Hollywood tough guy Danny Trejo — most known for his roles in Machete and Spy Kids — isn’t afraid to shed tears, but when he does, he still wants to appear manly. However, that wasn’t the case in one instance, as he recently told Inside of You podcast host Michael Rosenbaum.
Near the end of the episode, Trejo answered some questions sent in by fans, and one asked the star to talk about the last time he “had a good cry.” Trejo explained that it happened on the set of the film From a Son, which was written and directed by his son, Gilbert. Trejo was also in it and played Gilbert’s father.
As Trejo explained, there’s a scene where his son dies of an overdose and his character wakes up from a deep sleep miles away knowing that something was wrong. According to the actor, that was taken from his mother’s experience of waking up and knowing that something bad happened whenever Trejo got into trouble in the streets during his youth.
In one scene, Trejo said he was walking in the desert with his son’s partner in crime heading to where his son was buried. “I asked her, ‘Did you kill my son?’” to which the girl replied, “No, I loved him!” The woman then burst into tears, which, in turn, made Trejo ugly cry.
“I lost it. I cried for everything I didn’t ever cry for. I had a booger cry. Nothing manly about it. And I was trying so hard to be manly, but he saw it. He’s got it on film.”
Trejo knew the scene was coming, and he went into it preparing to do a quiet and composed cry. “I wanted to cry like John Wayne. I’m a tough guy. I don’t even cry to my mom. I don’t cry to anybody.”
Before the scene was shot, Trejo revealed that Gilbert had been showing him his baby pictures all week and reminiscing about his childhood, which was a good tactic to get his father all emotionally ripe for the shoot. Trejo said the entire crew was in tears when Gilbert yelled “cut!” most likely knowing that all the emotions pouring out of the tough-as-nails actor were real.
Danny Trejo has a close relationship with his son
Trejo said working with Gilbert on From a Son in 2021 was a great bonding experience for them. In an interview with the Latin Times, Trejo expressed his pride over Gilbert’s achievements. At 36 years old, Gilbert is a successful DJ and director, and Trejo pointed out that he was in prison when he was at that age.
The 80-year-old actor also revealed that at one point, they feared losing Gilbert to drugs and alcohol, which makes his son’s success all the more meaningful. In an Instagram post in July 2024, Trejo shared a photo of him and his son to congratulate him for 10 years of sobriety. “I thank God every single day for his recovery,” the actor wrote in the caption.
Gilbert also shared the milestone on his Instagram where he said, “I put myself first, and did the work necessary to become the man I’d always been told I could be… IT IS POSSIBLE TO CHANGE.” From a Son isn’t the only film the father and son worked on together. They also both starred in the 2024 movie Seven Cemeteries, where Gilbert played the young version of his father’s character.