Veteran actor Danny Trejo couldn’t be more proud to be called the “king of independent movies.” Though he got started with his acting career a bit later than most of his contemporaries, with his first movie role coming when he was in his 40s, Trejo has become one of Hollywood’s most hardest-working actors. He has appeared in dozens upon dozens of movies, and while that sometimes includes roles in big-budget features, Trejo most often has roles in indie movies, and this is exactly how the actor likes it.

In a new interview with THR, Trejo touched on his impressive career journey. He first reflected on the similarities between so many of his roles, especially in the years when he was first getting started. Trejo did not feel that he was being typecast at the time, as he acknowledged that his casting was always realistic, and he was just satisfied to have paying work at that time.

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Trejo then explained why he frequently appears in indie films, much preferring them over the projects he’s been a part of with a much bigger budget. Simply put, indie movies are much more fun while working big studio films literally remind him of his time in prison.

“The first time I got interviewed, by some girl probably fresh out of interview school, she asked me that: “Don’t you feel you’re being typecast as the mean Chicano dude with the tattoos?” I said: “But I am the mean Chicano dude with the tattoos!” I was just proud to be working.”

“I think I’m the king of independent movies, and I love it! I like doing them. I did a movie with Harrison Ford, called Six Days, Seven Nights, in Hawaii. It was like three months in Hawaii. I probably worked 15 or 16 days out of it. I get bored. On really high-budget movies, sometimes you’re just sitting in your trailer. I can’t stand being in trailers: It reminds me of a prison cell.”

Danny Trejo Pops Up Everywhere

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Trejo has more than 433 screen credits, and don’t expect to see the numbers slow down anytime soon with the prolific actor still going strong. He recently had a chat with us at MovieWeb about one of his newest releases, the action-comedy movie Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone. Trejo explained how he took the job because he was entertained by the script, another perk that comes with working with creative indie filmmakers. As Trejo told us:

There’s no telling where else you’ll see Trejo pop up next. Recently, Trejo could also be seen in movies like The Legend of La Llorona, Good Mourning, and Clerks III. He also had a voiceover role in the recent animated sequel Minions: The Rise of Gru. Trejo also popped up in the Star Wars universe with a role in The book of Boba Fett and served as a guest judge for Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.

“I got the script and thought it was funny. I’ve worked with the cast before, Marko (Zaror) is a good friend — he makes the stuff in The Matrix look like kids play — and it was a fun movie. And I love when at the end, I’m the hero."