The Masked Singer 's Raccoon 'couldn't stop laughing' when the panel thought he was Danny DeVito
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Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesday's episode of The Masked Singer.
The Masked Singer said goodbye to everyone's favorite trash panda on Wednesday night's episode, and the furry fiend turned out to be actor and restaurateur Danny Trejo. Trejo spoke to EW about the surprising reason he said yes to the show, why his character flirted with panelist Jenny McCarthy, and what it meant to him that Kermit the Frog was on the show.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your gut reaction when the producers approached you about the show?
DANNY TREJO: You know what, I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. I've never done anything like that. I'm definitely not a singer. I can't carry a tune in a bucket. But when I saw the costume, I have a little Schnauzer dog named John Wesley Hardin, that looks exactly like that raccoon. Same coloring, same eyes. So I got to do this, you know. Everybody thought I was being a raccoon, but really I was being John Wesley Hardin, my Schnauzer.
Michael Becker/FOX Raccoon on 'The Masked Singer'
There was a running joke of you flirting with panelist Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg. Where did that come from?
Jenny McCarthy is an advocate for special needs children, for autistic kids. I work with autistic kids. I raised two of them. I've got one who just applied for colleges around the country, and got accepted to five of them. So now we're trying to pick which one he's going to go to. And I'm just so proud of him. And I'm just so proud of her — you know when celebrities step up and take on a project like that it really shines light on it. It's sad, but that's the only way that they can get the kind of funding and the kind of help that they need sometimes. So, she's done a lot for autistic children, so I just love her. And besides, she's gorgeous. I'd be stupid not to mention that.
In the past you've spoken about how Kermit the Frog means a lot to you, and how he helped you cope during a hard time. So what did it mean to be on the show at the same time as him?
I didn't know it until he got [unmasked]! I had no idea. Like I said before, Kermit, he was awesome to me. When we did The Muppets Most Wanted, we were in England. It's amazing. When you are with the Muppets, and you start talking, they become a person because the puppeteer can't talk to you if he has the puppet. You can say, "Hey, Bob, how you doing?" And Kermit will answer, "Oh, Bob's doing great." But they can't talk to you when they're in costume or when they have the puppets. It's amazing.
The panel definitely reacted to your performances the most. Did you get a kick out of that?
Yeah, I did. I did. It was funny. And they [guessed] everyone that I worked with. I couldn't stop laughing.
Barry King/FilmMagic Danny Trejo
They had some horrible guesses for you — Danny DeVito?
DeVito works for the character, that would work with the Raccoon I guess? I don't know. But [they guessed] everybody I worked with, everybody. So funny. I was in a movie with Joe Pesci, and we're like buds. And Jon Voight I did my first film with him. And Sylvester Stallone I worked with. They just kept going on. But it was just so much fun.
You started to strip at the end there. I had no idea you were such a ham!
It's funny, but no matter who you are — it's like my image on screen is being tough, bad, nobody to mess with, but when you have this costume on, it's like none of that is you. A tough Raccoon would not have looked good. So you're free, and I could just play a Raccoon. The songs are great. I love Johnny Cash. I love him. And I like "Wild Thing." I heard the lead singer from Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, on an episode of Two and a Half Men and he was really annoying to Charlie Sheen. So I remembered the way he was singing and just warming up, and I thought, "That's what I'll do." [Laughs]
Were there other songs that you wanted to do?
They had a list of songs. They had a Barry White song — "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" — I would have loved to do it.
If you could give advice to anyone considering doing the show in the future, what would it be?
Just go crazy. It's like, whatever your expectations of yourself are, forget 'em. I loved doing it. I think that's one of the most fun times I've ever had in my career. It was just great.
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