Danny Trejo on Bronson
When asked about Kinjite:
DT: You know what? I did a movie with Charles Bronson before that, Death Wish 4. I met him, and one of the guys on the movie, one of the young guys, got *beep* with an old character actor named Perry Lopez, who was like 80 years old and had emphysema. He couldn’t even blow out a candle on a cake. He’s been in the movies since like the ’30s.
He was trying to set up our little scene, and then all of the sudden, out of the clear blue sky, this guy who thought he was cute says, “Who the *beep* nominated you director?” And I laughed; I thought he was joking. This guy’s 80 years old. Perry says, “No, no, I’m trying to set up this little scene so we all won’t be standing here.”
So this punk comes up, he says, “I went to blah blah,” just some, I don’t know what the hell it is, Lee Strasberg or some *beep* training, “and I don’t need no has-been actor to give me direction.” Then I realized this guy wasn’t kidding.
I’m thinking, “This guy’s 80. Anybody over 40 is an older person. You better give them some respect.” So I just jacked this punk up and told him, “You know what, bitch? I’ll beat your ass. I nominated him director. Now *beep* you. Do whatever he says.” This guy looks at me, almost starts crying, and says, “Hey, I’m trying to stay in character.” I was, “Well, your character’s about to get his ass beat.”
So then I turn around. Charles Bronson is standing right behind me, and he’s watching this. And the last thing you want anybody to see is that you could be violent on a movie set. I look at Charlie, and he saw what I was doing.
But he says, “You know, Danny. I like the way you deal with people.” [Laughs.] And then he walked away. Then, about two months later, he called me and said, “Danny, I’ve got this little movie, Forbidden Subjects. You want a little role in it?” I go, “Yeah, sure.” I’ll never forget that. We had a long talk. Charlie was cool. He was awesome.
AVC: He was fairly old at that point, too, wasn’t he? In his 60s?
DT: Oh, yeah. He was in great shape. He wasn’t buffed up, but he was slim and cut up pretty good. That’s the way I try to stay.
AVC: The joke was that he’d keep on making Death Wish sequels until he was 80 and in a wheelchair.
DT: It’s really funny, because he changed. I saw him about a month before Jill [Ireland] passed away, and he looked healthy, then she passed away, and man, he just got old. You talk about soulmates. I just saw him get really old right away once she passed away.
Full article: http://www.avclub.com/article/danny-trejo-40541