For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo has played gangsters, convicts, and other various criminals.
So when Trejo was offered the chance to play a hard-working, peace-loving Mexican trader in a thriller with the working title “Pawn Shop,” the 82-year-old actor “jumped at the idea of playing a good guy,” his son, Gilbert Trejo, posted on social media.
Now, Trejo is under fire for participating in what has been described as a pro-ICE film produced by conservative media group The Daily Wire, founded by political commentator Ben Shapiro.
“I am a proud Mexican who has always been and always will be a supporter of my community,” Trejo wrote in an Oct. 9 Instagram post. “I’m also obviously pro immigrant. I’m not pro ice.”
But Trejo gave no indication in the post whether he knew who was producing the film when he signed on for the film, and concluded by stating “I’m an actor. My job is to tell a story.”
His son, however, insisted that Trejo did not know Shapiro was involved in the film until two weeks after filming.
“My 82-year-old father has never heard of Ben Shapiro,” he wrote. “I had to explain to him who he was and what kind of guy he was.”
Shapiro did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Today, Trejo is “handcuffed to this stupid project, and many people immediately turned their backs on him without knowing any of the facts,” Gilbert Trejo said.
“My father, by contract, cannot speak ill of him, of the film, or leave without being sued for breach of contract,” he added. “He couldn’t even release the statement he wanted.”
“His agent described it as ‘a complicated story about a complicated time, where everyone looks bad except you, the hardworking Mexican trader who just wants peace,'” he wrote.
Trejo is represented by Gloria Hinojosa, who works for boutique talent agency Amsel, Eisenstadt, Frazier & Hinojosa, Inc. based in Los Angeles. She did not return an email for comment.
The film, which is filmed in Livingston, Montana, also stars Harvey Keitel, another tough actor known for his ideology opposing Shapiro and his ilk. He is represented by Stephanie Simon of Untitled Entertainment. She also did not respond to a request for comment.
So it wasn’t clear whether Trejo or Keitel knew about the synopsis for “Pawn Shop,” which now appears on IMDB, before signing on to the film.
“When chaos descends on the streets of Minneapolis, a young federal agent finds himself alone after his partner is seriously injured and must find a way to survive an increasingly dangerous situation. Seeking refuge in a neighborhood pawn shop, he finds himself stuck with a traditional Hispanic father and his progressive, college-aged son, forcing three very different men to confront fear, conflicting beliefs, and a crisis that tests their courage and humanity.
The film set was the site of widespread protests after a behind-the-scenes video emerged showing that the film would feature a sequence based on the January 2026 fatal shooting of Renée Good by an ICE agent in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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