‘What people can discover at home is unbelievable’: Danny Trejo on Mysteries Unearthed
For the new season of Mysteries Unearthed, Danny Trejo talks to Sky HISTORY about hidden discoveries, surprising stories and his passion for the past.
Image: Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo
He’s renowned for playing tough-guy villains and antiheroes in some of Hollywood’s best-loved works. But if you think you know everything about Danny Trejo, you’re in for a surprise.
For he has a secret passion that you might not immediately detect through his roles on the silver screen: history.
‘It was the only subject I ever got a good grade in at school’, he laughs, before explaining his love for the subject. ‘History helps you understand more about the past, the present and also the future.’
It was that passion that made him a natural fit for Sky HISTORY’s series, Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo. In it, the legendary actor shares fascinating stories surrounding buried artefacts and lost civilisations, offering new insight and information on various mysteries of the past and present.
To coincide with the beginning of season two, we caught up with Danny to hear his thoughts on what viewers can expect.
Digging into history
Viewers first got to see Danny’s love for history while presenting series one of Mysteries Unearthed. The show combines Trejo’s natural storytelling ability with a genuine enthusiasm for history. He describes receiving the offer to present Mysteries Unearthed as being a ‘no-brainer’.
‘When my agent called me and said, “Hey, we have an offer to do this show for Sky HISTORY,” I immediately replied, “Awesome, let's do it!”’
And just as before, that same excitement continues to shine through in series two. As any history buff will relate to, Danny says the subject has provided a welcome distraction from his daily life.
'In the present, you can get caught up in whatever you're going through,' he says 'But when you start reading history, it's amazing to see what problems people in the past had to endure. It takes you away from what's going on with you at that particular moment.'
He talks earnestly about one of the most appealing parts of the series – its heartwarming charm and the surprising stories of real people making real discoveries.
‘It's not a case of, "Well, we got $180 million from the government, and we went exploring with it". This is about people who are digging in their backyard,’ he says. ‘One guy was renovating a church, and he found some old stained-glass windows. He bought them from the church, took them home, cleaned them up, and found out they were some of Tiffany's first works. So he started his own religion!’
What’s coming up in series 2?
Series one of Mysteries Unearthed
featured plenty of remarkable stories. Take, for instance, the story of the Roman ruins discovered in an English garden. Or the man who found over £2 million of gold bars in a tank he purchased on eBay.
So what can fans expect this time around? Even more of the same, Danny assures.
One story is particularly close to the actor’s heart – the discovery of American baseball legend Jackie Robinson’s bat. Robinson was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, and as a lifelong LA Dodgers fan, Trejo describes the discovery as being ‘extraordinary’.
‘A guy goes to a garage sale, and he finds a bat. He buys it and starts cleaning it up. He soon realises it's Jackie Robinson’s bat and goes through its remarkable history,’ he says. ‘Then he donates it to Jackie’s family. That was such a lovely thing to do because it was worth a quarter of a million dollars.’
Another story that captured the actor’s imagination was that of a man who made an incredible comic book discovery while renovating a house.
‘A man buys a house for $10,000 and he starts renovating. In the 1930s and 40s, they used to insulate the walls with newspaper. So this man breaks through this wall in his house, and he finds this comic book rolled up in a newspaper. It's the first edition of Superman from 1938, and it’s worth 70 times what the house is worth. Just amazing!’
Watch Mysteries Unearthed on Sky HISTORY
Danny says it’s impossible for him to choose a favourite story from season two, but feels that there’s plenty in it that the whole family will enjoy.
‘The whole family can watch it together. It's not a question of “shield your kids.” There's no warning about unsuitable content for children. That's the thing that I really love about this show,” he says. ‘Kids can get a whole lot out of it, and adults can all go treasure hunting!’
He hopes that the incredible stories featured inspire viewers to make their own discoveries. ‘I hope they experience the joy of the unexpected, of finding something when you weren't even looking for it.’
‘What people can discover at home is just unbelievable,’ he enthuses. ‘That's the whole point of the show. You're digging in your backyard, and you end up finding half a dinosaur!’
As the show demonstrates, anyone can make these incredible discoveries, regardless of their age or where they live. And, as Trejo shares, presenting Mysteries Unearthed has even resulted in him making his own unexpected discoveries.
‘We started looking through stuff in the garage, and what we found were the blueprints for the first version of the game cornhole. That's where you have to toss bean bags into a hole. That was astonishing!’
Don’t miss series two of Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo, airing exclusively on Sky HISTORY. Want to get the latest on more upcoming shows and series? Sign up to the Sky HISTORY newsletter today. Every week, you’ll receive news, articles, clips and more delivered straight to your inbox.
