Danny Trejo’s son says the 82-year-old actor had never heard of Ben Shapiro until two weeks into filming “Pawn Shop,” the Daily Wire thriller that has drawn backlash for its portrayal of immigration agents. Gilbert Trejo made the claims in an Instagram Story that the San Fernando Valley Sun later shared. He wrote that the cast learned of Shapiro’s involvement about two weeks into shooting, and that he had to explain to his father who Shapiro is and what kind of man he is.
Gilbert said the film is not pro-ICE, and that his father jumped at the chance to play a good guy. According to Gilbert, the agent pitched the project as a complicated story about a complicated time, and Danny plays a hardworking Mexican shop owner who wants peace. Gilbert said his father is “handcuffed to this stupid project,” unable to criticize Shapiro or the film, or leave, without risking a breach-of-contract lawsuit.
Danny Trejo said last week he is not pro-ICE. The picture follows an ICE officer barricaded in a pawn shop during a confrontation with protesters. Harvey Keitel and Henry Thomas co-star, and Dallas Sonnier’s Bonfire Legend produces with the Daily Wire.
The production has stirred controversy beyond casting. Locals protested the alleged use of blank gunshots, pyrotechnics and a staged car wreck without proper notice to residents and businesses. Critics say the opening scene appears to dramatize ICE’s fatal shooting of Renée Good in Minnesota in January. Shapiro called a suspension of the production a violation of the First Amendment and labeled the film’s critics “censorious jackasses.”
The Daily Wire has not publicly responded to Gilbert’s specific claims, and fans are split, with some rallying around Trejo while others remain disappointed. Representatives for Danny Trejo did not appear to have commented on the contract claims.
