Danny Trejo is left 'overwhelmed' after knowing the actual truth about his ancestors

People will be familiar with American actor Danny Trejo for his appearances in many popular films across the years. While he has found decent success in the world of Hollywood, it has been a hard road for him. The actor's mother was not with him through most of his childhood, which meant that he did not have any idea about his family on her side. Whatever he knew about his father's family did not instill a lot of optimism in him, per TODAY. Fortunately, Trejo made a startling discovery about his ancestry and shared it on the January 23rd episode of PBS' "Finding Your Roots" on YouTube.

The shocking revelation led him to speculate on how much it could have affected his entire life. Talking to host Henry Louis Gates Jr, the actor discussed how most of the men in the family went for construction work and, as a result, complained all the time. The only person he felt close to was his Uncle Gilbert, who was the only person who didn't complain. However, he was a drug dealer, which, in turn, pushed Trejo to start dealing heroin and even join a gang where he committed robberies at the very young age of 12.

Life was quite turbulent for Trejo, with his uncle passing away a few years later and multiple jail visits. Everything changed when he managed to get the attention of a casting agent on a chance visit to a Hollywood set. He probably would have ended up like his uncle if he had never seriously got into acting. He had very little idea of his family's origins at the time and continued living and working as an actor. Gates helped Trejo take a deep dive into understanding who his ancestors were to give him a better understanding of where he came from.

Trejo learned from him that his great-grandfather, Cirilo Garay, moved to America from Mexico in 1918. He went to work on a farm in Texas, barely making ends meet. But his great-grandfather persevered and, by 1930, was able to buy a house as well as a grocery store. Seeing how his hard work paid off, the actor felt deeply grateful and "proud" of him. Gates also provided Trejo with some vital information about his family on his mother's side. Josefa Garcia, his maternal grandmother, moved to the US from Mexico in 1904, going on to become an American citizen.

She was born on a ranch located in San José del Cabo, a popular tourist spot in Mexico's Baja California area. His fourth great-grandfather was granted a huge 4337 acres of land, which is how he started the ranch. Trejo had visited Cabo before and always felt a special sense of love towards the place. The actor is very happy to have known that his ancestors owned such vast stretches of land in Cabo San Lucas. The actor concluded by saying, "I think it's shined a light on who I am, where I come from, and who I come from. I'm proud of the whole deal."