Biography

Guillermo del Toro Gómez (Spanish: [ɡiˈʝeɾmo ðelˈtoɾo]; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, gothicism, and horror, often blending the genres to infuse visual or poetic beauty into the grotesque. He has had a lifelong fascination with monsters, which he considers symbols of great power. He is known for pioneering dark fantasy in the film industry and using insectile and religious imagery, his themes of Catholicism, and celebrating imperfection, underworld motifs, practical special effects, and dominant amber lighting. Throughout his career, del Toro has shifted between Spanish-language films—such as Cronos (1993), The Devil's Backbone (2001), and Pan's Labyrinth (2006)—and English-language films, including Mimic (1997), Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army(2008), Pacific Rim (2013), Crimson Peak (2015), The Shape of Water (2017), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Pinocchio (2022). As a producer or writer, he worked on the films The Orphanage (2007), Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010), The Hobbit film series (2012–2014), Mama (2013), The Book of Life (2014), Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), and The Witches (2020). In 2022, he created the Netflix anthology horror series Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, featuring a collection of classical horror stories. With Chuck Hogan, he co-authored The Strain trilogy of novels (2009–2011), which was later adapted into a comic book series (2011–15) and a live-action television series (2014–17). With DreamWorks Animation and Netflix, he created the animated franchise Tales of Arcadia, which includes the series Trollhunters (2016–18), 3Below (2018–19), and Wizards (2020) and the sequel film Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021). Del Toro is close friends with fellow Mexican filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro G. Iñárritu, collectively known as "The Three Amigos of Mexican Cinema". He has received several awards, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, and a Golden Lion. He was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018, and he received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019.

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Filmography

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The Simpsons

The Simpsons

1989Series
8.0
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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015Series
6.1
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The Late Late Show with James Corden

The Late Late Show with James Corden

2015Series
5.2
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Golden Globe Awards

Golden Globe Awards

1944Series
7.2
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Futurama

Futurama

1999Series
8.4
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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

2005Series
8.3
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Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2003Series
5.4
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Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

2015Series
6.2
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Barry

Barry

2018Series
7.9
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The Oscars

The Oscars

1953Series
7.0
View Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities

2022Series
7.5
View Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

2008Film
6.3