Exclusive: Danny Trejo Talks Being Dead Again in Tombstone!
The face is legendary, the ink tells a story, and the man’s workload is one that would make some in Hollywood cringe in fear – he’s Danny Trejo, and he’s been kicking ass and intimidating the hell out of people since his first role back in 1985’s Runaway Train. Any time a role has called for a tougher-than-nails guy to chew up the screen, he’s gotten the call and smashed the work right out of the park, and his latest film, Dead Again in Tombstone, hits Blu-ray and DVD today, September 12th.
He was gracious enough to give us a few minutes of his time to discuss the sequel to Dead in Tombstone as well as what he’s got coming up on the horizon. Settle in, read on, and enjoy!
DC: Danny, tell us about the latest film as well as what’s up this time with your character, Guerrero?
DT: Did you see me on that buffalo?
DC: Man, you were kicking ass out there!
DT: (Laughs) – When they asked me to do that, I said “did Stallone ever ride a buffalo?” They said “no.” So I asked “did Schwarzenegger ever ride a buffalo?” They said “no.” So I said “I’m on it!” (laughs) Guerrero’s made that deal with the devil, and he’s ready to kill those guys that messed with him – he’s coming back, and he’s coming back with a vengeance, and that’s the one thing that I really like about it – there’s so much non-stop action. No lulls! I hate lulls in movies!
DC: As you alluded to earlier pertaining to the buffalo – this film was a very physical undertaking for you. Are you more inclined to take on the physical stuff at this stage in your career, or would you be happy to let a stunt person step in and take the hits?
DT: Let me tell you something: I don’t want to risk any people’s jobs just so I can get on late-night TV and say “I got big huevos!” I get hurt in a film, and 180 people are out of work! The reality is if I get hurt, the movie shuts down – if a stunt guy gets hurt, bless their heart…what do they do? They put a mustache on another Mexican and there they go! (laughs) I’m not going to risk some guy’s mortgage – stunts for a stunt guy are okay, stunts for an actor are stupid! We’ve got stunt people that have mortgages and daycare to pay!
DC: With all the roles that you’ve managed to cover in your long career, is there a particular “dream role” that you’d love to play?
DT: You know, my son wrote a movie and it’s called For My Son and it’s about a dad whose son overdoses and dies, and his father goes out and searches for his body, and as he’s out looking for the body, he runs into Henry Hopper (Dennis’ son) and he plays one of the guys that was with my son when he died. He wants me to play this role, and I’ve never played anything even close to something like this – my son said to me “Dad, it’s you!” and I said “What are you talking about?” He said to me “you don’t know how emotional you can get when it comes to us!” By the end of the movie, you realize that this isn’t just about my son, but every parent that’s waited up at night for their kid to come home. I don’t how to say it other than it’s a beautifully realistic – I read five pages of it and I cried.
DC: After the release of Dead Again in Tombstone on Blu-ray and DVD, what’s coming up next on the work slate for you?
DT: Hey, first off, if you can get to my donut shop in Los Angeles, on September 12th we’ve got a Dead Again in Tombstone donut right from the devil’s recipe – it’s like a no-shit donut!
DC: Come on, man, the first thing you shouldn’t do is tempt a fat guy with a donut! I’ll be on the next plane out there!
DT: (laughs) – I’m also working on a movie called Social Security, and it’s sort of like Die Hard in a senior citizen home, and it’s directed by Craig Moss from the Bad Ass series, so you’ll be seeing people getting knocked out with bedpans and shit!
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