FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — You may know him as Machete but on Tuesday, actor Danny Trejo skipped bombastic fights and explosions, as he sat down for a conversation in the Central Valley.
The Los Angeles native took part in the Fresno City College Speakers Forum earlier today.
Trejo talked about how he spent much of his young adult life battling addiction and serving time behind bars.
While in prison, he would become a championship boxer and eventually get clean after finding faith.
Trejo set out to help others stay sober and helping a client is what landed him on the set of the film Runaway Train.
“This guy said ‘Do you want to be in this movie?’ I say ‘what do I gotta do?’ He says ‘Wanna be an extra?’ I said ‘extra what?,’ Trejo recalled as the crowd laughed. “He says, ‘can you act like a convict?’ San Quentin, Folsom, Soledad, Vacaville, I said I’ll give it a shot, I couldn’t believe it.”
Trejo now has more than 500 acting credits to his name and even opened a Taco Shop and Cantina.
We spoke to one student who made sure to be seated for the forum.
“I couldn’t believe he was coming to my college,” Fresno City College student Moises Samberano said. “I’m excited to meet him and take pictures.”
A Fresno City College staff member shared her close connection to Trejo.
The actor and her uncle became close friends as they advocated for addiction recovery.
She’s now the college’s dedicated counselor for their drug and alcohol program.
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