Danny Trejo and Taylor Swift. Getty Images (2)
Swifties come in all shapes in sizes, including, apparently, Machete star Danny Trejo.
“My bucket list item is to wear a shirt that says, ‘I’m a Swiftie, what about it?’ and just walk around,” Trejo, 80, revealed exclusively in his 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me feature in the latest edition of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. “I don’t even know her, but I’m so proud of Taylor Swift. She’s making so much money. Have you seen how hard that little girl works? I love the work ethic, you know what I mean?”
Trejo added: “And she’s got the time to go to a football game, too. I don’t got time to go to a game!”
The actor — whose new horror film, Seven Cemeteries, is now available on digital and on demand — is full of unexpected anecdotes, including his surprising first job.
Whether you’re a fully committed Swiftie with a wrist dripping in friendship bracelets or a casual onlooker in awe of her success, it’s impossible not to be fascinated by Taylor Swift. So how did this cute country singer who grew up on a Pennsylvania Christmas tree farm transform into a globally adored powerhouse? The truth […]
“My first job was armed robbery,” he told Us. “I was a lookout for a pill dealer. I worked as a maintenance man, but I got hired so I could watch my boss’s trailer because he was selling pills.”
That job ended very quickly, though, when his boss got in trouble with law enforcement.
“His name was Whitey and he wouldn’t have gotten busted, but he wasn’t home when the cops raided his place,” Trejo added. “I saw them coming and I went and banged on his door to try to tell him, but he wasn’t home, so they just waited for him. What’s funny is I met him in the county jail about four months later. I said, ‘Hey, you should’ve given me your phone number. I would’ve called you!’”
Keep scrolling for more personal stories from Trejo, including his hilarious comeback when fans tell him they thought he was taller:
1. I love working on cars. My first job was working at a salvage lot.
2. It got too hard to go to the gym because I’d just be signing autographs, and it’s hard to work out with somebody standing over you waiting, but I’ll do it. I put a gym in my house, so I can work out when I want, and this kind of works better. I’m in pretty good shape! My favorite workout is bench press, arms and legs.
3. I love training dogs, even though I usually wind up untraining them too.
4. My first car was a dark blue 1950 Buick Special. The minute we heated the springs and lowered it, it was awesome.
5. My favorite wardrobe item is a vest with studs. It weighs about 35 pounds.
6. My favorite movie is The Searchers. It entranced me. The cool guys in the west — it was the best.
7. My first job was armed robbery. I was a lookout for a pill dealer. I worked as a maintenance man, but I got hired so I could watch my boss’s trailer because he was selling pills. His name was Whitey and he wouldn’t have gotten busted, but he wasn’t home when the cops raided his place. I saw them coming and I went and banged on his door to try to tell him, but he wasn’t home, so they just waited for him. What’s funny is I met him in the county jail about four months later. I said, “Hey, you should’ve given me your phone number. I would’ve called you!”
Amy Sussman/Getty Images Danny Trejo’s Danger Dogs recipe is the perfect dish for your Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. “Invented in Tijuana and cooked by street vendors outside of L.A. bars and Dodger Stadium, it’s what culinary street-level Hispanic culture is all about,” the actor turned restaurateur, 79, exclusively shares in the latest issue of Us […]
8. I currently work as a drug counselor at [California rehabilitation center] Western Pacific Med Corp. I get to talk to Governor Newsom anytime I want!
9. I grew up with girl cousins, so we danced all the time. In junior high school, I’d always get girlfriends because I knew how to dance and none of the other guys [did].
10. The song that reminds me of my youth is “Johnny B. Goode.”
11. I had a lot of problems in school because I couldn’t sit still or stop talking. They put me in a special class with about 30 people in it, and everybody in that class was on the [autism] spectrum somewhere. But in the ’50s, nobody knew what the spectrum was. We were just “bad kids.” And yet there were some kids in there that were so smart, but they couldn’t stop walking or mumbling. I remember telling my daughter I was undiagnosed. But everyone says, “Why do you think we love being with you? Because you can’t sit still!”
12. My favorite book is Straight Time by Edward Bunker.
13. I’ve only done karaoke once, and I sang “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash.
14. The actors I looked up to [as a kid] were John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. They were so cool, and at that time, there weren’t too many Latino stars.
15. I can’t leave the house without my cross chain, my wallet and a nice pair of shoes. I love a Ferragamo loafer.
16. My bucket list item is to wear a shirt that says, “I’m a Swiftie, what about it?” and just walk around. I don’t even know her, but I’m so proud of Taylor Swift. She’s making so much money. Have you seen how hard that little girl works? I love the work ethic, you know what I mean? And she’s got the time to go to a football game, too. I don’t got time to go to a game!
Travis Kelce hasn’t shied away from giving girlfriend Taylor Swift her flowers on his podcast. The couple’s romance began shortly after the first time Travis mentioned the pop star on the “New Heights” podcast, which he cohosts with brother Jason Kelce. In July 2023, Travis recalled how he saw Swift perform at the Arrowhead Stadium […]
17. The feature I use the most on my phone is Siri. I’m pretty much treating her like a paid assistant.
18. I love to cook a good steak. The secret is to put a lot of grilled onions all over the top.
19. I’m not much of a fast-food guy, but tacos are the healthiest kind you can get. That’s one of the reasons we opened up our Trejo’s Tacos restaurants.
20. I love to go fishing in Cabo San Lucas. It’s gorgeous there.
21. I collect cars, including vintage cars, low riders, late ’70s Cadillacs, a 1936 Dodge Touring Sedan and a Ford Model T, and every one has a story.
22. My most starstruck moment was meeting Robert De Niro. We did a movie called Heat together and he was awesome and genuine. He accepts you exactly the way you are.
23. My favorite project I’ve done was Machete. I would love that character [Isador “Machete” Cortez] even if I weren’t in the movie.
Jessica Alba and Danny Trejo in ‘Machete.’ Twentieth Century Fox
24. I just watched Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1. It was so sad and heartbreaking.
25. Everybody always says, “I thought you were taller,” and I [respond], “Well, I was tall enough to kiss Jessica Alba [in Machete].”
Trejo’s new HISTORY Channel series, Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo, premieres December 6.
With reporting by Travis Cronin
