//Block// Hey Danny how’s it going?
//Danny// Cesario!
//Block// You been busy a lot?
//Danny// I’ve been real blessed!
//Block// What’s been going on for you? What have you been working on? I know you had a big a year! “Machete” the movie and all.
//Danny// I did a film called “Bad Ass”. It’s about a Vietnam vet, and that should be coming out some time this year. I did another one called “Recoil” with Stone Cold Steve Austin, and that should be coming out this year. And the “Muppets” should be coming out.
//Block// You were just in Canada filming that?
//Danny// “Recoil” with Stone Cold Steve Austin. That was filmed outside of Vancouver, a little town called Mission. .
//Block// How was it working with Steve Austin?
//Danny// He’s awesome. Nice guy. Big old teddy bear. Nice guy.
//Block// First time working with him?
//Danny// I met him before with Diamond Dallas Page at a wrap party for “Devils Rejects”.
//Block// What was the first movie that you worked on?
//Danny// “Runaway Train” with Jon Voight and Eric Roberts.
//Block// How did you get hooked up with Jon Voight and Eric Roberts?
//Danny// That was actually a fluke. I was a drug counselor, and one of the kids I was working with, I was asked to just hang out with him, for support, and I happen to run into Eddie Bunker, O.G. old gangster. I met Eddie in ‘62, My uncle bought a robbery from him.
//Block// Eddie Bunker is a writer?
//Danny// He was a real famous writer in the joint. He was real good for writing writs. And writs have to be written exactly as the court wants them. Anything spelled wrong, anything out of place, they kick it out. He was real good writing writs. That’s what he became famous for in the criminal world.
//Block// What exactly is a writ? Explain writs to me?
//Danny// A writ is like a writ of habeas corpus. I can get you back into court if I write a correct writ. That says these are the reasons I should come back to court. And if they are written completely correctly with no miss spellings, no anything, boom! You can actually get a reversal on changes and stuff. A lot of people don’t know that now.
//Block// Is it kind of like an appeal?
//Danny// It goes after an appeal. It’s a writ of habeas corpus. I have to be produced in court.
//Block// So, “Runaway Train” was your first project?
//Danny// I walked onto that movie set to just hang out with this kid who was having a problem with cocaine. I ran into Eddie Bunker. We started talking. I use to hold the lightweight and welter weight titles in every penitentiary I was in… and remember that. So, I was hanging out with this kid. And Eddie Bunker who actually did the screen play, the original screen play was written by Aikawa, a famous Japanese writer. It wasn’t for an American audience. They had the Jon Voight character as a wife killer and a legendary in the penitentiary. Well, you can’t be a legend in the penitentiary, you’re kind of a punk!
//Block// That’s unacceptable.
//Danny// Yeah, and so Eddie kind of changed that for the American audience. Adapt it.
//Block// Make it more believable.
//Danny// Yeah, so when I ran into him, he was like, “you still boxing?” I said, “just training.”
He said, “we need someone to train one of the actors how to box. You want a job?” I got a job training Eric Roberts how to box for that movie, “Runaway Train.” Then the director saw me, and he saw that I could handle Eric cause Eric was nuts at that time. He was a loose canon in ‘85. The director, Andrei Konchalovsky saw it. He just came over and hired me.
//Block// It’s a boxing scene you have in the beginning of the film.
//Danny// Eric’s character beats the shit out of me.
//Block// You ever end up counseling him?
//Danny// No, he’s a movie star. The hardest thing in the world. The hardest people in the world to work with in a rehabilitation setting are doctors, lawyers, and movie stars, because they think they know everything. The doctor deal with death, the lawyer deals with saving people from prison, and the movie star deals with fantasy world. (laughter erupts)
//Block// Not our reality. I understand. So, that was your first encounter with Jon Voight. So later on, you did a film together with Michael Mann, “Heat”.
//Danny// “Heat” and “Anaconda”. I did “Anaconda” with him before “Heat”. Jon and I stayed friends…but like actors. Actors are your best friends for six weeks. So, it’s very rare that you keep in touch with people after those six weeks are over. I have a few people that I have, you know, otherwise, I just see them when I’m doing a film.
//Block// Ok, it’s work basically?
//Danny// Yeah.
//Block// Up until now, in your career, what are some of the elements you have learned?
//Danny// People who grow up in this business have a completely different attitude than people who got into this business. I got into this business when I was thirty-eight years old. I already had a life. I understood respect. I understood politeness. I understood disrespect. I understood that everybody in the world isn’t suppose to go get me a cappuccino.
//Block// There’s a level of discipline there, kind of consideration.
//Danny// I think people who grow up in this business. They absolutely believe that people are suppose to go get them cappuccinos. This business is made to seduce you. It’s made for you to think that everybody is there to serve you. You’re sitting on the set, and you ask for an orange. Someone is gonna run and get you an orange. But, that is not the real world. So, I thank God that I had a little real world, you know. I would love to tell some of my people to go get me an orange.
//Block// You’ve experienced real life work.
//Danny// yeah.
//Block// Would you say respect is earned and never demanded?
//Danny// Absolutely, you can’t demand it, ‘cause it’s never coming to you. And I honestly believe that. You respect, “respect”. If you respect people, they will respect you. The only problem with a lot of actors is I find that they don’t get it. It’s because they have been here since they were five or six years old. You know, it’s like why are the young actors having problems. They are making more money than their parents. So, the parenting is gone.
//Block// They’ve put themselves on a higher pedestal. I know you are a person of great respect. When people come up to you, they respect you. They don’t demand stuff from you.
//Danny// I think you know that, I’ll give anyone my time. I won’t let anyone take it, but I’ll give it to anyone. I’d rather have a mangy dog for a friend than an enemy. You know, that comes from the respect. Every hand that you refuse to shake on the way up is connected to the ass you have to kiss on the way down. I’ve seen that, especially in the movie biz. People who got big and big and big all of a sudden, they are begging you for a job.
//Block// Coming from a background of drug counseling, is that part of the structure, how to approach people?
//Danny// I won’t allow people to use heavy drugs around me. I’ll say, “hey don’t do that,” and they respect that. Simply because I do a lot of public speaking at high schools and juvenile halls and stuff, so my jacket is pretty clean. When I got into this business, it was 1985. Cocaine was insane in this business. It was insane, and I realized probably one of the hardest places to stay clean would be in the film industry, and it downed a lot of people.
//Block// Are you from Los Angeles?
//Danny// Yeah, I was born and raised. Born in Los Angeles and moved out to the Valley when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. Grew up in Pacoima, Los Angeles. Lived in Venice for almost twenty years. I lived in Venice from 1979-1996.
//Block// So do you have any other interests besides acting? Are you trying to produce?
//Danny// My son is producing a western right now, directing it and starring in it.
//Block// How old is your son?
//Danny// That son is twenty three. I’m really proud, since I’ve been clean, you know, it has rubbed off on my children. My daughter wants to be an actress. She’s doing good. My older son, he’s like, “hey Dad just get me a job”. So, they all are doing pretty good. A lot of the times, people want me to talk about, what was it like in prison, but this is the stuff I’ve done since I’ve been clean. I’ve raised three kids, and they’re doing great!
//Block// Do you think your kids view their father as a happier man doing the stuff he’s doing and maybe that’s why they want to follow your footsteps?
//Danny// They have never seen me loaded. They have never seen me drunk, so they don’t know that part. They’ve all experimented, but no more than any other kid. I think because of the people I associate myself with, they tell them, “hey, that’s not the way to go!” Even you have told my kids, “hey, get the fuck out of here!”
//Block// I think you play a father’s role to a lot of peoples children around here, to the younger generation, and that’s very well known. How many kids do you have, and what are their names?
//Danny// I have my daughter Danielle, she’s twenty. My son Gilbert, he’s twenty three. My son Danny Boy, he’s twenty nine. He’ll be thirty in November.
//Block// Danielle and Gilbert, they’re both in “Machete?”
//Danny// Yeah, both of them are in “Machete.”
//Block// You hooked that up with Robert Rodriguez? You guys close?
//Danny// Robert and I are real close. In fact, my son Gilbert shadowed Robert Rodriguez through the whole making of the “Machete” movie. He learned a lot. Probably as much as going to college for film. Hands on, in the editing room, everything. Gilbert, my son, he’s a student of film. I’m not a student of anything. I just show up. It’s funny, I was going to dinner with Robert De Niro. I had my kids with me, so I told them, “now look, I’m going to dinner with De Niro, so you kids, don’t be kids, be still and don’t be interrupting and shit. They were real excited to go. So, the first thing Robert De Niro asks me is, “Danny, what do you think of that French Director, said some name, blah, blah, blah, from the sixties, blah, blah, blah?” I just looked at him, shit I didn’t know what he was talking about. Gilbert says, “I think that director had more to do with American gangsters blah, blah, blah.” The rest of the night, my son and Robert De Niro discussed American cinema. I played with shiny stuff on the table (laughter erupts). It just really made me proud that my son is a student of film. He just studies stuff. Shit, I never was even a student in school.
//Block// You maybe consider having him go to a film school? He’s the right age.
//Danny// I asked him. He said, “I will Dad let me just finish producing this movie.”
//Block// That’s funny. There’s a scene in the “Godfather” where Sonny, James Caan’s character speaks out of turn, before he gets scolded, the Godfather apologizes for his son’s speaking out of turn, reminded me of that when you were telling your kids not to speak to De niro at dinner. (Laughter)
//Danny// My kids talk to everybody De Niro, Rodriguez. They are good kids. They are not spoiled. I’m real proud of them.
//Block// Do you have any other business ventures that you’re going to get into?
//Danny// I’m starting a restaurant out in Huntington Beach. Trejo’s Place.
//Block// What kind of food?
//Danny// Mexican food. That’s gonna be fun.
//Block// I’m not going sounds scary to me. (Laughter)
//Danny// It’s gonna be fun!
//Block// How long do you see yourself doing this?
//Danny// You know what Block, I don’t see myself not doing this. I don’t see myself doing anything else. I could probably play an old grandfather. You know, it’s funny because we were all sitting around and trying to decide what would we do if we weren’t playing movies. Well, I got two alternatives. Give me your fucking money bitch or (laughter erupts) you want fries with that shake? My skills are limited. I’m 67 years old right now. I’m damn sure I can’t do labor any more. I can work on cars and stuff a little bit but..
//Block// You invited me to your “Machete” premiere. One thing that I was really impressed with was what Robert Rodriguez said about you when he brought up everyone, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson. And Robert Rodriguez said “Danny Trejo has gone from ex-con to icon.” And that to me is a great slogan for you. That could work for a clothing line. You’re probably the most popular ex-con. You’re very light hearted, like your humor is to me. You could be very intimidating, but then you know how to make light hearted things right away.
//Danny// Eddie Bunker said something to me, he said, “the thing you have to do is you have to disarm people immediately because people see you, and they are automatically intimidated because of the way you look. So you have to be the first one to say hello,” and I practiced it. I literally went up to people, “hey “ and I watched their whole expression change. Guys when they see me, for whatever, I look intimidating, they’ll like immediately post up and that will stay like that until I say hello. So I say, “hey what’s up, how you doing homez.” I’m the first one always. And then I see their armor drop. I remember when I was first getting some recognition from the movies. I was driving down La Cienega Blvd with Eddie Bunker over by the Beverly Center. And there were three low riders, chicanos. You know what I mean. First of all, it was like what are they doing here, it’s the Beverly Center. We were pinning each other. Sometimes I think I’m a bad mutha fucker, so I gave them the finger, fuck you! And this one kid holds up a pen and paper.
//Block// Can I get your autograph. (Laughter erupts)
//Danny// Eddie looks at me and says, “don’t you feel like a fucking idiot. You have to say hello. And I was like, “I thought he was pinning me.” And Eddie was like, “everyone’s gonna pin you first.” Anyway, We pull over. I sign stuff, and I told them I was getting ready for this part. They bought it. (Laughter)
//Block// You respect Eddie Bunker a lot?
//Danny// A lot. I’ve known him for a long time. He really was kind of like a mentor. You have to understand, when I walked into that movie set I was like, wow, this is so cool! I’d never been on a movie set in my life.
//Block// From what I know, Eddie Bunker pasted away?
//Danny// Yeah, he pasted away five years ago. I still keep in touch with his wife and kid. Brandon Bunker. Real cool. I owe Eddie a lot. He said to me once, “I could have put 50 people in this spot, and they wouldn’t have done it. You had the personality for it.” He said, “Everybody that has worked with you wants to work with you again. And that’s one of the secrets to this business, making everybody that’s worked with you want to work with you again.
When I did that death scene in “Heat” with Robert De Niro. He came up and asked me, “What do you think Danny?” This is fuckin’ Robert De Niro asking me this. I don’t know Bob, what do you think? He said, “I think you are already dead. I don’t think you have enough breath in you to let me know what happened. And you only have enough breath to beg me to kill you. And then he looked at me and said, “what do you think?” I must say no? Fuckin’ right!
//Block// I rememeber that scene. You’re all beat up, and you are on the ground, and he’s over you trying to talk to you in your ear.
//Danny// Yeah, yeah.
//Block// He was there to kill you, but then he finds out…
//Danny// …and calls the paramedics.
//Block// You like action more than drama?
//Danny// For me, action is entertaining. It’s more fun to go watch even for myself.
//Block// So is it true you are the first Latino action super hero?
//Danny// Hahahahaha…..
