He’s played a baddie in films like Spy Kids, Desperado and Machete… But now Danny Trejo’s ready to star as a badass crime fighter.

The 67-year-old Mexican-American actor is starring in Bad Ass, a film that centers on a bearded man who isn’t afraid to deliver some serious street justice even though he’s old.

Trejo stars as Frank Vega, a Vietnam War vet who returns home only to be shunned by society. It’s not until forty years later when an incident on a commuter bus, where he protects an old black man from a pair of skinheads, makes him a local hero. When video of him punching the men hits the internet, he becomes a celebrated viral star and crime fighter.

The film is based on Epic Beard Man, an Oakland bus rider who encountered a similar situation, including delivering a whooping and becoming a viral video star.

Bad Ass is slated to hit theaters in 2012.