The American actor has lent his voice to characters in animated films and video games in addition to playing memorable roles in action films. (Reuters)
Danny Trejo, popularly known as “Machete,” is an American actor recognized in the film industry for playing iconic roles after spending 11 years in prison due to an addiction that affected him from an early age.
His appearance and personality made several film directors interested in him and he began his life as an actor alongside renowned stars with whom he would participate on more than one occasion.
After his foray into the entertainment industry, he collaborated as a voice actor and even appears in some video games such as Grand Theft Auto (GTA), but he also opened a popular restaurant chain in the United States.
His first participation on the big screen was as an extra in this action film in which he faces a savage boxer. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
After being state boxing champion in the lightweight and welterweight categories in San Quentin prison, California, United States, he gave lessons to an actor but his profile caught attention and he was offered a role as an extra in the film “Train escape”.
In this 1985 film directed by Andrei Konchalovski, in which action and suspense predominate, Trejo played a boxer who travels aboard a train that has difficulty stopping after the driver suffers cardiac arrest.
His appearance on screen, although it was very brief, allowed him to reach the eyes of the right people, which led him to participate in various projects, starting his career as an actor.
Ten years later he appeared in ““Blood for blood” alongside Damian Chapa and Benjamín Bratt in a film in which two brothers and a cousin take different paths from the law, unleashing a wave of violence in the family.
His participation was also relatively short but many characters began to arrive at his door and in 1995 his career experienced considerable growth.
His longest-running performance to date was alongside Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer in “Fire against fire”, where he plays an accomplice who participates in the latest robbery of a renowned thief.
In Michael Mann’s police film, Danny Trejo participated as a supporting character alongside Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer as protagonists. (Warner Bros.)
His role plays an important piece in the plot because he is forced to choose between his family and his friends, making his decisions affect all the characters involved.
That same year it was releasedDesperado“, also known as “The gunman”, in which Antonio Banderas is the protagonist of the story and is recognized in the film for hiding his weapons in a guitar case.
He soon meets Navajas, played by Danny Trejowho is a feared enemy for his skill with knives.
In 1996 he acted alongside George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Salma Hayek in the Robert Rodríguez film titled “From dusk to dawn”.
In this proposal, a family is kidnapped and two of their captors must face vampires after they cross the border between the United States and Mexico.
In 2001 his artistic career took a turn and he participated in “mini spies”, a proposal in which he plays “Machete”, the uncle of the protagonists who begin an adventure after discovering that their parents fell into a trap.
In 2003 Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek participated with Danny Trejo in a Western-type film called “once upon a time in mexico” written and directed by Robert Rodriguez in which Antonio Banderas leaves his life as a murderer behind but his retirement lasts a short time thanks to the fact that a CIA agent, Johnny Depp, captures him.
Danny Trejo joins the story when he is originally hired to guard the Mariachi but different reasons lead him to betray his former boss.
Danny Trejo is the protagonist of “Machete”, an impoverished ex-federal who wanders through Texas in search of revenge against those who betrayed him. (Grindhouse)
In 2010, his career reached its highest peak thanks to the release of “Machete”, a film by Robert Rodríguez and Ethan Maniquis in which a man hires him to assassinate a Texas senator but betrays him and decides to start a brutal massacre to get revenge on his former boss.
Isador Cortez, played by Danny Trejoalso faces corruption and a painful past while dealing with being illegal in the United States.