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

Episode Date: July 19, 2021

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 - Get in touch. Join the discussion with me and other like minded listeners in the episode comments on the MW YouTube Channel or message me... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ModernWisdomPodcast Email: https://www.chriswillx.com/contact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's happening people? Welcome back to the show. My guest today is the one and only Danny Trejo. He's an actor and a restaurant, plus he happens to probably have the most recognizable face in Hollywood history. He's just written a new memoir about his life, and today we get to hear his craziest stories from seven decades of doing mad shit. Expect to learn what it was like to meet Charles Manson in jail, who the hardest guy on set at Conair was how Danny nearly ended up with the death penalty, whether he actually robbed Antonio Banderas, how he saved Kiefer Sutherland from a psychopath, and much more. Like, what is there to say? You know, it's Danny Trejo, the guy's a living legend, and for all that he was a hard man in his early years

and then played even harder men, I suppose on screen in his roles, he is very rounded. He's got a lot that he wants to try and give back. And I'm super glad that he's got round to writing this memoir and I'm sure that you're going to really enjoy this episode today. If you do, please make sure that you've hit the subscribe button.

It is the only way that you can make sure you do not miss an episode when they go live every Monday, Thursday and Saturday with the most fascinating humans in the world that have been on death row and Rob Dantonio Banderas at the same time, maybe. And now, ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Danny Treo. Danny Bloody Trejo in the building. How are you doing, man? Great. Thank you. Pleasure to have you here. Are you the most killed actor in Hollywood history? They've gotten me here. I was it. Last time I counted, I was 68. I think I'm about 90 now. But it's kind of ironic, right? Because you've been killed on screen a lot.

Put somehow managed to make it out of your life, so far alive. That's what everybody says. They did. I remember when the pandemic, everybody scared of the, not the pandemic, everybody scared of the millennium. All the millennium, 2000, the millennium, the millennium,

and they asked me, what do you think about the millennium? I wasn't, I wasn't supposed to get out of the 60s, I don't know. I'm a God's, I've been on God's times since 1968. Borrowed time man, yeah, this is extra time. It's weird right, because most people's impression of what like a tough guy or a hard lad or a guy from the streets is, it comes from movies. Not everybody gets to see those people in the flesh, but then most of the people that

play those roles aren't from the streets. So it's different for you because you've sort of earned your stripes, you are, and then you get to display it as well, right? You know, it's really funny, which is just said, when I was trying to write my book, I kept getting people that were like English literature majors. They just, they would change a few words and it didn't sound like me.

It sounded like an English lesson. And so Donald Log, who is a friend of mine, we've been for, for instance, 1991. And he was raised in right by the Mexican border, okay? His town crosses the Mexican border. And so, when we started talking as friends, he not only knew that he was like an English literature major, but he knew the streets.

In fact, his hometown had nothing but alleys. So it was like we understood each other and we started writing it and it just flowed. I gave it to my kid's mom, Maeve. I read this. It's just, it sounds like I'm talking to you and I thought, okay, cool. Then that's what we wanted. Yeah. What was the process like writing that about two year and a half years? Just we would sit together out in my backyard or or driving around or just wherever we just stayed kind of like hung real close for about two and a half years, almost three years

and put it together. That's awesome, man. I had Mark Mansonon, who's an author that's just written Will Smith's memoir slash biography, so him and Will Smith have worked together for the last three years. And he said exactly the same thing. Just lived together.

It wasn't going to a room for 13 hours, talking to a tape recorder and then someone leaves. It's a long, very emergent process. Hey, I'm don't know, sometimes we would like, we would like wake up, you know, he'd be on one couch, I'd be on the other, we fell asleep, you know, and it was just, and it was amazing,

because you know, he's got two boys, I got two boys, I got, I got my daughter. She's, you know, they're all grown now. So we were able to, able to kind of hang. 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? Everything learned, I learned what I thought was how to be a man and it was but it only was in only was a good deal in San Quentin You know, it was only a You know, I learned I learned how to survive in a in a unsurvival world, you know, it's like

San Quentin is kind of the epitome of, of you're not gonna come out, you know, and if you do, you were either a predator or you were prey, a lot of prey don't come out. So what was some of the lessons? What did he, what were the tactics and the tools that he gave you to make sure that you weren't Don't don't ever fight down, you know, don't never be a bully. Don't take a step backwards ever

You know, I mean just never it doesn't matter It you know San Quentin prison. It's kind of like there are no tough guys people be there these tough guys They're not just these tough guy in prison because first of all Four inches of steel will take care of a tough guy in a minute, you know now I am not gonna if I suck Somebody they're gonna suck me back and then we're gonna fight and then we're gonna roll around 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 I have a resentment or an 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 enhanced my reputation.

And now, well, that was a cowardly act. Yeah, but I'm still alive. You tell this 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 and you mentioned something like you were prepared to go to a level of violence that they weren't at all. Yeah, they have no, no, the average person on the street doesn't know the level of violence that is in San Quentin is ridiculous.

I fight out of fight, you know, you see, 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 watch people argue a little bit. But basically, I have like, you know, I, I've watched people argue, 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. You understand? You know, it's like bad to whatever. And it's like, all of a sudden somebody comes running down, bang, bang, bang, and stabs you. You know, while that happened, you know. And so, it's like, I don't fight, I don't argue. I don't argue with people. Because I know, it's like, wait a minute, man, 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, see, because in prison, if we argue and you win then I walk away thinking, wow, you think I made me look like a punk. I mean he really did that. I'm really a punk. Everybody thinks I'm a punk. Oh, oh, I might get raped. Watch out. Let me fix this. So that's still that's what you're taught. So it's like, wait a minute, it doesn't happen. The cost of losing an argument and both people still being alive is too great to rep- the reputation of the one that lost. Exactly. Wow, that was good. I'm gonna write that down and I'm not gonna give you credit for it. That's fine. That's absolutely fine. Wasn't there a story about how a Mexican gang rivalry started over a pair of shoes. Yeah, that's the next immatria. Shoes.

It was a pie face this Mexican mafia member gave a pair of shoes that he stole from somebody from a different area. Like there was North and South. There's Southern Mexicans and there's Northern Mexicans. Southern Mexicans are Mexican mafia, la Emmy. The Northern Mexicans are the

familia nuestra. So Pythas stole a pair of shoes from one of the Norteños, one of the guys from, and he gave it to robot, Salas, who was one of the leaders of the Mexican mafia gave them and so when the guy from the Northern saw a she hey, those reminds you brother and Robot ended up saying yeah, we'll take them then and so eight robot ended up going into there's a stabbing both him and his cell partner So that's how that started. For parachutes. That would work for parachutes.

But what was one of the biggest rubberies that you were a part of when you were younger? Oh, God, man. I would say, Circle liquor was pretty good and then a Dale's market, I think, Dale's market was a pretty big market in the neighborhood and we took that down and It was a got away with it. How did that come about? Just we needed money You know, you know that was it was funny. It's like this was this therapist or the You know, that was, it was funny. It's like, this was this therapist or this girl

that knew about therapy. We were talking, and she's, Danny, you have a robbery mentality. I was, what are you talking about? I said, you always think there's money coming. You know, I mean, robbers, I need money. Oh, go get some. You know, so life is not a ATM. Yeah.

Life is not a ATM machine. Life is not an ATM machine. But I suppose it is. When you can go and pick it off the streets as a young guy, if you need money, then there's a corner shop, there's a corner shop, there's a man on the street, there's a whatever. Exactly. You know, until somebody shoots you. And you got to remember that, especially nowadays, I feel sorry for people that are committing drives now because everybody got guns.

There was a time in America when, you know, only the bad guys in the cops had gone. The shopkeeper's got one and his door is got one. And Graham, Graham, I've got a lot of magic. Yeah. Five millimeters, so you better at school, and you know, but you know, good bad is terrible because we keep having these, you know, these mass shootings, you know, and I'm sorry, but I'm one of the people that say automatic weapons are only good for killing people.

That's it. You know, I'm not against for enough automatic weapons. The only thing they're good for is killing people. You can't shoot rabbits with them. Didn't you end up robbing Antonio Banderas by accident? Everybody says that. I never robbed. Where's the, who's trying to stitch you up with a story of Antonio Bander? Are they trying to start a Mexican Spanish war here or something like that? But a...

Cheech Marin went to a school called Alamani. I went to a school called San Fernando. We used to take money away from the kids from Alamani, nice Christian Catholic school, you know what I mean? But I never robbed Cheech. I never robbed Jesus. I love Jesus. That's funny. So how come if the Mexican mafia is floating around, how come you never joined it? My uncle Gilbert blesses his soul. 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 most, it's unbelievable. And so I just never, you know, they, they, it was great. I knew them all. I mean, you know, Edward James, all my save Edward James, all my, because I knew some guys, you know, and he won't admit it though, you know what I mean, but, but, but, it's, you know,

it's like, you know, I told him when he was going to make that movie, don't, you know, come on me and Eddie Bunker, the guy that got me into the movies, right? Because Eddie knew Joe Morgan, they were best friends, and Joe Morgan ran the Mexican mafia. And so Eddie Bunker, and I talked to Edward James when he asked me to be in the movie American me and we asked him, did you talk to Joe? And he goes, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was a lie. He didn't.

And he kept saying that he made this movie very theatrical. And I said, Eddie, you're not dealing with theatrical people here, you know? And, you know, you're dealing with guys that wake you up in the middle of the night and slits your throat. And he was saying, no, but you know, he wouldn't listen. So, gotten big trouble. In fact, he got so much, if, after American me, you American me, you didn't see Edward James until they gave him this break on the Mayans. And it's funny, any film that Edward James is on won't call me on it because he kind of is still, you know, as I understand, you know, it's like you scared of me.

I think it's funny. All 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 big boy prison? Yeah, exactly. You're out of the kindergarten. You're into the proper skill now. What was the toughest prison wing that you ended up in eventually? Well, you know about solid dead, quentin, Folsom, Tracy, they're all, they're all

tough prisons and a b section in prison is like you're just locked up and I used to, they used to let me out the yard of B section and it was funny because the guards would always tease me. And there's two baseball mitts and the baseball, right? And the guard, hey, trail, who are you gonna bring? Who are you gonna play catch with? You know, cause I'm about to buy myself, your mother. You know, how you like to play catch with this bullet? You know, we died battering.

It was just, you know, but I'll never forget, San Quentin B section, you're right on the bay. You're right on the bay. And so there's a two chain link fence and another chain link fence down there and it's the gun towers and you're not gonna get out of there, they're gonna shoot you. But it's probably the best view in the prison. But you're by yourself, by just sit there and there was the song that came out sitting on the dock in the bay, wasting time. And I was sitting there like, oh my God.

I wonder if he wrote that. Did you write that for me? God. I mean, I mean, let go. And I used to, it was just, and it was funny the gardener that that song he would play it and they would He'd be and he'd go hey, was that for you trail? Here I'd give him the finger but but I

Think that's the only time I felt any kind of only time I felt any kind of, oh, why am I here? You know what I mean? Otherwise, I'd be into it. You don't think of anything else, but the beautiful view. But especially when you've been in the system for a long time, right? When that's, when your friends are there, your communities there, your coaches there, you know, what I went to Jew and a Hall. There was so many Mexicans in June hall when I went, I thought Mexicans were supposed to go to the right of passage or something, you know, because it was all, it was Mexican American, African American and poor whites. No rich whites, they knew, you know, they knew, rich white didn't want to, you know, but,

no rich white. They don't, you know, they're rich white and want to, you know, but and, and most of the white guys in juvenile hall kind of gravitate towards the Mexicans because there's not enough of them to stand alone. Now there is because there's so many poor white guys. It's not like, we're even now, It's not like we're even now. You know, the world, the world's made us all poor. You. So you met Charles Manson in prison, didn't you? What was that story? He tells that how you jail in the county, but let me tell Charlie, wasn't the guy that you saw on the TV specials?

All right. He was a, a god, he was like five foot four, five foot five, little scrawny. He was poor, kind of like a bum really. He had a string for a belt. He tied his pants with a string, because he could afford a belt. And everybody else, we belt, you know, and everybody else, we

dressed, you know, cool ironed our pants and, and so the, some of the prisoners were going to take advantage of them because they'd take advantage of anybody that's small. And we found out that he could hypnotize you. So we, we let him sleep in front of our cell to You know to make sure that nobody had heard him and and he got us loaded on weed and And three of the guys in this cell everybody else had like six guys in their cell. We only had three because We were special I'd do killers with me, so, so, and then, and then he got us loaded on we, and I said, well, get us loaded on heroin. So the three of us tried to get loaded on heroin.

One guy just woke up and afterwards I asked him, how come, how come he couldn't do him? He said, yes, did you ever get loaded on heroin? You goes, no, but your mind doesn't know how to work. 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, you'll wake up and that's what we kept having. Yeah, so you're saying that he got you guys loaded up on heroin or weed, but there was

no heroin or weed in the room, right? He was doing this purely through hypnosis. People know when I get loaded on heroin, my eyes, I get red under my eyes, and I'm psyched literally. The first thing you draw, you throw up, you dump. And I mean, me and Chateau, he's like, we both got a moorah! He dumped in the sink, I dumped in the toilet.

And looked like, hey, what do you know, and, and, oh, everybody was like, sacked. And, and this, Johnny Ronnie Cruz, he was like, well, what happened? He'd never gotten loaded. And, and, uh, boy, I kept, I, you know, I was sorry when they transferred Charlie out. You've basically got unlimited access to anything that you want, because he can just keep on hypnotizing you back into it. What was he in for? Do you know why he was there? I have no idea. I have no idea. He was nothing of any, you know,

because he was a petty thief. He wasn't, and that 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 scrawny little hippie

and the girls that he got, Linda Cassabie, all of them were broken. You know, they were up in Oakland and San Francisco being ripped off by the Pampson and raped by the pimps and and so He came around with a big bus and some assids and you know Let me lead you so it was kind of like they looked at him like yeah, he's the Messiah, you know They were already vulnerable. They were already primed for somebody like him to come in and say, they were so broken, you know,

and so needed somebody to take care of them. In the same way that you could have done with a bit of extra heroin or weed in prison. Absolutely. Yeah. All right, so you ended up, you ended up looking at the death penalty, at one point, what's the story behind that?

We, we, it was Cinco de Mayo 1968. And Cinco de Mayo to a Mexican, a real Mexican, spell backwards, is get bail money because, you know, you're going to do some stupid, you know, you're tequila, yeah, and, and so there was like, you know, you had 2000 drunk Mexicans in Sincol, Emile and a riot. When a riot starts, rape a check of soccer free person, death penalty. When a riot starts, it is like an explosion. Everybody. In a resentment you have, you start taking care of it, you just start, you reate prisons, you start breaking glass. So this is huge explosion of violence. Henry kicked the coach.

The strongman, he kicked the coach strongman. It was alleged that I threw a rock and hit Lieutenant Gibbons. But there's no proof. Somebody said that. 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 we're sitting there. And I remember Henry yelling, hey Danny they're gonna top us up meaning they're gonna yeah yeah I think so and I remember 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 talking Danny has a lot of potential

But he won't stop doing burgerries. I'm all this I had all this potential and And I remember Sitting in a cell naked because you're naked and I'm I'm looking somebody got got Shit and scraped it on the wall. It's it, God sucks. And I remember, okay, God, you know, what happened to all that potential? I remember thinking of where my potential go. And I remember not wanting to die screaming and yelling and begging and pee in 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. DA rejected it. Okay, I get this out of here. You guys deal with it. So they topped us and now August 23rd, 1969.

I'll never forget the month before the parole agent that was on the board, Matt Dogg, Madden, that was his real name, Matt Dogg, Mad that was his ruining, Matt Doug Madden said, try how 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 get out of here and bring us back a life sentence. Cause I only had a 10 year top. But I'll never forget this, bring us back a life sentence so we won had a 10 year top. But I'll never forget that.

Bring us back a life sentence so we won't have to bother with you anymore. And, and I, 30 days later, August 23rd, I walked out of prison and I, a shot 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 because I was late or You know, I said let me tie with dignity, you know, so You know, I might do that. I asked him a couple of months ago. How am I doing God? He said you're almost out of health. They'll keep it up, you know, so. Barrow time, man. Barrow time, ever since.

I told you, it's like it's in. You know what I mean? It's like, take me to my kids are great. I got great insurance. They'll be all right. You know what I mean? It's like everything good that has ever happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else.

So, you know, I got it, you're up cool. You know, I just keep helping. Have you ever watched Peaky Blinders, the series? No. Okay, so to British series, really huge, some massive actors and Tom Hardy's in it, some of the huge guys. And it's just after World War One. And in it, these guys have gone off and they've been in the battle of the Somme Right in World War One and then all of them are sure that they're gonna die they get trapped in a tunnel and they're fighting 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 Yeah, and that's exactly the same as the situation you had done. Hey, I wasn't supposed to get out of the 60s by the grace of God. And it's funny. You know, when I had brain surgery, this doctor, he said, I've never taken more blood out of somebody's head because I was, I was bleeding from two blood vessels and my daughter, she's a comedian,

she goes, well, Dr. He has a lot of room up there. And then the doctor said, he said, he said, you know, people have your injury, go home, go to sleep and die. You flew around the world, you know, and my daughter said, I guess God's not through with him yet. And as the kind of stuck and I thank you, Jesus, and I'm okay when you're through, I beat cancer, I beat hepatitis C, I beat brain surgery, you know, and so, you know, I'm glad he's not through with me. I'll still keep doing his work. I love it, man. So you also beat a bunch of long-standing addictions, right? Alcoholism,

other sorts of drugs, hard drugs, heroin, weed and stuff like that. All in solitary in the same period. I've been clean now for, it'll be 53 years in August and my life would not be the same if I had, yeah, I'd still be in drugs or in, I'd still be in prison. But most people can't just get past that sort of a dependency on faith alone. Like just the fact that you've got, you know, you've made a deal with someone. There's all of these habits. There's a physiological dependency. There's a psychological dependency. There's a cultural impetus to come and do it. How did you break that? 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 literally, but I learned what it was. You understand? And now it's like, I went to a meeting last night. You're going to be just getting out of this pandemic bullshit. And now it's like, wow, we go to meetings, you know, and so I was seeing some of the friends that I've gotten. It was like, it's amazing feeling to be back in the fold, you know, and so I could have done it alone, no way. And I feel sorry for anybody that does so. And people that try to do it alone, you should see them.

Yeah, I'm sober, so what? Okay, I'm clear. They're angry. No, it's like, I can't it alone, you should see them. Yeah, I'm sober, so what? Okay, I'm clear. They're angry. No, it's like, I can't afford that. And the resentment, resentment is like me taking poison, hoping you die. It's absolutely no good whatsoever. A resentment only hurts me.

So what I have to do, I have to write about resemblance and get about 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, hey, no way, I wasn't looking at you. I was looking at that baby hinder, you know? And then, you know, so there's always a, you know, people do things for themselves, not, not to me.

You understand, you know, I mean, if somebody does something to me, then, well, hey, wait, don't do that. You understand, there's the problem, but nine times out of 10, they weren't even thinking about me 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 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. Exactly. 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, because a lot of people can start you 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 this I remember Timmy Sanchez Tim Sanchez my next door neighbor my grandma's I smoked weed You know, I mean and then I tried to cure Timmy I turned Timmy on to we were like nine and and he got sick He never smoked weed again. Yeah, I don't like it. And yet me, I was like, I smoked weed here. You know, I used to steal my uncle's weed. Mike, he

gives me some coffee. I would still, I would steal my uncle's weed. You know, and I loved it. And then later on, you know, it's like, you just graduate. All right. 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. Yeah.

One of the guys that I was working with, the help of Stake Clean, was 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 over time you got you know, I'm gonna make about 80 bucks in a night You know and so so It was cat don't tell the IRS those cash, right?

They'll come back in 1965 he made this much but but I We'll come back in 1965, you made this much. But I was trying to do this. And then one night he calls me and says, Hey, Dan, I'm down here. And through this gym, there's a lot of blow down here, man. I'm kind of worried. I might use them. And so I went down to hang out with him.

I was on that movie anyway. And so I went down the order. I run into a guy named Eddie Bunker. And I'm looking at him And I think I know he's hey, you're Danny Trevo I saw you in the lightweight and the World away title up in Quinn. I said you're Eddie bunker. What's up, Eddie? My uncle bought a robbery from Eddie bunker in 1962, I think, right? And and so I Hey, we started talking and and he goes yeah, what do you I?

And so I he we started talking and and he goes yeah, what do you I? Is what are you doing here? He's just I wrote the I adapted the screenplay and then He asked me what I was doing. I said shit. They give me 50 bucks for acting like a convict and We laugh because we both been being a convict for free forever. And he says, are you still boxing? No, no, I train, man, I'll get hit in the face anymore. 40 years old. You think I want to mess this up anymore? And he says, he says,

Hey, we need somebody to train one of the actors out of box. And I said, what's it pay? Because I'm making 50 bucks a day. And he says, three, twenty a day. And I said, Eddie, how bad you want to skype it up? You know, I'm not thought, come on. 320 bucks, skyd have done it for another 50.

And he says, no, no, we're, then these actors really high strung. He might suck you. A, 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. John Boyd, Eric Roberts.

Brilliant movie, got nominated for Academy Award. Both Eric and John got nominated for Best Actor and Best of Boarding. Brilliant movie. Andre Kajalowski, the director, one of the best directors ever. And literally, I started training Eric. Andre saw that I could training Eric. Andrei saw that I could handle Eric. Now, the guy that they had cast to fight Eric in this movie was almost as pretty as Eric. And I mean, basically, Eric is a prettier nassister. And so, two pretty guys up against each other. Yeah, yeah. I was with each other. The way this ain't gonna work, you know what I mean? And it would be a bit silly.

I mean, what is this? Like the battle of the Queens or something, and then Eric, I wonder where these tight shorts, and you don't wear tight shorts in prison and but no, no, I want to wear the okay, so Andre, I remember Andre Kuzalowski kept going contrast, he was a Russian aristocrat, contrast, contrast and he would go to Eric, oh, and then he go to this other guy, oh, and then he go to me, he go, you go to this other guy who oh and then he go to me go you go Eddie is he making fun of me shut up, man. Just shut up and so I'm waiting there and he goes so

Eric's okay. Well then I'll fight him he picks me right so so Andre saw that Eric would do whatever I told him to do. You know, and uh, and he's, because he, you know, Eric's a movie star. And movie stars can do whatever they want. It kicks. You know, I'm really. And so, so, so, you know, sometimes they don't feel like working. So he'll just, no, no, I don't, I don't, I don't so they'll just, no, no, I don't know. I don't know. Everybody be waiting in, because these are the trailers. So, Andre saw that I've, I told him, come on, let's go. He'd go, he ends up. Andre comes up to me. Danny, you be in movie and you fight Eric in movie and you be my friend now if you cover a prison background your little suspicious when somebody says you be my friend and you want to say punk I'm gonna shower with you, you know what I mean? So, so, so I told Eddie, Eddie, now listen, I'm gonna train the kid for 320.

Cause then Andre leans over and he kisses me on one cheek, kisses me on the other cheek, walks away, I say, you know, I'll train the kid, but if I'm gonna be kissing that old man, I want more money. And he says, no, no, he's European. They will do it. You know what me? And show but let me tell you when I found out what that old man did with me for me give me a sack of shit. He could kiss me in the mouth. Oh Andre I love you. That's where I got my sad card. That's right, all of a sudden, people, everybody on set, I went from, hey you, to Mr. Treo, would you like some coffee?

Yeah, two cups and sugar and green and give me one of those Pilates, the cookies, you know what I mean? And anything is, wow, that's when Eddie told me listen the whole world can think you're a movie star but you can't and I say why and and he showed me we walked up to a movie star and we listened to him we listened to the people around who we love you we love you got to pretty know oh look at your eyes so leave me and then he walked away I hate that punk got it like to kill that son of a bitch. He said title of something. Yeah, 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 So you were playing a lot of roles as inmate number one or bad guy number three or whatever it might be. Yeah, never number three. Okay, bad guy number one. Number two, I'll go for a number two. So, but there must have been a point.

Despite the fact that you're playing a role that you kind of had played for free throughout your life, 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 that you had there? I got to say that the first five years of my career really was like my training. You know, I was really agorified extra. I would get called on and set as it as it almost like an extra But I'm sagged. I'm making three 20 a day. I'm standing there and a director would inevitably say Danny Say something to prison and and they don't

They always wanted I'd take off my shirt. They wanted to see the dad. I'd get on and said trail take off your shirt I don't ever set the leg on a shirt. And hey, Danny, say something, prison-y. Hey, we'll kill all you sons of bitches. Oh my God. Where did you study, damn. Yeah, sun-quentin. There's one. It was funny because there's one director. I was supposed to kick in this door. This one it was funny because there's one director. I was supposed to kick in this door and And they got first stunt people in there and I'm supposed to rob this this What do you call it this poker game and I've robbed poker game so

I've busted this one guy in the mouth bang I hit this boom. And then I've got just gone on this big white guy. Move, move, move. I haven't shot a white guy all day. And cut by God, Danny. Where did you study? I said, Vons, Safeway, CVS. He didn't get it. I robbed a couple of bowl games. In fact, the robbery that my uncle bought from Eddie Bunker in 62 was a poker game. Been preparing for 20 years or something like that. The first, Eddie says,

A, the first half of your life was a character study. Remember that. And so I mean, I've just been, I didn't even know that I was being typecast. I didn't know what typecast was. I make a 320 a day. What do I care being typecast. I didn't know what typecast was. I make a 3-20 a day. What do I care about typecast? And the first time I ever got interviewed was

like from some little girl, fresh out of interview school or something, right? Because it means that Danny, aren't you afraid of being typecast? And I said, what do you mean? Well, you're being stereotyped as the mean Mexican guy with tattoos. I am the mean Mexican guy with tattoo. Shit. What are you talking about? I thought I had a great career going.

And now you're going to tell me, I'm a typecaster, you know? And you got to remember, everybody is typecast. Tom Cruise is typecast as the leading guy. You know what I mean? And he's like, you know know, I'm not gonna do a whole lot of babysitting with with no that's a lie. I did a movie called a babysitter and it was like They called me because they had this real trouble kid and this kid glues my motorcycle to the ground Just does everything and then I end up screaming running out of the house. I forgot what movie it was. So after you've done this stuff, you've been extra

in 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 start to level up. I, I, you know, I, I can remember lines. I heard somebody Eddie Bunkard, my mentor, I passed away. If you ever want to read a great criminal novel, read education of a felon, Eddie Bunkard, great. Really, okay. And, uh,

Eddie Bunk great really okay and 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 your friend. I just dropped that name. Dennis Hopper said, Trail, hey, if the scene says, you drink water, drink the water. Don't act like you drink the water. You know what I mean? And I love him. He was awesome. Hopper, he was cool. And so he's one of my best friends. And 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, Geller. I named Charles Bronson. I did Death Wish for her. And I grabbed him. I mean, a bar, a grab him. Hey, don't I know you?

And it was like, the director loved. Don't I know you and pointed at him. He said, that was cool. And I didn't even know I did it. But it was just what I would do when I, and so that was my style, do what I do, you know, and he loved it anyway. I got blown up by Charles Bronson. That was another one. It was a good one, you know, and it was a great scene. What's one of your, what is some of your favorite deaths, given that you

the most killed man in Hollywood? What is some of your favorite deaths given that you the most killed man in Hollywood? What is some of your favorite ones? There's no better death in Hollywood and it's a fact when Robert De Niro I baked Robert De Niro to kill me in heat And it was funny because when we did it we're sitting there right before I went in to make up we're both sitting there and Bob before I went in to make up, we're both sitting there and Bob. Bob said to me, what do you think, Trail? You know, I don't know. What do you think? Bob, but how's I play this? He said, I think you're already dead. And you know, I think you're already dead.

But what do you mean? He says, well, you know, you just got nothing to pay me to kill you. He's just paid me to kill you. Every breath, the more and more you go, you know. And he's What do you think? I See it the same way mom you just you're headed nail on it exactly what I was thinking and so when we did it

It was like you see it and see we die and you see every breath everything I say I die a little more and then the end I just don't leave me like this home 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've heard that from grandma's pushing their car. Don't leave it like this. Homes, don't you in markets, gas, they, everybody remembers that those lines. And thank you Robert DeNiro. Big Bob coming in with the advice. I wanted to die you come on again. I would die like, all right, all this John Wayne, you know, I just know where I want to go out. But God, man, it's John Wayne. You know, I just know where I want to go out. But God, man, it was like, my daughter can't watch that scene.

She said, no, daddy, I don't want to, I can't. And she'd get up crying simply because she, that was your life. That's the way you were supposed to end. And she storms out, you know. So. Yeah, but Bob told me to. So listen to Bob, right?

Listen to Bob. I to what was this story about you and key for Sutherland didn't you help him out with something was in some trouble people was up what was it he had hired some guy that he thought was tough you know I mean because how the guys Hollywood like tough guys around them but guys they can control they don't like guys that are. As like a security type thing? Yeah, right. And this guy ended up to be a total jerk, right?

And then they couldn't get him off the set, cause I think keeper promised him a sag card. So he, hey, where am I gonna get my sag? I got that kind of shit. When somebody says that, you're supposed to be quiet about it, you know, and, and, and where am I going to get my line? And so anyway, they ended up escorting him off the, escorting him off the set and about escorting him off the set and about two weeks later I get a call on George got a call my friend George Barry got a call and we're down at Venice Beach and

George yeah yeah okay all right key for what's up? Hey, you know what Danny's at, Blum? Yeah, he's right here. He gives me the phone, Word Ben, Danny got a problem, what's up? Somebody threatened my family, I said, what? Somebody threatened his family, so he said, This is who, and he told me in it.

I said, okay, don't worry about it, I'll take care of you. No, no, no, no, we didn't, and he told me in it. I was like, okay, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. No, no, no, no, we didn't. He got scared. Hey, I'll take care of it. No, wait, I, keep her. You want me to take care of it or not? Yeah, okay.

All right, all right. Yeah. He was panic, right? But he didn't know what take care of it, man. Yeah, so. So. Do you think you were going to get this guy whacked? Yeah, I think so.

Even if you didn't, I didn't have to whack anybody, but This this is a wacky, you know, and so I kind of mean George is kind of like Joe this guy hate So the last thing you want to do pal, you know put a cherry bomb up your ass and light it I think two days later his wife got flowers and I'm sorry and I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like, I was like were saying, hey, trailhead, hey, I've been meaning to call you, how you doing? Because I've helped a lot of people in Hollywood because a lot of them think I'm some kind of and they will help them. They'll either love me and be friends that call up

on Thanksgiving and come on over and they kind of, or we scare the death of me and just stay away from me. And I understand, because if you're trying to be a man, if you're a man, and Holly was got you thinking, you're really man, if you're a man, and your Hollywood's got you thinking, you're really tough, you know, and you have to ask for help. And this guy squashes whatever problem you had, then all of a sudden you're either going to take it as, I'm weaker than him, or he's my friend, you know, it depends on where your mind is,

you know, so. But 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. It makes them feel invincible. Right. Right. You know what? I don't got no yes, man. 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 a man. I was a resident. I was in a room. And, and if you look at him, if you look at the dictionary, my two best friends are going to marry on Max. And if you look in the dictionary, you, Sherlock killer gangster, it's got their pictures. Okay, both of them came up the same way I did. And it's like we all have the same respect for each other.

You know, whether I work for you or not, you will respect me, you know, period. And I do, they respect me. And I, funny the way God works, I met Mario in 1991 and 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 sobered. I lived with him in Max Pro-Wall. When I went through divorce, then when I bought a house, he came to live with me because he got sick and lost his job. I said, well, work for me, so he became my assistant and ended up saving my son's life. Talk to me about how much fun it was to do con air because that's a lot of big guys, big actors. So funny, that con air was so funny.

They got all the one to be tough guys in Hollywood, right? Put them all on the same plane. And everything was a contest. I mean, we spit, somebody was spit farther, and whoever, we start spitting, see if it's a push-up, same thing, same thing. All this, you know, there was a guy there, Benny Eukides, Benny the Jet. He was a five-time world boxing champion and he was a God-wows his name. Conair the cop that was a good cop. John, my God, I can't remember the,

who's that, John Q's that, right? John Q's that, yeah. And people don't know what John Q's that is bad. I mean, this guy, he can bend a heavy bag with his foot. You know, because Benny Yuki was his sensei. And his sensei was also on them. So every lunch, when everybody started having these contestors, Benny Yuki des would come on, Danny, get me a treatment.

And what is it, Benny? Why do you keep pulling me away? You know, he says, Danny, you grew up with my brother, Mando. And Mando was tough as Benny. And Mando was tough as Benny. And Mando was in a dope feed. And he said, you're exactly like my older brother. And my older brother was a bad sport

and didn't play well with others. Neither do you. And he said, and I know those guys, they're playing, I beat you games, I don't play. I mean, I'll play fun with my kids and people, but there's no winner, there's no loser. Because when you come to a winner and the loser,

there's people that don't wanna be losers. 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, wow. 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 So no, I don't you can't let that bill so I understood what Benny was doing. Yeah, I love it man What about Ankeman on set? How was that? And funny is guy in the world. I would hate to be that guy that oh God Come on, 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 and anchor man? That was a, um, my go ferro, right?

Well, ferro. Okay. He walks in, people start laughing. He has this aura of everybody laughing. And so, but God, he was funny, you know what I mean? And I loved working with him. 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. It was get quiet.

But you know, it's funny. In blood, in blood out, we did, we were Laonda. We were our gang was Laonda, you know, and it was pattern after the Mexican mafia, but we didn't call it the Mexican mafia. We had gave them that respect. The big problem any 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 don't have three guys from the mafia there. They'll be sitting there and girls will be sitting up and they were when I walk in they all stand up Laonza you know and because because it was a joke the understand they understand we didn't try have they understood. 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 believe this life, there 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 Trail is blessed because people on both sides of the fence respected. That's the biggest compliment anybody could give me. You know, and end up and I like that. You know, I like being respected on both sides of the fence. I can walk into any prison in the United States and get love. I go to any neighborhood. And that's beautiful. That's that's like what God's given me. Danny Trejo, ladies and gentlemen, Trejo, my life of crime, redemption and Hollywood will be linked in the show notes below. Hey, you know what? I also, I got Lido and Coda, the barber, then I've got some singers that are unbelievable. I got Jasmine Torres, Diana Gonzales, and Tara Nue.

So we're gonna drop their album pretty soon and it's gonna be awesome. And I just wanna keep doing it. And if any of you are in Los Angeles stop it my restaurant Trails tacos trails Cantina. Hey call me Donnie you're a sick guy man. Thank you so much for coming on keep on rocking brother. God bless you Yeah, I'm fed.