Danny Trejo Celebrates 55 Years of Sobriety at Age 79

Actor Danny Trejo is celebrating 55 years of sobriety and using his story to reassure other people who are battling addiction that they can overcome their own struggles.

"I'm 55 years clean and sober today by the grace of God!" the 79-year-old actor wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. "I've done this one day at a time, and for anyone out there struggling YOU CAN TOO."

Back in a 2021 interview, Trejo opened up about his decision to get clean after multiple stints in prison during his youth.

"I had to get clean," he said, according to The New York Post. "I wouldn't have gotten to this point in my life if I didn't take that step. I would have just stayed the same person."

The actor grew up in an abusive home in Los Angeles. By the time he was eight years old, he was smoking marijuana and by 12, he was drinking.

During his teenage years, Trejo fell into heroin addiction and ended up incarcerated in some of the United States' most brutal prisons. This included San Quentin State Prison, a notoriously dangerous facility situated about 25 miles north of San Francisco, during the late 1960s.

Amid a prison uprising at Soledad Prison in California in 1968, the actor found himself in solitary confinement. This followed an incident where he struck a guard in the head with a rock, leading to his facing the possibility of the death penalty for attempted murder.

In 1968, thinking that he would never get out of prison, Trejo made a deal with God. The charges against the actor were later dismissed on a technicality.

Trejo, now committed to his faith, embraced the 12-step program, which played a crucial role in steering him away from the criminal life he had been leading.

"I got clean in '68 in prison. I then got out of prison in 1969," he said, according to the Post.

"I didn't think turning me on to marijuana was abuse when I was 8. I thought it was sharing. It was a form of abuse. I didn't know," he added. "So when you finally start realizing, 'Wait a minute man, this is not right,' that's when the healing really begins."

After being released in August 1969, the actor remained true to his commitment to both himself and his faith, maintaining his sobriety. This marked the beginning of a successful acting career that spanned over five decades.

"He lived up to his deal. I'm living up to mine," he told the outlet. "I even asked God a couple of days ago, 'How am I doing?' He said, 'Trejo, you're doing great. Keep it up. You're almost out of hell.' "