Mysteries Unearthed: Who is Danny Trejo?
Hollywood legend Danny Trejo hosts Sky HISTORY’s Mysteries Unearthed. What do you know about the action star, his film roles and his passion for the past?
Image: Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo
When Hollywood wants to cast a villainous or antiheroic role, Danny Trejo is often the name topping the wishlist. The California-born actor has made his name playing dark characters in a wide array of films – including Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn and Spy Kids.
Danny certainly knows from experience how to authentically portray those characters. Long before his days as an A-lister, he was constantly in and out of prison for a litany of crimes – from robberies to drug deals.
He left prison for the last time in 1969, and his life story since then is a heartwarming tale of redemption. He’s also unravelling many enigmas of the past on Sky HISTORY’s Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo. So, how did Danny finally turn his back on a life of crime – and cement his status as an international treasure?
Danny Trejo’s early life of crime
Danny Trejo was born in the California city of Maywood on 16th May 1944, but brought up in Los Angeles. Before Danny even reached his teenage years, his uncle Gilbert introduced him to marijuana and heroin.
Danny’s early episodes of drug dealing and violence landed him in juvenile offenders’ camps. During the 1960s, he was transferred between various California prisons – including San Quentin, Folsom and Soledad.
While in jail, Danny honed his skills as a boxer, even winning lightweight and welterweight championships. After his involvement in a prison riot at Soledad in 1968, Danny found himself at serious risk of being hit with the death penalty. This threat was the impetus for him to finally turn his volatile life around.
From prison to Hollywood
After his final departure from prison, Danny went through various jobs, including gardening and sales work. Having recovered from substance abuse, he also decided to become a counsellor who would come to the rescue of others embattled by drug addiction.
Rather unexpectedly, Danny’s career as a substance abuse counsellor later helped him break into Hollywood. A potential client facing cocaine problems on the set of the 1985 action thriller film Runaway Train reached out to Danny.
Fortuitously, one of the screenwriters was Edward Bunker, a former convict who had done time with Danny at San Quentin. This connection landed Danny a position as a boxing advisor to Eric Roberts, who co-starred in the film with Jon Voight. Before long, though, Danny was also stepping in front of the camera.
Danny Trejo’s rise to stardom
Runaway Train was just the first of many films where Danny played a convict, his real-life background making him a natural choice for such roles. Reflecting on his early career decades later, Danny admitted that he did not fear becoming typecast. Instead, he was simply grateful for the acting jobs that kept coming his way.
From the 1990s onwards, Danny became famous for his collaborations with director Robert Rodriguez. These included the neo-Western films Desperado (1995) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). Other action fare on Danny’s CV includes Con Air (1997) and The Replacement Killers (1998).
In the Noughties, Danny teamed up with Rodriguez again for the family-friendly Spy Kids franchise, where Danny played Isador ‘Machete’ Cortez. The character later inspired the more adult-oriented Machete (2010) and Machete Kills (2013), with Danny starring as the eponymous lead in both.
Danny now shines a light on amazing finds long left buried
Given Danny’s reputation as an action star, it’s easy to underestimate the diversity of his career. He has contributed vocals to animated films, including Storks (2016), Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) and Zootopia 2 (2025). Gamers will also have heard his voice in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010).
Now Danny is showing yet another side of himself – the history buff! It’s certainly not a newfound obsession. Danny fondly remembers his history lessons at school – particularly his teacher Mrs Findley, whose enthusiasm for the subject was infectious.
Danny’s Sky HISTORY docuseries Mysteries Unearthed tells fascinating stories of historical remnants being rediscovered in unexpected circumstances. The eye-opening finds featured include a ship beneath Manhattan, ancient religious texts in Egypt and even a Roman temple in someone’s garden.
Danny enthuses to Sky HISTORY: ‘It’s just one of my favourite things ever, finding stuff that was buried for hundreds of thousands of years. I love the way this is like accidental history. It’s like finding treasure.’
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