The 79-year-old actor says his story of beating addiction makes it clear others can do the same.
Danny Trejo's transformation points to the radical nature of finding faith in Christ as well or better than anyone else's we can think of in the movie business. After committing to the Savior in the late 1960's, he turned from a life of addiction, gang violence, and incarceration to one of peace, sobriety, and serving others...not to mention fame on the silver screen.
This week marks 55 years of sobriety for the Los Angeles native, who - smile beaming from ear to ear - took to social media to announce the news. He also used his post to encourage others battling substance abuse.
"I'm 55 years clean and sober today by the grace of God! I've done this one day at a time, and for anyone out there struggling - YOU CAN TOO!"
Best-known for roles in rough action movies like Machete, Machete Kills, and Predators, Trejo detailed his difficult early years and his later coming to Christ in his 2021 autobiography Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood, which we reported on at the time. He states in the book that while behind bars, he told the Lord he would "say (His) name every day" if the He would allow him to die with dignity.
Trejo was later unexpectedly freed from prison in 1969, and every day since has prayed daily that God would allow him "to help whoever I can for my fellow man." If that does not bear out the truth of II Corinthians 5:17, we do not know what does: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come."