Danny Trejo’s Son Breaks Silence on Pro-ICE Film ‘Pawn Shop’: Actor Didn’t Know Who Ben Shapiro Was Before Signing On

Few actors carry the cultural weight Danny Trejo does. After more than 40 years in the business, he is a Chicano icon whose face, from ‘Machete’ to countless character roles, is familiar to generations of Latino viewers. When a figure like that lands in a political firestorm, the reaction is rarely quiet.

That is exactly what has happened with ‘Pawn Shop’, a thriller from Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire and producer Dallas Sonnier’s Bonfire Legend. Directed by Michael Polish, it follows a federal agent who takes shelter inside a neighborhood pawn shop during unrest in Minneapolis. The cast includes Trejo, Harvey Keitel and Henry Thomas, and the film has been described as pro-ICE.

Now Trejo’s son, actor Gilbert Trejo, has publicly defended his father, claiming the 82-year-old had never heard of Ben Shapiro before signing on. The claim has pushed an already heated debate into a new phase.

In a post on his Instagram Story that was later shared by the San Fernando Valley Sun, Gilbert Trejo said his father’s agent had pitched the film as a complicated story about a complicated time. According to Gilbert, Danny jumped at the chance to play a good guy, the hardworking Mexican shop owner who just wants peace.

He says that about 2 weeks into shooting, everyone involved, including the family, found out Shapiro was behind the project. Gilbert said he had to explain to his father who Shapiro is and what kind of person he is. He also claimed the film isn’t pro-ICE and isn’t overtly pro anything.

The most striking allegation concerns the contract. Gilbert said his father can’t criticize Shapiro or the film, or walk away from the production, without being sued for breach of contract. He added that his father couldn’t even release the statement he wanted to, and he accused Shapiro of getting Mexicans to abandon one of their heroes.

HuffPost reached out to representatives for Trejo and the Daily Wire for comment. Gilbert’s account has not been independently verified.

Days earlier, Trejo had addressed the backlash himself. Speaking to TMZ, he called himself a proud Mexican who supports his community and said, “I am not pro-ICE.” He described himself as pro-immigrant and said his job as an actor is to tell a story.

TMZ reported that sources connected to the production said Trejo was drawn to the role as a positive depiction of a Latino veteran. He reportedly plays the owner of the titular pawn shop, which has been in his character’s family for generations. Keitel plays a fellow veteran who works as the shop’s security guard.

Not everyone was satisfied. Some critics argued that any actor with Trejo’s experience would read the script and know who was financing it, and online commenters questioned whether he was comfortable cashing a check from Shapiro.

The controversy began in Livingston, Montana, where passersby noticed a scene that appeared to recreate the fatal ICE shooting of Renée Good in Minneapolis. Residents reported road closures, gunfire and pyrotechnics, as well as disruption to a local food bank. The Livingston City Commission unanimously suspended the filming permit.

After a 3-day shutdown, the commission reinstated the permit on Monday, October 5, with new rules to protect residents and limit armed security, violent scenes and noise. The production was also reportedly filming without an IATSE contract and under a conditional start with SAG-AFTRA.

Shapiro has insisted the movie will be completed and become highly successful, and has framed the shutdown as politically motivated. Daily Wire and Bonfire Legend previously teamed up on ‘Run Hide Fight: Infidels’, starring Jonathan Majors. A release date for ‘Pawn Shop’ has not been announced.

The dispute raises a question that comes up often when actors join politically charged projects: how much does an actor know, and what can they say once they are under contract? Gilbert Trejo’s statement presents his father as bound by an agreement he didn’t fully understand, while critics see an experienced actor who made a choice. Both views are now part of the story, and neither can be fully tested without more details from those directly involved.

For fans who have followed Trejo for decades, the episode is an uncomfortable one. Whether the Daily Wire or Trejo’s representatives respond to Gilbert’s claims may determine how long the controversy lasts.

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