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7->''"You might know him from ''Film/{{Desperado}}'', ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'', ''Film/TheDevilsRejects'', ''Film/XXx'', ''Film/ConAir'', ''Film/{{Heat}}'', your worst nightmares."''
8-->--''Website/{{Cracked}}''
9
10Dan Trejo (born May 16, 1944) is a Mexican-American actor.
11
12He's the kind of guy everyone can recognize, but not as many can name. He's been working in Hollywood since 1985 and has played dozens of supporting roles, [[{{Typecasting}} usually]] as some kind of tough guy, [[{{Mook}} henchman]] or thug. Trejo has also been in a number of Creator/RobertRodriguez films[[note]]The two later found out that they were actually [[RealLifeRelative second cousins]][[/note]], usually with slightly larger roles than he normally plays, including ''Film/{{Desperado}}'' and the ''Film/SpyKids'' trilogy, finally culminating in his first leading role: the badass known as Film/{{Machete}}. And, in a bit of PlayingAgainstType on ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', he voiced Enrique (the sad-sack bobtail driver from Strickland propane who wants to be Hank's friend).
13
14He had criminal problems during his youth and spent time in jail, but the accounts of everybody he works with in the movies (''everybody'') is that he is one of the best people in the industry. The [[AllStarCast cameo-heavy and varied cast of]] ''Film/{{Machete}}'' stems from all the people he worked with in the past wanting to contribute something to his first starring role.
15----
16!!Danny Trejo has appeared in:
17
18* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPussInBoots'': El Moco
19* ''Film/AgainstTheWall'': Ramirez.
20* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStories'' (The Naughty List): "Santa"
21* ''Film/{{Anaconda}}'': Poacher
22* ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'': Bartender
23* ''Film/AnimalFactory'': Vito
24* ''Film/{{Bad Ass|2012}}'' (2012): Kind of self-explanatory, don't you think? Plays Frank Vega, a badass.
25* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'' (2018 – present): Vasquez
26* ''Series/BloodTies2007'': Patcha Camac
27* ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'': Rancor trainer
28* ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'': Luis Sanchez
29* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Tortuga
30* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Oscar Diaz
31* ''Film/BubbleBoy'': Slim
32* ''Cage'': Costello's bodyguard (uncredited)
33* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'': Himself
34* ''Film/ClerksIII'': Auditionee
35* ''Film/ConAir'': Johnny-23
36* ''Film/TheCrowWickedPrayer'': Harold
37* ''Film/TheCurseOfElCharro'': El Charro (voice)
38* ''Film/DeadAgainInTombstone'': Guerrero
39* ''Film/DeadInTombstone'': Guerrero
40* ''Film/DeathWish4TheCrackdown'': Art Sanella
41* ''[[VideoGame/DefJamSeries Def Jam: Fight For NY]]'': Himself
42* ''Film/DesertHeat'': [[MagicalNativeAmerican Johnny Sixtoes]]
43* ''Film/{{Desperado}}'': Navajas
44* ''Series/DesperateHousewives'': Hector Ramos
45* ''Film/TheDevilsRejects'': Rondo
46* ''Film/DoraAndTheLostCityOfGold'': Boots (voice) (yes, THAT Dora and Boots)
47* ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'': Antonio Angama (in his human form only; Dee Bradley Baker voices him in his gecko form)
48* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Raul Alfonso Tejada
49* ''Film/{{Fanboys}}'': The Chief
50* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': Breacher
51* ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'': Razor Charlie
52** ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn2TexasBloodMoney'': Razor Eddie
53* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'': Umberto Robina
54** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories''
55* ''{{Film/Halloween|2007}}'' (2007): Ismael Cruz
56* ''WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto'': Boss Rico
57* ''Film/{{Heat}}'': [[TheDanza Trejo]]
58* ''Film/TheHidden'': a prisoner
59* ''Film/LeJaguar'': Kumare
60* ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'': Dwight
61* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': Enrique
62* ''Film/KinjiteForbiddenSubjects'': Prison Inmate
63* ''Film/{{Machete}}'': [[CharacterTitle Machete]]
64** ''Film/MacheteKills'': See above
65* ''Film/ManiacCop2'': Prisoner
66* ''Film/MarkedForDeath'': Hector
67* ''Series/TheMaskedSinger''
68* ''Advertising/MetroManners'': AsHimself doing a CelebrityEndorsement in "Wait your turn to enter"
69* ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse2013'': Piñata leader (voice; in the episode "¡Feliz Cumpleaños!")
70* ''{{Series/Monk}}'': Darnell "Spyder" Rudner
71* ''Film/MuppetsMostWanted'': [[AdamWesting Danny Trejo]]
72** ''Film/MuppetsHauntedMansion'': Cousin Hewitt
73** ''Series/TheMuppetsMayhem''
74* ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'': Tuhon
75* ''Film/{{Pistolera}}'': Indio
76* ''Film/{{Predators}}'': Cuchillo (Named [[NoNameGiven only in the script]])
77* ''Film/RunawayTrain'': Prison boxer
78* ''Film/TheSaltonSea'': Little Bill
79* ''WesternAnimation/SeisManos'': El Balde
80* ''Film/SixDaysSevenNights'': Pierce
81* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkfbSTDEDFY A series of Sling TV advertisements]]
82* A ''Snickers'' commercial: [[Series/TheBradyBunch Marcia Brady]]
83* ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'': Romeo
84* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobMovieSpongeOnTheRun'': El Diablo
85** ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': Sockeye Sammy
86* ''Film/SpyKids'': Machete (Yes. ''That'' Machete.)
87* ''WesternAnimation/{{Storks}}'': Jasper
88* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'': The Newtralizer
89* ''Film/TheReplacementKillers'': Collins
90* ''Film/AVeryHaroldAndKumar3DChristmas'': Mr. Pérez
91* ''Film/VigilanteDiaries'': Crazy Joe (uncredited)
92* ''Film/VioletAndDaisy'': Russ
93* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': Joe Lopez / Jose Rodriguez (2 episodes)
94* ''Film/XXx'': El Jefe
95* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': ComicBook/{{Bane}}
96* ''VideoGame/CrimeBossRockayCity'' (2023)
97
98!!Danny Trejo embodies the following tropes:
99* AdamWesting:
100** His Old El Paso commercial plays up to his {{Typecasting}}.
101** Also his appearance in ''Film/MuppetsMostWanted'', since he's in a gulag and plays a fictional version of himself.
102** His Snickers commercial as [[NotHimself an out-of-character]] [[Series/TheBradyBunch Marcia Brady]].
103** His Sling TV ads where he describes evil as "how cable companies trick you with a low rate, and then, Bam! Your bill is over 100 bucks a month".
104* AffablyEvil: Many of his characters are definitely not on the side of angels but Trejo's natural charisma and likability make them hard not to enjoy anyway.
105* BarbarianLonghair: He has long hair, a brawny physique and a lot of his characters are bad guys.
106* BeingEvilSucks: Trejo confessed that he often chooses to play bad guys to teach younger audiences that bad guys are often killed in their line of work or they go to prison to face the consequences of their actions. Emphasising that one should try to live a decent life and stay out of trouble.
107* BladeEnthusiast: Many of Trejo's characters in Creator/RobertRodriguez movies [[MeaningfulName have been named after knives or sharp instruments]]: Machete in ''Film/SpyKids'' and, [[BreakoutCharacter well]], ''Film/{{Machete}}'', Razor Charlie in ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'', Navajas (Spanish for blades) in ''Desperado'', and Cuchillo (Spanish for knife) in ''Film/{{Predators}}''.
108* CastTheExpert: He originally got into Hollywood as a fight coordinator and a stuntman, after winning a few boxing tournaments in the California State Prison system.
109* ChronicallyKilledActor: By virtue of playing expendable thugs to the point that he's been killed the most out of any actor by far, at a staggering 65. Invoked as per BeingEvilSucks: Trejo ''wants'' his villainous characters to be killed off to teach youngsters that crime doesn't pay.
110* CoolOldGuy: Well into his seventies and still as tough and cool as ever.
111* EvenEvilHasStandards: Parodied in his Sling TV ads: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkfbSTDEDFY "People say I'm evil. I say evil is how cable companies trick you with a low rate, and then, Bam! Your bill is over 100 bucks a month."]]
112* FriendToAllChildren: He adores kids, and has said he enjoys playing villains as a way to show that bad guys don't normally win in the end. In real life, he [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/08/danny-trejo-car-accident-saves-child-los-angeles-machete/ helped to calm and rescue a child from an overturned car]], using the experience he's gotten from working with special-needs children.
113* InkSuitActor: As Umberto Robina in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', as Dwight in ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'' and himself in ''[[VideoGame/DefJamSeries Def Jam: Fight For New York]]''.
114* LargeHam: When the situation calls for it, he can chew scenery with the best of them.
115* ManlyFacialHair: Has a thick mustache and is as tough as they come.
116* NoStuntDouble: Averted, surprisingly enough given that he's known as one of Hollywood's go-to tough guy actors and started his career as a stuntman and fight coordinator. He does [[https://screencrush.com/danny-trejo-tom-cruise-stunts/ not have a high regard]] for actors who insist on doing their own stunts, mainly because they can [[TroubledProduction hold up production for weeks or even months and put dozens of crew members out of work]] if they get injured.
117-->''"I know that all the big stars hate me to say this, but I don’t want to risk eighty peoples' jobs [[BraggingRightsReward just to say I got big huevos]] on ''Series/TheTonightShow''. Because that’s what happens. I think a big star just sprained an ankle doing a stunt, and 80 or 180 people are out of a job.''[[note]]He didn't name names, but he was referring to Creator/TomCruise getting injured on the set of ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'' and halting production for three months.[[/note]]'' We have stunt people who do that stuff. And if they get hurt, I’m sorry to say but they just need to put a mustache on another Mexican and we can keep going. But if I get hurt, everybody’s out of a job. So I don’t choose to do that."''
118* JustForFun/OneOfUs: He's a big fan of ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons''.
119* ProductionPosse: If a production is run by Creator/RobertRodriguez, you can safely bet on Danny Trejo turning up at some point.
120* PromotedFanboy: During his role as Breacher on ''Series/TheFlash2014'': Reportedly, when his name was tossed out in the writer's room, the whole crew laughed it off, thinking they'd never be able to get him, but they asked anyway and it turned out he was a fan and gladly took the role.
121* RealLifeRelative: He's actually Robert Rodriguez's second cousin. No nepotism is involved, however--in fact, they didn't even know that they were related until filming for ''Desperado'' had wrapped.
122* RecoveredAddict: He was an alcoholic and drug user for much of his adolescence and his early twenties but he eventually got clean and rebuilt his life, achieving fifty years sobriety in 2019.
123* ReformedCriminal: He was heavily involved in the criminal lifestyle for much of his early life, serving multiple stints in prison, but later got sober, turned his life around and found acting, leading to a long and successful career.
124* TattooedCrook: Considering he plays a lot of crooks, the tattoos are just gravy.
125* TypeCasting: As a knife-wielding henchman/thug. Nobody does it better. He's also had several roles where he is either TheComicallySerious or a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
126** To a degree, he intentionally typecasts himself. He always wants the villains he plays to lose, because he wants to send a message to kids that crime does not pay so they won't make the same mistakes he did when he was young.

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