Action star Danny Trejo celebrated 55 years of sobriety in a motivational post — reassuring others suffering from addiction that they can overcome their “struggles.”
“I’m 55 years clean and sober today by the grace of God!” the 79-year-old actor wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter on Wednesday.
“I’ve done this one day at a time, and for anyone out there struggling YOU CAN TOO.”
Along with the celebration and words of encouragement, the “Machete” star shared a photo of himself, arms wide open in an LA Rams jean jacket and hat, with a joyous smile.
Trejo told Fox News in July 2021 that he realized he “had to” get clean during his stints in and out of jail in his youth.
“I had to get clean,” Trejo recalled. “I wouldn’t have gotten to this point in my life if I didn’t take that step. I would have just stayed the same person.”
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! pic.twitter.com/iQvYKW2VkR
— Danny Trejo (@officialDannyT) August 23, 2023
In his 2021 memoir, co-authored by fellow actor Donal Logue, titled “Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood,” the actor detailed his battle with staying sober after growing up in an abusive household in Los Angeles, leading him to fall into a life of crime in his younger years before finding God and acting, the “Machete” actor told the outlet during the interview upon the book’s release.
The reformed felon turned fan-favorite on the silver screen shared that by the time he was 8 years old, he had already started smoking marijuana — and by 12, was drinking.
As a teenager, Trejo became addicted to heroin before he found himself locked up in some of America’s most violent penitentiaries, including the notoriously dangerous San Quentin State Prison, located about 25 miles North of San Francisco, in the late 1960s.
During a prison riot while incarcerated at Soledad Prison in California in 1968, the actor was isolated in solitary confinement after he hit a guard in the head with a rock and faced the death penalty for attempted murder.
The father of three shared that faith played a detrimental part in staying sober all these years, explaining he “made a deal with God in 1968,” thinking he was never “getting out of prison.”
“God let me out of prison,” the “From Dusk Till Dawn” actor told Fox.
The charges were later dropped against the actor due to a technicality, and Trejo — with his new devotion to faith — joined the 12-step program, which helped guide him on a path away from the life of crime he’d been living.
“I got clean in ’68 in prison. I then got out of prison in 1969,” Trejo explained, sharing that he didn’t realize he’d ignored his underlying substance abuse issue before entering the program.
“I didn’t think turning me on to marijuana was abuse when I was 8. I thought it was sharing. It was a form of abuse. I didn’t know,” the actor shared. “So when you finally start realizing, ‘Wait a minute man, this is not right,’ that’s when the healing really begins.”
Following his release in August 1969, the actor kept his promise to himself and God and stayed clean, ushering in over five decades of a flourishing acting career.
Since landing his first acting role in 1985’s “Runaway Train,” Trejo has 420 acting credits under his belt, according to the star’s IMDb page.
“I wake up every morning and say, ‘Dear heavenly Father, please let me help whoever I can for my fellow man. And I’ll say your name every day, and I’ll do whatever I can,’” Trejo shared.
His strong faith and guidance from God have not subsided in the years since his release, with the actor still keeping a dialogue with the higher power.
“He lived up to his deal. I’m living up to mine,” he told the outlet. “I even asked God a couple of days ago, ‘How am I doing?’ He said, ‘Trejo, you’re doing great. Keep it up. You’re almost out of hell.’”
