Trailer released for the documentary Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Like many genre fans, I always perk up a bit when renowned character actor Danny Trejo shows up on screen. He has a gravitas to him that's hard to deny, but also a vulnerability he's able to utilize, depending on the role. He's also been in the game for decades now, and has been in everything from CON AIR to Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN to even starring in his own action series, MACHETE and BAD ASS. Even cooler, he's revealed that he'll work on student or low-budget indie films for cheap – or even free – to help out budding filmmakers get their movies seen. Class act.

But his journey was not easy. The new, touching documentary INMATE #1: THE RISE OF DANNY TREJO has just released a trailer (which you can see in the embed above), which talks about the struggle from incarcerated criminal, to the reformed character actor we know and love today. Here's the official synopsis:

On a day to honor and celebrate Mexican heritage, the new trailer for the powerful documentary Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo has been released. The feature pays homage to Danny Trejo’s heritage—his Mexican roots and his Los Angeles upbringing—as he gives fans a first-hand look into the extraordinary life journey that molded him into Hollywood's most unlikely hero. The film will be available on digital in the U.S July 7, 2020, giving viewers a raw and inspirational account of Trejo’s unbelievable transformation from hardened criminal to celebrated movie icon and beloved friend of all who cross his path.
 
From a life of hard drugs and armed robberies to Hollywood red carpets and mentoring addicts, this is the telling of one of the most radical and uplifting transformation stories of human character ever put to film. Directed by award-winning filmmaker, Brett Harvey (Ice Guardians), Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo is the shocking story of one man’s capacity to overcome his demons and discover redemption through the most unlikely of journeys.
 
With a host of celebrity interviews, never-before-seen footage and personal testimony from Trejo and his closest family and friends, audiences will witness the birth of a Hollywood icon who became a symbol of hope to the people he grew up with and fans around the world. After 46 years of sobriety, he never forgets his roots and is genuinely happy to pay it forward every single day. Trejo has made it his personal mission and debt to society to give back to Chicano communities in Los Angeles through his volunteer work donating food via his iconic Los Angeles based restaurants, buying toys for local children, motivational speaking in prisons, working with animal shelters and being a source of consistent support for those in the neighborhood he was raised in.

Meanwhile, the documentary will be out on VOD and digital July 7th.

So what do you think? Any big fans of Trejo out there? And if so, what are some of you favorite roles? Either way, sound off below!