Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo looks dangerous before a script has supplied a reason. His physical presence makes sense of the gangsters and assassins he is repeatedly asked to play, though it can also let the writing off too lightly. A small part in Runaway Train (1985) was followed by years of minor menacing roles, often with little dialogue or development. Desperado (1995) brought greater recognition and began his long association with Robert Rodriguez, who would keep finding parts for him.

In Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), he plays Razor Charlie, a supporting part well suited to his hard-edged physicality. We rate the film as a grubby, entertaining crime-and-horror mixture, with reservations about how long its excesses hold our attention. George Clooney supplies much of the authority that keeps it watchable, and the hostage-taking is more compelling than the second half. Trejo fits the company without being the chief reason to watch. Rodriguez gives the violence enough invention to sustain our interest, even as the story becomes less involving.

Spy Kids (2001) brought his Isador 'Machete' Cortez to a family audience and widened the uses of that tough-guy image. Machete (2010), a feature written for him, gave him the lead as an action hero. These are substantial changes for an actor whose early parts so often offered little to say or do. They also explain why the familiar casting is worth examining: a bigger part ought to give him more than another opportunity to look threatening.

The limits of familiar casting show up in Zootopia 2 (2025), where Trejo voices Jesús. We were disappointed by the cameo, because the film finds it funnier than the part warrants. The sequel is quick, dense and often funny, but Trejo is not one of the reasons we would recommend it. Start with From Dusk Till Dawn, provided a grubby crime-and-horror mixture sounds like an evening well spent.