5 Criminals Who Became Famous Entrepreneurs

Danny Trejo could win a Grammy with zero acting skills whatsoever. All he has to do is stand around and stare at stuff to look pensive, terrifying, badass, and/or angry.

He used his intimidating appearance to rob convenience stores and was in trouble so much that his own mother “stopped being surprised” when the cops would show up at their house. After his drug habits and life of crime landed him in prison for 15 years, Trejo decided to do something better with himself.

Trejo learned how to box and took a 12-step program to get clean and stay that way. One of his friends in the program happened to be a film production assistant, and asked Trejo if he could ‘look like a convict’ for a role in Runaway Train. Of course he could.

Trejo has been in 124 movies since then, always playing the same character but never becoming uninteresting or trite.