Danny Trejo Net Worth 2023: From a troubled childhood to a successful Hollywood career

Danny Trejo is an American actor, producer, and restaurateur who has created his life from rags to riches. Danny was born to a poor father with a criminal background and had himself been in and out of prison multiple times. But he later decided to give his career a new direction and started appearing as extras in movies. Trejo gathered the attention of different directors for his look and started being cast in minor roles in movies. His career then started accelerating and he never looked back after that. This article provides interesting details related to the actor such as Danny Trejo’s net worth in 2023, his personal life, struggles, facts, and more.

Danny Trejo Net Worth 2023

Danny Trejo’s Personal Biography

Danny Trejo was born on May 16, 1944, in Los Angeles, California to Delores Rivera King and Dionisio Trejo. Both his parents were Mexican-American and his father was a construction worker. Trejo was born after his mother had an extramarital affair while her husband was away fighting in World War II. Trejo lived with his father and stepmother in San Antonio, Texas where he was often abused by his father.

When Danny was little, his family fled Los Angeles as his father Dionisio was wanted by police for stabbing another man. However, they returned a year later and Dionisio turned himself in. Trejo then started living with his cousins at his grandmother’s house where he was introduced to marijuana, heroin, and cocaine by his uncle at the age of 8 and 12 years. Trejo even overdosed on his first heroin fix.

After his release from one of California’s most notorious juvenile prisons, Youth Training School, Trejo met his first wife, Laura. The two got married in the backyard of Trejo’s family home despite the disapproval of his family. The couple got divorced three years later in 1965 due to his drug use and criminal lifestyle. From 1971 to 1975 Danny was married to Debbie and to Joanne from 1975 to 1978. In 1997, he married Debbie Shreve but they also separated in 2005 and got divorced in 2009.

Early Life of Crime & Imprisonment

Trejo started dealing drugs when he was just 7 years old and got arrested for the first time at age 10. For most of his early years he was in and out of jail. Danny later became a debt collector and drug dealer and often witnessed gruesome crimes including murders. He even ended up in solitary confinement and faced capital charges and a potential death penalty. He was finally released from custody in 1969 after serving a 10-year prison sentence and never went back to the life of crime.

After being released from jail, Danny worked as a labor foreman, salesperson, gardener, and lawn care company part-owner, and later became a substance abuse counselor. While in prison, Trejo did some boxing and even became a champion in San Quentin’s lightweight and welterweight divisions. His experience as a boxer later came in handy in launching his career.

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Danny Trejo’s Professional Career

While working with Western Pacific Med Corp in the 1980s, Trejo found out that he can earn easy money by becoming a film extra. He started working as movie extras and one time received a call to help deal with cocaine problems on the set of “Runaway Train” (1985). Danny was also offered a job in the movie as a prison extra which marked his first credited debut in a feature film. On the set, he was recognized by a former convict-turned-respected crime author Edward Bunker, who helped him secure the job as a personal trainer and boxing advisor for actor Eric Roberts. He also helped Danny get a small acting role in director Andrei Konchalovsky’s movie after which Trejo started getting similar roles in many prison-based movies.

Trejo appeared in many movies in the 80s and 90s but got his first major hit with the 1995 movie “Heat” where he starred alongside multiple stars. His next prominent role came in the movie “Spy Kids” (2001) provided Trejo with worldwide recognition. Throughout the 2000s Trejo appeared in some of the best movies like “Once Upon a Time in Mexico”, “XXX”, “The Devil’s Rejects”, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”, etc, and television shows, including “Monk”, “Breaking Bad”, “Desperate Housewives”, “Stargate: Atlantis”, and others.

Games, Music Videos & Books

Other than movies and TV shows, Trejo has made numerous appearances in music videos for popular artists including Tyga, Enrique Iglesias, YG, and others. In 2004, he played one of the villains in the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY and made a guest appearance in the DLC expansion game Far Cry 6: Danny and Dani vs. Everybody in 2021. Trejo appeared as Duke the instructor in the PlayStation Move game The Fight: Lights Out and made another guest appearance in the skateboarding game Olli Olli World.

Trejo has also produced some movies, the notable ones being “Ambition” and “Bad Asses”. He also appeared in a television commercial for Snickers that aired during Super Bowl XLIX. Danny contributed his experience and knowledge in the writing of the book “Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars” by Gustavo Alvarez, Clifton Collins Jr. He also published his own cookbook titled “Trejo’s Tacos: Recipes and Stories from L.A.”, which contained recipes and stories from his life. With the help of his friend Donal Logue, Trejo co-wrote and published his memoir “Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood”. The memoir became a hit and debuted at number four on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list.

Business Ventures

Trejo owns various restaurants in Los Angeles including a taco restaurant Trejo’s Tacos, followed by Trejo’s Cantina and Trejo’s Coffee and Donuts. He has his own brands of beer, coffee, and various merchandise and was even developing his own ice cream sandwiches. His signature rainbow cauliflower tacos even made it to the list of Los Angeles Times’ 10 most favorite recipes of 2017. Trejo is the owner of around eight different restaurants which are all very successful.

Top Movies & TV Shows of Danny Trejo

Check below the list of some of the best movies and TV shows of Danny Trejo.

Movies

1. Heat (1995)
2. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
3. Desperado (1995)
4. Planet Terror (2007)
5. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
6. The Hidden (1987)
7. Machete (2010)
8. Con Air (1997)
9. Runaway Train (1985)
10. A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)

TV Shows

1. Breaking Bad (2008)
2. The Flash (2014)
3. Modern Family (2009)
4. Bones (2005)
5. Blue Bloods (2010)
6. Family Guy (1999)
7. Rick and Morty (2013)
8. The X-Files (1993)
9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)
10. Sons of Anarchy (2008)

Trivia

1. Danny was forty-one years old when he landed a role in his first feature film.
2. He was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame on March 8, 2012.
3. Due to his prison background, he often played the role of a prison inmate.
4. For his first movie Runaway Train, Danny was paid $320 /day.
5. He might play violent characters in movies but in reality, is one of the nicest and friendliest actors in Hollywood.

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