged that I threw a rock and hit Lieutenant Givens and... But there's no proof. It's like, you know, somebody said that and, and, uh... But all three gas chamber offenses. So when we went to the hole, they took, out of 2,000 inmates, they took three of us to the hole and, uh, we're sitting there and I remember Henry yelling, "Hey, Danny, they're gonna top us off." Meaning they're gonna, you know, and I go, "Yeah, I think so." And, and I remembered all this all my life. Grammar school, middle school, high school. Potential. Danny has a lot of potential, but he can't sit still. Danny has a lot of potential, but he won't stop talking. Danny has a lot of potential, but he won't stop doing burglaries. I mean, all this, I had all this potential and, uh, and I remember sitting in a cell naked, 'cause you're naked, and I'm, I'm, I'm looking, somebody got, got, uh...... shit and scraped it on the wall and said, "God sucks." And I remember, "Okay, God, you know, what happened to all that potential?" (laughs) I remember thinking about, "Where'd my potential go?" And I remember not wanting to die screaming and yelling and, and begging and, and peeing my pants. I said, "Dear Heavenly Father, just let me die with dignity. I'll say your name every day, and I will do whatever I can for my fellow inmate." And I said, "Inmate"? I never thought I was getting out of jail. And, uh, and by the grace of God, he said, "Okay, punk, I'm gonna give you a chance here." DA reject, rejected it. "Okay, now get this out of here. You guys deal with it." So they topped us and, uh, August 23rd, 1969, I'll never forget. The month before, uh, the, the, the parole agent that was on the board, Mad Dog Madden, that was his real name, Mad Dog Madden, said, "Trejo, we're gonna give you a chance to spread your wings. You've been good for 11 months. You haven't gone for 11 days without some kind of beef. So, uh, get out of here and bring us back a life sentence." 'Cause I only had a 10-year top. But I'll never forget that. He says, "Bring us back a life sentence so we won't have to bother with you anymore." And, and, uh, 30 days later, August 23rd, I, I walked out of prison and I was shocked. And, but I kept remembering, you know, that, all right, I didn't, I didn't make a deal with God to get me a good job or not to let me get caught sneaking into my house 'cause I was late or, you know. I said, "Let me die (laughs) with dignity," you know? So, yeah, I might do that, and I asked him a couple of months ago, "How am I doing, God?" He said, "You're almost out of hell, Trejo. Keep it up." You know? So, I'm doing good.

    5. CW

      Borrowed time, man.

    6. DT

      Yeah.

    7. CW

      Borrowed time ever since.

    8. DT

      I told you. I told you. It's like it's him. You know what I mean? He's like, take me ... Uh, I, my kids are great. I got great insurance. They'll be all right. You know what I mean? It's like a, a, everything good that has ever happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else. So, you know, I, what, wha- oh, I got it. You know, I'm cool. You know, I just kee- I'll keep helping.

  13. 26:51 – 28:37

    Surviving & Thriving

    1. CW

      Have you ever watched Peaky Blinders, the series?

    2. DT

      No.

    3. CW

      Okay. So it's a British series, really huge. Some massive actors in it. Tom Hardy's in it, some other huge guys. And, um, it's just after World War I. And in it-

    4. DT

      Mm-hmm.

    5. CW

      ... these guys have gone off and they've been in the Battle of the Somme, right, in World War I. And then-

    6. DT

      Yeah.

    7. CW

      ... all of them are, uh, sure that they're gonna die. They get trapped in a tunnel and they're fighting the f- the, the Germans hand-to-hand, and they're all certain they're gonna die. And they make a deal with each other down in one of the tunnels that's collapsed, and they say, "If we get out of this, everything after that is extra."

    8. DT

      Yeah.

    9. CW

      And that's exactly the same-

    10. DT

      That's-

    11. CW

      ... as the situation you had there.

    12. DT

      Totally. Hey, I wasn't supposed to get out of the '60s by the grace of God. And it's funny, uh, you know, when I had brain surgery, the, this, uh, this, uh, doctor, he said, "I've never taken more blood out of somebody's head." 'Cause I, I, I was, uh, I was bleeding from two blood vessels in, in a ... My daughter, she's a comedian, she goes, "Well, Doctor, he has a lot of room up there."

    13. CW

      (laughs)

    14. DT

      (laughs) And then, and then, uh, the doctor said, he said, he says, "You know, people have your injury go home, go to sleep, and die. You flew around the world." You know? And, uh, and, and my daughter said it again. She says, "Well, God's not through with him yet." And that's kind of stuck. And I thank you, Jesus. Says, you know, I, you know, I'm okay when you're through ... I beat cancer. I beat hepatitis C. I beat brain surgery, you know? And, and so, you know, tha- I'm glad he's not through with me at all. I'll still keep doing his work.

    15. CW

      I love it, man.

  14. 28:37 – 32:27

    Overcoming Addiction

    1. CW

      So you also beat-

    2. DT

      Thank you.

    3. CW

      ... a long-sta- bunch of longstanding addictions, right? Alcoholism, other sorts of drugs, hard drugs, heroin, weed, and stuff like that.

    4. DT

      I've been clean.

    5. CW

      All in solitary in the same period.

    6. DT

      I've been clean now for f- it'll be 53 years in August. And, uh, and my life would not be the same if I hadn't. You know, I'd still be in drugs or in, uh, still be in prison.

    7. CW

      But most people can't just get past that sort of a dependency on faith alone. Like, just the fact-

    8. DT

      No.

    9. CW

      ... that you've got ... Uh, y- you know, you've made a deal with someone. There's all of these habits. There's a physiological-

    10. DT

      Yeah.

    11. CW

      ... dependency. There's a psychological dependency. There's a cultural impetus to come and do it. How, how did you break that?

    12. DT

      I've been going to 12-step programs since 1968. The first time I ever walked into a 12-step program was in, God, 1959. It was by accident. I thought it was a party. And, uh, and literally, uh, but I learned what it was. Do you understand? And, and now, it's like I still ... I went to a meeting last night. You know, 'cause we're just getting out of this pandemic bullshit, and, and now it's like, wow, we can go to meetings, you know, and, and so I'm seeing some of the friends that I've got and, uh, it was like s- amazing feeling to, to be back in the fold, you know? And so, I couldn't have done it alone. No way. And I feel sorry for anybody that does though. And people that try to do it alone, you should see them. "Yeah, I'm sober, so what? Okay. I'm clean." It's like they're angry. No. It's like I can't afford that, you know? And the resentment, resentment is like me taking poison hoping you die. It's absolutely no good whatsoever. It, uh, resentment only hurts me.So, what I have to do, I have to write about resentments and- and get them out. And say, "Hey, you know what? I'm sorry. I resented you because I thought you looked at my wife kind of disrespectfully," or whatever. And you go, "Hey, no way. I wasn't looking at your wife. I was looking at the... looking at that bay behind her." You know? (laughs) And then, you know, so there's always a... You know, people do things for themselves, not- not to me. You- you understand? You know. I mean, if somebody does something to me then, "Whoa, hey, wait. Don't do that." You understand there's a problem. But nine times out of 10 they weren't even thinking about me.

    13. CW

      It's weird that you can have someone who breaks their drug addiction, perhaps on their own, you know, just sheer force of will or whatever it might be. But the price that they have to pay for that because they haven't done it in a program where they have a- a- a accountability, and they have friends, and socialize it out of them and let go and all that stuff. You can be free from the drugs but not free from the thing that caused you to want the drugs in the first place.

    14. DT

      Exactly. The last... That's why the program... That's what the program helps you with. That's what the therapy helps you with, is the things that started you on drugs, the things that... See, 'cause a lot of people get started on drugs and they just stop because maybe they don't have the same monsters inside that a drug addict has or- or a pill head has. You know, there's... I remember Timmy Sanchez. Tim Sanchez, my next door neighbor at my grandma's. I smoked weed, you know what I mean? And then I tried to turn Timmy on. I turned Timmy onto weed. You were like nine and- and he got sick. He never smoked weed again. "Yeah, I don't like this." And yet, me, I was like... I'd smoke weed again. (laughs) You know, I would... I used to steal my uncle's weed. Mikey, give me some coffee, please. I would steal, I would steal my uncle's weed, you know, and- and, uh, and I loved it. And then- and then later on, you know, it's like you just graduate.

    15. CW

      All right.

  15. 32:27 – 39:22

    Getting Into Movies

    1. CW

      So, you're out of jail now, and then you become a counselor, you start working, helping people. And then that actually leads you somehow into getting into the movie business.

    2. DT

      Yeah. One of the guys that I was working with, helping stay clean, was an- an extra. He was, like, working as an extra and he got me into working as an extra because you got 50 bucks cash. They used to pay you 50 bucks, and then overtime you... God, you know, I'm making about 80 bucks in a night, you know. So- so, uh, it was ca- don't tell the IRS, but it was cash, right?

    3. CW

      (laughs)

    4. DT

      (laughs) They'll come, "Hey, in 1965 you made this much cash." But, uh, but, uh, uh, I, uh, I was doing... I was trying to do this. And then one night he calls me and says, "Hey, Dan, I'm down here and doing this film. There's a lot of blow down here, man. I'm- I'm kind of worried I might use." And so I went down to hang out with him. I was on that movie anyway. And so I went down there. What did I do? I run into a guy named Eddie Bunker. And I'm looking at him and I think I know who he is. "Hey, you're Danny Trejo," I go, "because I saw you win the lightweight and the welterweight title up in Quentin." I say, "You're Eddie Bunker. What's up, Eddie?" My uncle bought a robbery from Eddie Bunker in 1962, I think, right? And, uh, and so, we started talking and- and he goes, "Yeah, what- what are you..." I- I says, "What are you doing here, Eddie?" He says, "I wrote the... I adapted the screenplay." And then he asked me what I was doing here. I said, "Shit, they're giving me 50 bucks for acting like a convict." And, uh, we laughed because we'd both been beating a convict for free forever, right? You know. And, uh, he says, uh, "Are you still boxing?" I go, "No, no. I train, man. I don't get hit in the face anymore. I'm 40 years old."

    5. CW

      (laughs)

    6. DT

      "You think I want to mess this up anymore?" And he- he says, he says, he says, uh, "Hey, we need somebody to train one of the actors how to box." And I go, "What's it pay?" Because I'm making 50 bucks a day. And he says, "320 a day." And I said, "Eddie, how bad do you want this guy beat up?" You know, I thought, come on, 320 bucks? This guy would have done it for another 50. And, uh, and he says, uh, "No, no, wait. Danny, this actor's really high strung. He might sock you." "Eddie, for 320 bucks, give him a stick, homie. I've been beat up for free." And I start training an actor named Eric Roberts how to box for the movie Runaway Train. Jon Voight, Eric Roberts. Brilliant movie. Got nominated for an Academy Award. Both Eric and Jon got nominated for best actor and best supporting actor. Brilliant movie. Andrei Konchalovsky, the director, one of the best directors ever. And, uh, and literally, uh, um, I, uh, I started training Eric. Andrei saw that I could handle Eric. Now, the- the guy that they had cast to fight Eric in this movie was, uh, almost as pretty as Eric and- and, uh... I mean, basically Eric is prettier than his sister and so-

    7. CW

      (laughs) Two pretty guys up against each other. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

    8. DT

      Two guys against each other. "Wait, this ain't gonna work." You know what I mean? It'd be... It'd look silly. I mean, what is this, like the battle of the queens or something? It just doesn't... And, uh, and then Eric wanted to wear these tight shorts, and you don't wear tight shorts in prison. (laughs) "But no, no, I want to wear them." "Okay," he said. So, Andrei, I remember Andrei Konchalovsky kept going, "Contrast." He was a Russian aristocrat. "Contrast! Contrast!" And he would go to Eric, he'd go, "Ahhh..." And then he'd go to this other guy, he'd go, "Ahhh..." And then, and then he'd go to me, he'd go, he'd go, "Roar!" (laughs)

    9. CW

      (laughs)

    10. DT

      ... "Eddie, Eddie, is he making fun of me?" "Shut up, man. (laughs) J- just shut up." (laughs) And, uh, so I'm waiting there and he goes... So, uh, Eric says, "Okay. Well, then I'll fight him." He picks me, right? So, so Andre saw that Eric could do whatever I told him to do, you know. And, uh, and he... 'Cause he knows Eric's a movie star and movie stars can do whatever they want. They're dicks, you know what I mean? Really.

    11. CW

      (laughs)

    12. DT

      (laughs) And so, so, uh, so you know, sometimes they don't feel like working, so they'll just, "No, no, I don't... Not right now. I don't..." I go, "Everybody would be waiting," you know, and, uh, and... 'Cause he's in his trailer. So, uh, Andre saw that if I told Eric, "Come on, let's go," he'd go, you know. So Andre comes up to me and goes, "Danny, you be in movie. And you fight Eric in movie. And you be my friend." Now, if you come from a prison background, you're a little suspicious when somebody says, "You be my friend." And you wanna say, "Look, punk, I ain't gonna shower with you," you know what I mean? So, so, (laughs) so I told Eddie, "Eddie, now listen. I'm gonna train the kid for 320," 'cause Eric... 'Cause then Andre leans over and he kisses me on one cheek, kisses me on the other cheek, walks away. I said, "Yeah, I'll train the kid, but, uh, if I'm gonna be kissing that old man, I want more money." (laughs)

    13. CW

      (laughs)

    14. DT

      Eddie says, "No, no. He's European. I ain't no European." (laughs)

    15. CW

      He's European. Yeah, exa-... They all do it.

    16. DT

      "Listen." You know what I mean? And so, but let me tell you something. When I found out what that old man did with me, for me, give me a, a SAG card, shit. He could've kissed me on the mouth. It's kinda...

    17. CW

      (laughs)

    18. DT

      Whoa, Andre. I love you. Um... (laughs)

    19. CW

      (laughs)

    20. DT

      That's where I got my SAG card. That's, that's where I... All of a sudden, people, everybody on set, I went from, (whistles) "Hey, you," to, "Mr. Trejo, would you like some coffee?" (laughs) Like, "Yeah. Two cups (laughs) and sugar and cream. And give me one of those Pilates, the cookies." You know what I mean? And, uh, anything... Wow. That's when Eddie told me, "Listen, the whole world can think you're a movie star, but you can't." And I said, "Why?" And, and he showed me. We walked up to a movie star and we listened to him. We listened to the people around him. "Ooh. Oh, we love you. We love you. You got such a pretty nose. Oh, look at you. God, you're so beautiful." And then he walked away. "I hate that punk. God, I'd like to kill that son of a bitch. He's entitled something." You know. And I said, "Wow." I said, "My job is to leave every situation that I'm in better than when I got there, no matter what it is."

  16. 39:22 – 43:13

    Challenges of Being an Actor

    1. DT

    2. CW

      So you were playing a lot of roles as inmate number one or bad guy-

    3. DT

      Inmate-

    4. CW

      ... number three or whatever it might be. Yeah, yeah.

    5. DT

      Bad... Never number three.

    6. CW

      Oh, okay. Bad guy number one. (laughs)

    7. DT

      Uh, number two. I got... I'll go for a number two. You know what I mean? (laughs)

    8. CW

      Okay. (laughs) So but there must have been a point, uh, uh, despite the fact that you're playing a role that you kind of had played for free throughout your life-

    9. DT

      Yeah.

    10. CW

      ... there still must have been skill acquisition that you needed to do at some point, like remembering lines, you know, just drilling some of the things to do with on-set, understanding how to interact with the camera and stuff like that. What were some of the challenges-

    11. DT

      You know what? I, I, I gotta say that the first five years of my career really was like my training. You know, I was really a glorified extra. I would get called on the set as an, as... Almost like an extra. But I'm SAG, so I'm making 320 a day. I'm standing there and the director would inevitably say, "Danny, say something prison-y." And they'd always take off-

    12. CW

      Prison-y. (laughs)

    13. DT

      ... my shirt. They always wanted... I'd take off my shirt. They wanted to see the tat. I'd get on the set, "Trejo, take off your shirt." I don't have a shirt, so I don't have a shirt on. "Hey, Danny, say something prison-y." "Hey, we'll kill all you sons of bitches." Oh my god. "Where did you study, Dan?" You know.

    14. CW

      (laughs) San Quentin. (laughs)

    15. DT

      Yeah. (laughs) San Quentin. Uh, this one, it was funny 'cause this one director, I was supposed to kick in this door and, uh... And they got four stunt people in there and I'm supposed to rob this, this, uh... What do you call it? This poker game. And I've robbed poker games. So I kicked in the door.

    16. CW

      (laughs)

    17. DT

      I busted this one guy in the mouth. Bang. I hit this woman. Boom. And then I've got this gun on this big white guy. "Move! Move! Move! I haven't shot a white guy all day." And, and "God... My God, Danny. Where did you study?" I said, "Uh, Vons, Safeway, uh, uh, CVS, uh..." (laughs) And he didn't get it. I robbed a couple of poker games. In fact, the, the, the, the, the robbery that my uncle bought from Eddie Bunker in '62 was a poker game.

    18. CW

      Been preparing, preparing for 20 years or something like that.

    19. DT

      And the first... Eddie says, "Hey, the first half of your life was a character study. Remember that." (laughs) And so I... You know, I've just been... You, you know what? I didn't even know that I was being typecast. I didn't know what typecast was. I'm making 320 a day. What do I care about typecasting? And the first time I ever got interviewed was, like, from some little girl fresh out of interview school or something, right? 'Cause she looks at me and says, "Danny, aren't you afraid of being typecast?" And I said, "What do you mean?" She said, "Well, you're being stereotyped as the mean Mexican guy with tattoos." I go, "I am the mean Mexican guy with tattoo... Shit. What are you talking about? I thought I had a brilliant... (laughs) I thought I had a great career going and you're... And now she's gonna tell me I'm a, I'm a typecaster, you know. I'm..."... and you got to remember, everybody is typecast. Tom Cruise is typecast as the leading guy. You know what I mean? And it's like, (smacks lips) you know, I'm not gonna do a whole lot of babysitting with, with... (laughs) No, that's a lie. I did a movie called The Babysitter and it was like, uh, they called me 'cause they had this real troubled kid and this kid glues my motorcycle to the ground, just does everything and then... (laughs) I end up screaming, running out of the house. I, I forgot what movie it was, but...

    20. CW

      So, after you've done this stuff, you've been extra-ing,

  17. 43:13 – 45:22

    Becoming Serious in the Industry

    1. CW

      and then you must have had a point at which you thought, "Right, this is getting really serious now. I'm having to learn roles. I'm having to do a little bit more." When did you feel like you'd started to level up?

    2. DT

      I, I, you know, I, I can remember lines. I, I, I heard somebody, Eddie Bunker, I, my mentor, he passed away. If you ever want to read a great criminal novel, read Education of a Felon, Eddie Bunker. Great. Really, okay. And, uh, uh, it was funny, Eddie Bunker said that this old actor once said, "Remember your lines and don't bump into the furniture." That was it. And Dennis Hopper, who's a friend of... I just dropped that name. (laughs) Dennis Hopper said, "Trejo, hey, if the scene says you drink water, drink the water. Don't act like you drink the water." You know what I mean? (laughs) And I love him. He was awesome, Hopper, he was cool. And so he's one of my best friends. And, uh, you know, I just learned along the way. So when I got a speaking role, my first real speaking role was with one of my heroes, walked, talked exactly like my uncle Gilder, a guy named Charles Bronson, I did Death Wish for. And I grabbed him and I'm, I'm in a bar, I grab him and said, "Hey, don't I know you?" And it was like, the director loved it, "Don't I know you?" And pointed at him. He said, "That was cool." And I didn't even know I did it, (laughs) you know? But it was just what I would do when I, you know... and so that was my style, do what I do, you know, and, uh, and he loved it. Anyway, I got blown up by Charles Bronson. That was another one. That was a good one, you know, and, uh, uh, yeah, it was, it was a great scene, um, and

  18. 45:22 – 47:49

    Danny's Favourite Deaths

    1. DT

      Char-

    2. CW

      What's one of your... Or what is some of your favorite deaths? Given that you're the most killed man in Hollywood, what are some of your favorite ones?

    3. DT

      There's no better death in Hollywood, and it's a fact. When Robert De Niro, I begged Robert De Niro to kill me in Heat. And it was funny 'cause when we did it, uh, we're sitting there right before I went into makeup, we're both sitting there and Bob... (laughs)

    4. CW

      (laughs)

    5. DT

      Bob, Bob said to me... (laughs) "What do you think, Trejo?" I said, "You know, I don't know. What do you think, Bob? How should I play this?" And he said, "I think you're already dead." And you know... "I, I think you're already dead." "What do you mean?" He says, "Well, you, you know, uh, you, you just got enough in you to beg me to kill you. You just beg me to kill you. Every breath, you, there's more and more you go, you know?" And he said, "What do you think?" "I see it the same way, Bob, you, you hit it nail on the... exactly what I was thinking." And so when we did it, it was like, you see it, you see me dying. You see every breath, everything I say, "Ah," I die a little more. And then at the end I said, "Don't leave me like this, Holmes. Don't leave me like this." I swear to God, I have heard that a million times. I have heard that from clerks in the market. I, I've heard that from grandmas pushing their cart. "Don't leave me like this, Holmes. Don't l-" (laughs) You know, in markets, gas stations, everybody remembers that, those lines. And thank you, Robert De Niro. (laughs)

    6. CW

      Big Bob coming in with the advice.

    7. DT

      Come on. Hey, I wanted to die... He'll go come on again. I want to die like, "All right, Holmes, this is John Wayne." You know? (laughs) This is the way I wanted to go out, you know? But God, man, it was like, my daughter can't watch that scene. She said, "No, Daddy, I, I don't want to, I can't." And she get up crying simply because... Says she, "That was your life. That's the way you were supposed to end." You... And storms out, you know? So... (laughs)

    8. CW

      Yeah, but Bob told me to, so listened to Bob, right? Listened to Bob, yeah.

    9. DT

      Oh, yeah, Bob told you. (laughs)

  19. 47:49 – 53:08

    Saving Kiefer Sutherland

    1. CW

      What was this story about you and Kiefer Sutherland? Didn't you help him out with something?

    2. DT

      Yeah.

    3. CW

      Wasn't he in some trouble?

    4. DT

      Yeah, Kiefer was, uh... What was it? I... He had hired some guy that he thought was tough. You know what I mean? 'Cause h- guys in Hollywood like tough guys around them, but guys they can control. They don't like guys that are-

    5. CW

      It was like a security type thing?

    6. DT

      Yeah. Right. And so, and this guy ended up to be a total jerk, right? And then they couldn't get him off the set 'cause, uh, uh, I think Kiefer promised him a SAG card and so, "Hey, when am I gonna get my SAG card?" That kind of shit, you know? And when somebody says that, you're supposed to be quiet about it, you know? And, and, uh, and, "When am I gonna get my line?" You know? And, and, uh, and so anyway, they ended up escorting him off the...... escorting him off the, uh, set. And about two weeks later, uh, I get a call on, uh, on, uh, George got a call. My friend, George Perry, got a call and, uh, we're down at Venice Beach and, and, uh, George said, "Yeah? Yeah? Okay. All right. Kiefer, what's up?" And, "Hey, you know where Danny's at?" He goes, "Yeah, he's right here." And gives me the phone. We're in Venice... "It's Danny. I got a problem." "What's up?" He said, uh, "Somebody threatened my, my, my, my family and..." I go, "What?" Somebody threatened his family. So he said... I says, "Who?" And he told me and I says, "Okay, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." He goes, "No, no. No way, Danny." And then he got scared. I said, "Hey, I'll take care of it." "No, but wait, I... Kiefer, do you want me to take care of it or not?" "Y- yeah. Okay. All right. All right." And he was panicked, right? But he didn't know what taking care of it meant, you know? So, so, uh...

    7. CW

      Did he think you were gonna get this guy whacked?

    8. DT

      Yeah, I think so. He was, he didn't... I don't have to whack anybody. But, uh, this, this is a whacking, you know? And so I, I kind of, me and George just kinda like told this guy, "Hey, this is the last thing you wanna do, pal." You know what I mean? Put a cherry bomb up your ass and light it and... I think two days later his wife got flowers and, "I'm sorry," and, and, uh... I ran into Kiefer, this was 10, 15 years ago. I ran into Kiefer probably five years ago and, uh, "Hey, Kiefer, what's up?" "Hey, hey, Trejo. Wait. Hey, I've been meaning to call you. How, how you doing?" You know. Because I've help, I've helped a lot of people in Hollywood 'cause a lot of them think like I'm some kind of thug or something and, and, and they, they... I'll help them. They'll either love me and, and, you know, be friends that call up on Thanksgiving and, "Come on over," and that kind of... Or be scared to death of me. Yeah. And just stay away from me and I understand 'cause if, if you're trying to be a man, if you're a man and you're... Hollywood's got you thinking you're really tough, you know, and, uh, and you have to ask for help and this guy squashes whatever problem you have, then all of a sudden you're either going to take it as, (gasps) "I'm weaker than him," or, "He's my friend." You know? It depends on where your mind is, you know, so...

    9. CW

      Well, I guess you've got those yes men around people that you were talking about before. It can make that ego very fragile, right? It builds them up, it builds them up.

    10. DT

      I-

    11. CW

      It makes them feel invincible.

    12. DT

      Yeah. Right, right. You know what? I don't got no yes men. My assistant is a guy named Mario Castillo that I met in San Quentin when I was doing Blood In Blood Out. He was a resident. He won't say he was an inmate. "I was a resident. I was renting a room." You know? (laughs) And, uh, and if you look at him, if you look at the dictionary... My two best friends are a guy named Mario and Max. And if you look in the dictionary, Cholo killer gangster, it's got their pictures. Okay. It's just, boom. It's just... And both of them came up the same way I did and, uh, you know, it's like, uh, we all have like the same respect for each other, you know. Whether I work for you or not, you will respect me, you know? Period. And, and I do and they respect me. And I, uh... It's funny the way God works. I met Mario in 1991 and been my friend ever since. He was in Quentin when he came out, he got clean and sober and, uh, I lived with him and Max for a while when I went through divorce. Then when I bought a house, he came to live with me 'cause he got sick and lost his job. And I said, "Well, work for me." So, so, uh, became my assistant and ended up saving my son's life.

  20. 53:08 – 58:26

    Filming Con Air & Anchorman

    1. DT

    2. CW

      Talk to me about how much fun it was to do Con Air because that's a lot of big guys, big actors.

    3. DT

      So funny. That Con Air was so funny. They got all the wanna be tough guys in, uh, in Hollywood, right? Put them all on the same plane and everything was a contest. I mean...

    4. CW

      (laughs)

    5. DT

      If you, if you would spit, somebody would spit farther and... (mimics punching) Everybody would start spitting a scene and... Push-ups, same thing, same thing. All, all this, this, you know... There was a guy there, Benny Urquidez. Benny the Jet. He was a five-time world kickboxing champion and he was a, a, a... Oh, God, what was his name? Con Air, the cop that was the good cop. Uh, John... My God, I can't remember his... Kuzak. John Cusack, right? John Cusack. Yeah. And people don't know it, John Cusack is bad. I mean, this guy, he can, he can, he can bend a, a, a heavy bag with his foot. You know, 'cause, 'cause Benny Urquidez was his sensei and his sensei was also on the movie. So every lunch when everybody started having these contests, Benny Urquidez would come (whistles) "Come on, Danny." He'd get me and take me. "What is it, Benny? What do... Why you keep pulling me away?" You know, he says, "Danny, you grew up with my brother Mando and Mando was as tough as Benny." You know what I mean? Mando was...... and a dope fiend." And he said, "You're exactly like my older brother. And my older brother was a bad sport (laughs) and didn't play well with others. Neither do you." (laughs) And he says, "And I know those guys, they're playing ha ha, I beat you games." You know, I don't play. I mean, I'll, I'll, I'll play fun with my kids and people. But, but there's no winner, there's no loser, you know, because when you come to a winner and the loser, uh, there's people that don't want to be losers, you know, and that's not good. That's again, like that resentment, you know, that resentment. Resentment, way resentment works, okay, it's here and say, "Well, that guy beat me spitting. Oh, he thinks he's tougher than me. Oh, he probably thinks I'm a punk. Oh, wait a minute. You are a punk." (growls) And so, no, I don't... you can't let that build. So I understood what Benny was doing, yeah.

    6. CW

      I love it, man. What about Anchorman on set? How was that?

    7. DT

      (laughs) Funniest guy in the world. I would hate to be that guy that, uh, uh, oh God, I... Come on, I can't remember names. But anyway, people would laugh when he would walk into a room. The lead, who was the lead in Anchorman? That was, um- Mike. ... Will Ferrell, right? Will Ferrell. Okay. He walks into a room, people start laughing. He has this aura of everybody laugh. And so, but God, he was funny, you know what I mean? And I loved working with him. And they-

    8. CW

      Well, you've got the alternative, right? He's the one that when everyone walks into a room and they all laugh, and you walk into a room and everybody's terrified of you.

    9. DT

      Everyone get quiet. (laughs) But you know what's funny, in, uh, in Blood In Blood Out, we did, we were La Onda. We were, our gang was La Onda, you know. And we... it was patterned after the Mexican mafia, but we didn't call it the Mexican mafia. We had gave them that respect. The big problem Eddie did was he didn't get it right, and he called it... Okay, so anyway, I walk into a club and there'll be like three guys. You can tell three guys from the mafia there. They'll be sitting there and girls will be sitting around. And they wa- when I walk in, they all stand up. "La Onda!" You know, 'cause, 'cause it was a joke. Do you understand? They understand. We didn't try to disrespect them. We didn't try to say that their leader got raped. You know, it's bullshit. But, and so, it's like, I think, you know, so I've lived this life that was... Mundo, there's a guy, Mundo, who was one of the top dogs in the mafia. He did a documentary and he said, "Danny Trejo is blessed because people on both sides of the fence respect him." That's the biggest compliment anybody could give me, you know. And, and, uh, and, uh, I liked that. You, you know, I like being respected on both sides of the fence. I can walk into any prison in the S- in the United States and, and, and get love. I, I, I can go to any neighborhood, you know, and, "Hey." You know? And that's beautiful. That's, that's like what God's given me.

  21. 58:26 – 59:37

    Where to Find Danny

    1. DT

    2. CW

      Danny Trejo, ladies and gentlemen. Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood will be linked in the show notes below.

    3. DT

      Hey, you know what? I also, I got a record label, Trejo's Music, and we're getting ready to drop a single, and it's called If You Don't Mind, Trish Delito and Koda the Barber. Then I got, I've got some singers that are unbelievable. I got, I got Jasmine Torres, Diana Gonzalez, and Tara New. So they're gonna... we're gonna drop their album pretty soon and it's gonna be awesome. And I just, I just want to keep doing it. And if any of you are in Los Angeles, stop at my restaurant. Trejo's Tacos, Trejo's Cantina. Hey, call me. I'll get you-

    4. CW

      Danny, you're a sick guy, man. Thank you so much for coming on.

    5. DT

      Thank you.

    6. CW

      Keep on rocking, brother.

    7. DT

      God bless you.

    8. CW

      Thank you very much for tuning in. If you enjoyed that, then press here for a selection of the best clips from the podcast over the last few months. And don't forget to subscribe. It makes me very happy indeed. Peace.

Episode duration: 59:38

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