On Wednesday (August 23), Danny Trejo posted a photo of himself on social media to celebrate a major milestone: 55 years of sobriety. The image features Trejo showing off a huge smile and wearing a Los Angeles Rams hat and customized denim jacket.
“I’m 55 years clean and sober today by the grace of God!” Trejo wrote on social media. “I’ve done this one day at a time, and for anyone out there struggling YOU CAN TOO!”
Fans and friends like Mayans M.C. star Emilio Rivera congratulated him on the anniversary. “Happy Birthday Carnal, Congratulations,” he wrote. Others, like actor Jason Mewes (Clerks), who have experienced addiction themselves, also commented on the major milestone. “Congratulations on the big 55 years sober!” Mewes wrote.
Best known for his roles in movies like Machete and Desperado, Trejo became addicted to heroin at the age of 15. He was 24 years old when he started attending 12-step meetings while serving time in San Quentin State Prison. Much of his story about his life being in and out of prison at an early age is detailed in the 2020 documentary Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo and in his 2021 memoir Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood.
“They tell you if you leave [Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous], you will die, go insane, or go to jail,” Trejo told Variety in 2019. “And I proved that right. Every time I left, I went to jail.”
After he became clean, Trejo became a drug counselor. He was 16 years sober when he landed his first movie gig as an extra in the 1985 film Money Train. “Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else – everything,” he said. “That’s the way I live my life.”
