Danny Trejo is 82 years old as of October 2026. He was born on 16 May 1944.
Quick facts
Date of birth16 May 1944
Age82
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceMaywood, United States
Editor's Take:
Danny Trejo's story is unusual even by Hollywood standards. He spent much of his youth in and out of custody, yet he got sober in the late 1960s and went on to work as a substance abuse counsellor. Acting arrived almost by accident, when a young patient's call for help took him to a film set. Early roles as prisoners made use of his lived experience, though he later widened his range through voice work, comedy and family films. Beyond the screen, his restaurants and memoir show a man who has built a public life around redemption.
Key Milestones
1985: Made his screen debut in Runaway Train
1995: Appeared in both Heat and Desperado
2010: Starred in Machete, based on his Spy Kids character
2021: Published his memoir, which entered the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list at number four
Danny Trejo (Spanish:; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. In his body of work he appears as a character actor taking on roles such as inmates, gangsters, or other criminals.
