Danny Trejo's Acting Career Rooted in Criminal Past

Danny Trejo has made over 300 film and TV appearances throughout the course of his acting career but his path to success is not a conventional one.

The 77-year-old actor, who is known for his roles in "Spy Kids," "Breaking Bad," and "Machete," has a criminal background and it is his past that helped launch him to fame, the New York Post noted in a report citing Trejo's new memoir, "Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood."

Trejo began using heroin at age 12, and by the time he was 13 years old, he was a drug dealer. He was in and out of prison for various crimes between 1956 and 1969 but eventually found God and turned his life around.

Trejo dedicated himself to helping other addicts by founding rehab centers and offering support to those who needed it. Then, in 1985, he got a call from a recovering addict who was working on the set of the movie "Runaway Train." The man was worried he was going to relapse as there was cocaine on the set, so Trejo rushed to help him. In the end, he was unable to find the man, but he did bump into an assistant director who offered him a role as an extra playing a convict, which Trejo accepted.

He soon learned that one of the film’s screenwriters, Eddie Bunker, once sold him and his uncle plans for a planned heist in 1962. At the time, Trejo was a boxer, and Bunker was curious as to whether he still fought, as actor Eric Roberts played a boxer in the film and needed someone who could train him. Trejo agreed to assist but was soon upgraded to Robert's on-screen opponent. It was through this role that he found fame.

"Acting wasn’t new to me," Trejo wrote in his memoir. "I’d acted to survive my childhood. I’d acted like I wasn’t scared when I was terrified. In Folsom, I acted to keep my sanity. Now that I was doing it for fun, I loved acting. I loved the feeling. Like a new drug, I was hooked."

While discussing his new book with Fox News, Trejo also opened up about how finding God helped him clean up his life.

"I made a deal with God in 1968. I said, 'If you let me die with dignity, I’ll say your name every day. And I’ll do whatever I can for my fellow inmate,'" he said. "I never thought I was getting out of prison. And God let me out of prison. I got out on Aug. 23, 1969. I have to say that with God, nothing can hurt you. Anything is possible. Without God, you’re dead. And I know I would be without the faith I have."

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