Being able to act is great, but a small lack of acting talent can be made up for by another part of moviemaking - casting.
For example, the well worth watching “Faster Pussycat Kill Kill” does not feature any great performances by the cast, but the cast makes up for it as they’re all pretty much playing fictional versions of themselves.
Similarly, in “Dr. Strangelove”, when Slim Pickens showed up on set to replace Peter Sellers as the character “Major Kong”, people were amazed how convincing he was until they realized dealing with him off set that he was pretty much like that all the time.
And Danny Trejo, just out of prison and finally off of drugs, was trying to rebuild his life as a drug counsellor when a client begged him to come to a set where drugs were being used everywhere. They were trying to find someone who looked like a boxer and, lo and behold, there he was (he learned boxing in prison) that got him a gig as a boxing trainer at a rate of pay he described as “more than I ever got from a bank robbery”.
And for the next ten years he kicked around and whenever someone needed someone who looked like a gang member, they called Danny Trejo. He looked the part and his past trouble made him dependable and easy to work with.
Then, finally, in 1995, he was working with Robert Rodriguez on Rodriguez’s first major feature, “Desperado”. He didn’t have to say a word, but his turn as knife wielding assassin really brought him to Hollywood’s attention.
But Trejo and Rodriguez remained closed, and Rodriguez saw behind the exterior to the total sweetie the man had become, so he was cast as “Uncle Machete” in “Spy Kids”, where he now plays the estranged brother of the man he tried to kill in “Desperado”, leading to a tearful reunion
That depth of performance got him even more work and finally, working with Rodriguez again, starting in two films as the same character
Except as first it was supposed to be a joke - a fake trailer in “Grindhouse” (2007). However, that eventually got him his first movie, and then a sequel.
Which meant he led a cast featuring Michelle Rodriguez, Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal and Don Johnson. As DeNiro said to him, “when you’re first on the call sheet, you know it’s your movie”.
So, with a well known persona, a great work ethic, a willingness to work on his acting and being easy to work with, he’s the guy you gotta call.
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