从反派演员到餐饮大亨，丹尼·特雷霍如何一路逆袭？

关于丹尼·特雷霍的所有事情都让人出乎意料，连他成功的秘诀都与众不同。

“我碰上的好事都是因为帮助了别人。”75岁的特雷霍说。此刻他坐在旗下发展迅速的业务特雷霍酒吧好莱坞分店包厢里，身材惊人地结实，身高5英尺6英寸（约1.68米），全身黑衣，长长的黑发自然垂在银色十字项链旁。

他说话轻声细语，特别喜欢击掌庆祝，根本看不出人生完全可能走上不同的轨道。特雷霍出生在洛杉矶，父母都是美籍墨西哥人，青少年时期由于吸毒和抢劫，大部分时间都在出入加州监狱。坐牢期间，还有出狱之后，他精通了拳击技能（在加州圣昆廷监狱里会拳击很有用），25岁改邪归正，变成高产的个性演员，同时担任青少年毒品咨询师和励志演说家，发现对回馈社会充满热情。

Nothing about Danny Trejo is what you might expect, including his secret to success.

“Everything good that’s happened to me is a direct result of me helping other people,” says Trejo, 75, whose surprisingly compact 5-foot-6 frame—clad in all black, his long dark hair hanging loose alongside a silver cross necklace—is tucked inside a booth at the Hollywood hub of his booming taco business, Trejo’s Cantina.

His soft-spoken reflectiveness and fondness for high-fives belie a life that could have gone very differently: Born to Mexican-American parents in Los Angeles, Trejo spent most of his young-adult life in and out of California prisons for drugs and robberies. It was during that time and since then that he honed his boxing talents (a helpful skill in venues like San Quentin), got sober at 25, became a prolific character actor, and, from working as a youth drug counselor and motivational speaker, discovered how much he loves giving back.

如今，洛杉矶的8家特雷霍玉米饼餐厅里都能够看到他那张饱经风霜的脸，食物也非常受欢迎。《洛杉矶时报》将彩虹花菜玉米饼列为2017年最受欢迎的十大菜之一；一到周末，餐厅里每天约有500位顾客；还有可能扩大业务，其中包括在加州之外开甜甜圈店。（最近他还推出了特雷霍啤酒屋，在洛杉矶地区出售营养食品和Total Wine酒水。）神奇的是，特雷霍还可以抽出时间演戏。他的从影生涯中共演过近300部影视剧，很快还要增加20多部，其中包括《弯刀》续集和8月即将上映的《爱探险的朵拉：消失的黄金城》。在《消失的黄金城》中，他为名叫布茨的猴子配音，特雷霍自豪地说，该角色“能够吸引到更多的新观众。”

7月初，《财富》杂志与特雷霍聊了聊他如何在餐饮领域变身大亨、在好莱坞的奇遇，以及如何从泥足深陷的小混混走上正路。

《财富》：感觉特雷霍玉米饼在洛杉矶很出名，其实才开了三年。你为什么进军餐饮业？

特雷霍：我妈妈就是一位擅长做美食的大厨。我12岁左右就说：“我们家应该开个餐馆。”但我爸爸就像墨西哥人阿奇·邦克（20世纪70年代美国电视剧《全家福》主角——译注）一样固执。“嘿，家里已经有厨房了！”（笑）七年前，我拍了一部低成本电影《坏蛋》，有个叫阿什·沙赫的制片人注意到我不喜欢垃圾食品。我吃东西很挑剔！合作几部电影之后，阿什说：“丹尼，你真应该开家餐馆。”然后他为特雷霍玉米饼制定了商业计划。我的团队说，“没有人让你先垫上5万美元，应该就是好主意！”餐厅开张后特别火爆。两年前我们开了一家甜甜圈店，每天下午两点前就售罄了。

安东尼·波登2017年在这里拍摄《未知之旅》时，对你家的玉米饼赞不绝口。当天感觉怎样？

非常棒。他开玩笑说：“你是墨西哥人，有花菜玉米饼吗？”他尝了之后很喜欢。晚上五六点总会看到很多家庭来吃饭。有次一位女士告诉我：“能够找到这里太感谢上帝了。”孩子们可以吃不含麸质的食物，妈妈可以吃素，爸爸可以吃牛肉！

Today, Trejo’s iconic craggy visage fronts eight Trejo’s Tacos locations across Los Angeles, and the eats are a hit: The Los Angeles Times named the rainbow cauliflower tacos on its 2017 list of 10 favorite recipes; the Cantina location serves around 500 diners a day on weekends; and there’s talk of expanding the business, which now includes a doughnut shop, outside California. (He’s also recently launched Trejo’s Cerveza, currently for sale at L.A.-area Whole Foods and Total Wine.) Somehow Trejo also still has time for acting: He’ll soon add 20-plus roles to his nearly 300-credit film and TV résumé, including a second Machete sequel and August’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, in which he voices a monkey named Boots, a role Trejo says proudly “will give me a whole new audience.”

Fortune chatted with Trejo in early July about his food-mogul renaissance, his adventures in Hollywood, and how he learned to channel a misspent youth into a force for good.

Fortune: Trejo’s Tacos feels like an L.A. institution, yet it’s only three years old. What inspired you to get into the restaurant business?

Trejo: My mom was a gourmet cook. When I around 12, I’d say, “We should start a restaurant,” but my dad was like a Mexican Archie Bunker. “Hey, we’ve got a kitchen right there!” [Laughs] Seven years ago I did a low-budget movie called Bad Ass, and one of the producers, Ash Shah, noticed that I didn’t like junk food. I am pretty picky! A few movies later, Ash says, “Danny, you should start a restaurant.” He created a business plan for Trejo’s Tacos. My team said, “If nobody’s asking you to front 50 grand, seems like a good idea!” We opened, and it totally blew up. Two years ago we opened the doughnut shop, and we sell out by 2 p.m. every day.

Anthony Bourdain raved about your tacos when he filmed Parts Unknown here in 2017. What was that day like for you?

Amazing. He joked, “You’re Mexican and you have a cauliflower taco?” He loved it. At around five or six o’clock at night, you’ll see a lot families coming in here. One woman told me, “Thank God for this place.” The kids can be gluten-free, mom can be vegetarian, and Dad can have cow!

菜单上你最喜欢的食物是什么？

早餐我最喜欢玉米片加牛排，还有两个鸡蛋。

你最新转型当餐馆老板，是超现实职业生涯中的又一个转折点。你认为自己一直坚持的动力是什么？

我身边有好朋友帮忙。跟经纪人合作已经25年了。我在圣昆廷监狱拍电影的时候遇到了现在的助理马里奥，当时他还在坐牢。现在他跟我也15年了。

你是1985年乔·沃特主演的电影《暴走列车》中当拳击教练时被发现的。但一直到1995年，你在表弟罗伯特·罗德里格兹的电影《杀人三部曲》里扮演扔刀子的纳瓦贾，才开始扮演重要角色。听说你们直到电影开拍才知道彼此是亲戚，是真的么？

我们第一次见面是在洛杉矶试镜，他说：“你让我想起高中时遇到的坏人。”我说：“我就是你高中里的坏人！”然后我们在墨西哥阿库那开拍。家人从圣安东尼奥来片场看我。叔叔鲁迪问我：“那是谁？”我说：“是导演罗伯特·罗德里格兹。”他向罗伯特吹了下口哨打招呼说：“嘿！来跟你二表哥丹尼问好！”我跟着说：“哈，表弟，给我加点戏份吧！”但他没有给我加戏。不过他告诉我：“丹尼，你的面部表演比大多数演员用对白还有表现力。”当时我光着上身，露出纹身，不少人找我要签名。罗伯特说：“他们以为你是明星。”我说：“你的意思是我不是明星？”当时没有什么人认识（男主角）安东尼奥·班德拉斯。他很安静，不像我那么闹腾。（笑）

What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

I love the nachos with steak and two eggs on top for breakfast.

Your latest incarnation as a restaurateur is another twist in an already surreal career. To what do you attribute your staying power?

I have good people around me. The same agent for 25 years. I met my assistant Mario at San Quentin when I made a movie there, and he was a prisoner. He’s been with me for 15 years.

You were discovered while working as a boxing coach on the set of the 1985 Jon Voight movie Runaway Train. But it wasn’t until you were cast as the knife-throwing Navajas in your cousin Robert Rodriguez’s 1995 film Desperado that you started to play substantial roles. Is it true you didn’t know you were related until shooting began?

We first met when I auditioned in L.A. He said, “You remind me of the bad guys in my high school.” I said, “I am the bad guys from your high school!” Then we filmed in Acuña, Mexico. My family from San Antonio visited the set. My Uncle Rudy says, “Who’s that?” I say, “Robert Rodriguez, the director.” He whistles at Robert, “Hey! Say hello to your second cousin Danny!” I was like, “What’s up, cousin? Make my role bigger!” But he didn’t. He said, “Danny, you can do more with your face than most actors can with dialogue.” I’m walking around with no shirt, all these tattoos, people asking for my autograph. Robert says, “They think you’re the star.” I said, “You mean I’m not?” Nobody really knew [lead actor] Antonio Banderas at the time. He was quiet—unlike me. [Laughs]

后来罗伯特为你量身打造了平民英雄形象弯刀。弯刀这个人物是如何从《非常小特务》里的一个小角色发展到第二部，还有第三部电影主角的？

罗伯特把弯刀叔叔的角色加入《非常小特务》后，很快又（跟导演昆汀·塔伦蒂诺）拍了电影《刑房》，他们俩拍了个假的电影预告片。其中之一就是电影《弯刀》。首映式上每个人都说：“你一定要把那部片拍出来。”弯刀是墨西哥的第一个超级英雄。后来万圣节时我看到8岁的孩子打扮成弯刀，差点哭出来。

遇到过那么多演员，跟谁合作最让你有追星的冲动？

我们拍《盗火线》跟罗伯特·德尼罗合作的时候。后来罗伯特（罗德里格兹）不知怎么的又找到他拍了《弯刀》！我在片场看到他，他说：“好好好，就是你总给我打电话，嗯？”我当时只想说：“德尼罗先生，我帮您端杯咖啡过来好吗？”（笑）

你留给这个世界上最经典的角色有哪些？《绝命毒师》第二季里乌龟背上驮着你的头，让不少粉丝大为震惊。

《非常小特务》、《弯刀》、《王牌播音员》，还有《泡泡男孩》。我认识的墨西哥人都喜欢《黑帮悍将》。拍《绝命毒师》那会我记得经纪人说：“丹尼，你要当好莱坞第一了，因为你要骑着乌龟穿越沙漠。”我还以为他说的是动画片，难道真要骑一头超大的乌龟？“不不，其实只是你的头而已。”（笑）

你很多角色都有些下流，但你也演过一些严肃的电影，比如玛吉·吉伦哈尔主演的《雪莉宝贝》，讲述了一个吸毒成瘾有前科的母亲。你什么时候对自己说：“等等，我真会表演吗？”

我在西太平洋戒毒所当戒毒顾问。几年前，儿子吉尔伯特让我看了一部他写的以毒品为主题的电影，名字叫《儿子的心声》。有一场戏里，我要演崩溃哭泣。之前我在电影里从来没崩溃过。我以为自己像约翰·韦恩一样是个硬汉，但我儿子……他太聪明了。他让我回想他小时候，给我看了一张1985年的照片，当时他还是个小婴儿。然后，我一下忍不住哭了。我在父母的葬礼上都没有哭。

Robert went on to create the vigilante-hero character Machete for you. How did he evolve from a minor character in the Spy Kids franchise to fronting two, soon-to-be three features?

After he put Uncle Machete in Spy Kids, Robert did the Grindhouse movies [with director Quentin Tarantino], and they needed fake movie trailers. One was for a Machete movie. At the premiere, everybody was like, “You have to do that movie.” Machete was the first Mexican superhero. I was almost in tears when I saw 8-year-old kids dressed like him on Halloween.

Of all the people you’ve worked with, when have you felt the most starstruck?

With Robert De Niro, when we did Heat. Then Robert [Rodriguez] somehow got him to do Machete! I see him on the set and he says, “Well, well, well, number one on the call sheet now, eh?” I was like, “Can I get you some coffee, Mr. De Niro?” [Laughs]

For what roles are you most often recognized when you’re out in the world? Seeing your severed head on a turtle in season two of Breaking Bad left quite an impression with fans.

Spy Kids. Machete. Anchorman. Bubble Boy. And every Mexican I know loves Blood In, Blood Out. For Breaking Bad, I remember my agent saying, “Danny, you’re going to have a Hollywood first: You’re going to go across the desert on a turtle.” I’m thinking it’s a cartoon, or a really big turtle? “Actually, no. It’s just your head.” [Laughs]

A lot of your roles lean campy, but you’ve also acted in serious films like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Sherrybaby about a mother who’s a drug-addicted ex-con. When did you think to yourself, “Wait, I can actually act?”

I’m a drug counselor at a place called Western Pacific Rehab. A few years ago, my son Gilbert cast me in a drug-themed movie he wrote called From a Son. There’s a scene where I break down and cry. I’d never had to do that in a movie. I was thinking I’d do a John Wayne, tough-guy thing, but my son…shit, he’s so brilliant. He reminded me of stuff from when he was young. He showed me a picture of us from 1985, when he was a little baby. Then, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t even cry at my parents’ funerals.

那一刻你对自己吃惊了吗？

特别震惊。我当时想，“哇，好吧，这肯定是在演戏。”

你儿子用了你叔叔吉尔伯特的名字，你说他在你十几岁时带你走上了犯罪道路。你还记得那段时间吗？

我父亲家里有11口人，吉尔伯特最小。他只比我大6岁。我没有兄弟姐妹，所以他就像我哥哥一样。不幸的是，他持械抢劫还有吸毒。我14岁时他就教我抢劫了。他给了我一把锯掉的猎枪，让我在镜子前练习。“把钱给我，臭娘们。给你一巴掌！”

算是你的第一份表演工作吧。

（笑）是的。我们搭伙抢劫了一家亚洲人开的杂货店，叫“远东市场”。当时有把左轮手枪，但必须用手握住，不然就会散架。我冲进去喊：“给我钱！给我钱！”那个女人从收银台里拿了8美元给我。我抓住钱，这时有个家伙从后面冲出来，拿着斧头还尖叫着，追着我们沿着连克新大道一直跑！

你现在对当初犯下的罪行有何感想？

我很后悔。我不是坏人，但也从不让任何人占便宜。在监狱里，要么当猎手，要么就是猎物。我和朋友库奇弄了个保护圈，可以保护圈里的孩子，还有在街上结婚的同性恋。我出狱后收到过当时被保护的孩子送来的卡片。他们的父母也来道谢。

你父母看到你成功了吗？

我妈妈看到了。我爸爸只看到我改邪归正，但没有看到我演戏。如果他看到会笑我的。不过即便我在《盗火线》里跟罗伯特·德尼罗合作之后，妈妈也只是说：“孩子，找个工作吧。”2008年，我拍了《年轻和骚动不安的一族》，她确实很高兴。她请了四个朋友一起看，他们都在激动地喊：“哦，天呐。”那一刻，我很成功。

这些年来，你拍了很多广告，产品从士力架到美国退休人员协会都有，现在你是勃起功能障碍产品Giddy的代言人。在你看来解决禁忌话题有什么吸引力？

我们生活的社会里什么都不说，高中不谈避孕套，也不介绍节育。我们绝对不会谈论勃起功能障碍，尤其是在拉美裔社区。但我认识的男性都经历过。我认为这就像我做的每一件事情，教人们阉割狗，警告孩子们应该了解的毒品知识，首先要表现得很酷。要有一张这样的脸才能够触动他们。其实不是“丹尼·特雷霍”这么说，而是《非常小特务》里的那个人，《盗火线》里的那个人，《杀人三部曲》里的那个人在说。人们会想，“好吧，听听这家伙要说什么。”（财富中文网）

译者：冯丰

审校：夏林

Did you surprise yourself in that moment?

Completely. I thought, “Wow, okay, this must be acting.”

Your son is named after your Uncle Gilbert, who you’ve said led you down a path of crime when you were a teenager. What do you remember about that time?

My dad came from a family of 11, and Gilbert was the youngest. He was only six years older than me. I had no siblings, so he was like my older brother. Unfortunately, he was also an armed robber and a drug addict. He showed me how to rob when I was 14. He gave me a sawed-off shotgun and put me in front of a mirror to practice. “Give me your money, bitch. I’ll slap you!”

Your first acting job.

[Laughs] Yes. We robbed an Asian grocery store together called Far East Market in Burbank. We had a revolver, but you had to hold it just so or it would fall apart. I go, “Give me the money! Give me the money!” The woman gives me $8 from the cash register. I grabbed it, and we ran down Lankershim as this guy comes out of the back, screaming, with a hatchet!

How do you feel now about the crimes you committed?

I feel regret. I’ve never been mean, but I’ve also never let anybody take advantage of me. In prison you’re predator or prey. My friend Cookie and I had a protection ring for young kids coming in, including for gay couples who’d been married on the streets. When I got out of the pen, I’d get cards from kids we protected. Their parents also said thank you.

Did your own parents live to see your success?

My mom did. My dad saw me get sober but never saw me get into acting. He would have laughed. Even my mom was like, “Get a job, mijo,” even after I’d worked with Robert De Niro in Heat! She did get excited when I was on The Young and the Restless in 2008. She had four of her friends over to watch, and they were like, “Oh, my God.” That was it. I’d made it.

Over the years you’ve appeared in dozens of commercials and ads—selling products from Snickers to AARP—and you’re now a spokesman for the erectile dysfunction product Giddy. What appealed to you about tackling that taboo subject?

We don’t talk anything in our society—condoms in high school, birth control. We definitely don’t talk about erectile dysfunction, especially in the Hispanic community. I don’t know a man who hasn’t experienced it. I think it’s like everything I do—teaching people to neuter their dogs, warning kids about drugs you need to show them you’re cool. You need a face like this to get through to them. Not so much as “Danny Trejo” but the guy from Spy Kids, the guy from Heat, the guy from Desperado. People think, “Okay, I want to hear what this guy has to say.”