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Danny Trejo, best known for his tough-guy roles, truly showed his heart in 2019 when he saved a young child trapped inside an overturned SUV in Sylmar, Los Angeles. The incident occurred in August 2019, when Trejo—and another quick-thinking bystander—helped free a special-needs boy from a buckled-in car seat. The young woman unbuckled it, and Trejo pulled the child to safety while keeping him calm with their playful “superpowers” game.
He told ABC 7, “[The boy] was panicked. I said OK, we have to use our superpowers. So he screamed ‘superpowers’ and we started yelling ‘superpowers. I said do this, with the muscles. He said ‘muscles.'” Trejo added, “Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else. Everything.”
Not only is @officialDannyT (Danny Trejo) one of the nicest actors, he’s also a #hero!
He was right behind a crash in Sylmar and pulled a special needs baby out of an overturned car. He distracted the boy until grandma was OK. ♥️ —> https://t.co/tS2Za4bZVZ@ABC7 pic.twitter.com/U9iLzAkHkA
— Veronica Miracle (@vmiracleCNN) August 8, 2019
This year, fans got a scare when a fake “memorial-style” post claiming Trejo had died went viral—amplified when John Leguizamo reshared it. The actor, now 81, quickly took to Instagram to set the record straight, writing, “Thank you all for your concern, but I am very much alive. Someone is spreading fake news.”
Learn more about the actor below.
1. He Spent Years in Prison Before Turning His Life Around
Trejo has always been candid about his troubled past. His first arrest came at just 12 years old, after he struck another boy with a rock. As a teenager, he worked as a getaway driver for his uncle and later landed in jail at 18 for stabbing a sailor with a broken bottle. By his 20s, Trejo had committed multiple armed robberies and was sentenced to 10 years at San Quentin after selling a bag of heroin—worth $30,000—to an undercover officer. While serving time, he bounced between prisons but discovered boxing, developing the skills that would eventually help him turn his life around.
2. Solitary Confinement Sparked His Passion for Acting
While serving time in a Mexican prison, Trejo’s life took an unexpected turn. During a riot on Cinco de Mayo, he was placed in solitary confinement, where he kept himself sane by acting out scenes from The Wizard of Oz and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He has often credited prayer for helping him reform his life, and after his charges were eventually dropped, he committed to sobriety from alcohol and heroin. Now celebrating almost 60 years of sobriety, Trejo went on to work as a drug counselor for 15 years after his release, helping others turn their lives around just as he had.
3. He’s Famous for Playing Villains and Badasses
With more than 300 acting credits to his name, Trejo has built a legendary career playing tough guys, criminals, and antiheroes. His breakout role came almost by accident in 1985, when he visited the set of Runaway Train to support a client he was counseling. Once producers learned about his boxing background and prison experience, he was cast as a boxer in the film, kickstarting his Hollywood journey.
Over the next three decades, Trejo became known for his gritty, unforgettable villains in films like Con Air and his most iconic role, the unstoppable assassin Machete, in Robert Rodriguez’s films. But Trejo’s range goes far beyond playing bad guys. He’s also brought his larger-than-life persona to family-friendly projects, including Spy Kids, Muppets Most Wanted, and even voicing Boots the monkey in Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
4. He’s a Dedicated Activist and Advocate
Beyond Hollywood, Trejo has devoted much of his life to giving back. Even after finding success as an actor, he has continued working as a drug counselor, drawing from his own experience with addiction to mentor at-risk youth and support children with special needs.
He’s also passionate about animal welfare. Together with his ex-wife, Debbie Shreve, he founded the K9 Compassion Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of animals by educating young people on the importance of spay and neuter programs and by raising funds for lifesaving initiatives.
Trejo is also a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2010 and has spoken about how the experience strengthened his commitment to healthy living, sobriety, and helping others.
5. He Runs a Taco and Donut Empire in L.A.
If you’re in LA, stop by one of the Trejo’s Tacos restaurants, Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts, or the Trejo’s Cantinas.
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