Danny Trejo has appeared in over 200 acting roles. Most recently Danny appears in the film “Ranchero” which was directed by Richard Kaponas. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Danny about the film as well as his involvement in the upcoming Robert Rodriguez sequel “Machete Kills”.
Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about your latest film “Ranchero”?
Danny Trejo: That was kind of a labor of love for me. A good friend of mine Rick Gutierrez and I were in prison together. His brother Roger is in this film and he asked if I could do him a favor and read the script. I told him sure but I couldn’t really promise anything. I read the script and thought it was good and they asked if I had any time I could give them. I had about 3 days and told them if they could make it work I would do it. They made everything work and I am really glad I was able to do the film. Acts of love always come out really well.
AL: Can you describe your role in the film?
DT: I am a badass! The director was pretty sharp because he put me in a wheel chair. He showed that you can be a badass sitting down. The character comes across really well. The whole story is about struggle.
AL: With the film being released straight to DVD will it include any bonus material?
DT: Oh yeah. I think there is going to be a few additional scenes included on the disc. I didn’t take part in that portion of things so I can’t be too sure of what all will be on there.
AL: You just wrapped on a film titled “Dead in Tombstone”. Can you tell us anything about that?
DT: The film is a western and it came along awesome. It was directed by Roel Reine who also directed me in “Death Race 2” and “Death Race: Inferno”. I love his mode of direction as it is very similar to Robert Rodriguez. Those guys shoot everything and I love working like that. There isn’t a lot of down time and things are action packed.
AL: You have quite a few projects in the works right now but when you first started in the film business did you ever envision a career like you have now?
DT: No. I am still scared that someone is going to come along and wake me up for chow as I am still in the joint. (Laughs) It’s just unbelievable.
AL: What do you think has been the biggest change in the movie industry since you started?
DT: I think one of the biggest changes in the industry has been Robert Rodriguez. I think he has hit it and really made an impact. He has done both independent and low budget films. He showed that you can come out of high school, put a little bit of money together and make a film. He made it possible for my kid to make a movie if he wanted to.
DT: I had walked into his office to do “Desperado”. He looked at me and told me I reminded him of the bad kids in his high school. I told him I am the bad kids in his high school. From there we just hit it off.
AL: What can we be expecting from the much anticipated Machete sequel “Machete Kills”?
DT: June 14th we start shooting. The film is going to be over the top and bigger than the first film! “Machete Kills” is going to put a new coat of paint on action.
AL: Having played the role of Machete a number of times now; have you been allowed to give any input towards the role?
DT: Robert has always let me give input. In fact the line “Machete don’t text” came about because I was trying to get a hold of Robert before Comic-Con and he wouldn’t answer his phone. When I finally got a hold of him I asked why he would answer my calls. He told me that every time I tried calling him he was either in a meeting or shooting something. He said the best way to get a hold of him was to text him. I told him “Machete don’t text” and he just laughed. When I saw it was in the script I couldn’t believe he remembered it from when there was 20 thousand people around us at Comic-Con. The guy is a genius and remembers everything.