We spoke with Danny Trejo leading up to the release of Seven Cemeteries, his uniquely comedic new Western film that features familiar faces like Efren Ramirez (Napoleon Dynamite) and Maria Canals-Barrera (Wizards of Waverly Place). It’s a wild, supernatural ride as Trejo’s lead antihero, Bruno, guides a ragtag undead posse to redemption. It’s also just the kind of project for a likable badass like Trejo, who is perhaps best known for his awesome collaborations with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, including his eponymous role in Robert Rodriguez’s cult classic Machete franchise. Ever since the movie was released following the faux trailer’s premiere during Grindhouse (2007), fans have been yearning for another Machete film.
There was talk of a potential sequel titled Machete Kills in Space, and Trejo confirmed to us that he’s still interested in the idea. “I’ve got to get Robert to make Machete Kills in Space. I’ll take Elon Musk with me!” he recently told MovieWeb. “Robert Rodriguez made me a household name all over the world with Spy Kids… and Desperado and Machete, and From Dusk Till Dawn, you know? We’ve done about 13 movies together.”
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And if fans are wondering what it is about their partnership that has led to so many Hollywood collaborations, perhaps the answer lies in kinship. “He’s my second cousin,” said Trejo. “When he cast me in Desperado, we didn’t know it. And then, when I got to Acuna, Mexico, my family came down from San Antonio to visit me. My uncle Rudy, who knows San Antonio real well, he goes, ‘Who’s that? Robert Rodriguez?’ And he called him over and ‘Hey, say hello to your cousin.’ Found out we were second cousins. [I was like,] ‘Alright Robert, what are we doing after this one?'”
Danny Trejo Talks Tacos, Oscars, and Playing Magellan
Speaking of Machete, Los Angeles residents probably know that the veteran actor (who is somehow 80 years old, despite seeming younger and more fit than most people in their 50s) has his own franchise of Trejo’s Tacos restaurants — which feature a menu item called The Machete. “I got four [locations] here in LA, so I hit one of them at least once a week… whenever I can,” he told us, confirming that he indeed cooks at the locations, as teased on his popular Instagram page.
In addition to his on-screen work, Trejo has lent his voice to a wide variety of animated projects, so we had to ask if he thinks there should be a much-discussed Oscar category for Best Voice Actor. “I think they should have an Oscar for everything,” he said with a laugh. “I love the work… But if I was doing it for an award or whatever, I think I’d be disappointed, you know?”
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Looking ahead, the always-busy Trejo has roughly 25 projects listed on IMDb that have yet to be released. He opened up to us about one he’s particularly excited about:
We’ve got one coming out called
1521
, about when the Spaniards tried to take over the Philippines, and I play Magellan. So it’s kind of cool… The fun is like… you look up Magellan’s style… He’s got a very Hispanic style.
If Trejo likes it, we probably will too. Until you can check out that style, from Quiver Distribution, Seven Cemeteries will be released in theaters, on demand and on digital Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. Check out the trailer below.