Guillermo del Toro Trivia | 50 facts about the Mexican filmmaker

Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor, who directed the Academy Award-winning films Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water.

Let’s find out more about him!

1. His full name is Guillermo del Toro Gómez.
2. He was born on October 9th, 1964.
3. He’s a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor.
4. He directed the Academy Award-winning fantasy films Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017).
5. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for the latter.
6. In 2022, he created an anthology horror series for Netflix titled Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities featuring a collection of classical horror stories.
7. With Chuck Hogan, he co-authored The Strain trilogy of novels (2009–2011), later adapted into a comic-book series (2011–15) and a live-action television series (2014–17).
8. With DreamWorks Animation, he created the Netflix animated series Trollhunters (2016–18), 3Below (2018–19), and Wizards (2020), the three installments of the Tales of Arcadia trilogy (as well as a Sequel Movie), based on the 2015 novel he co-wrote with Daniel Kraus.
9. Also with DreamWorks, he executive produced Puss in Boots (2011), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Rise of the Guardians (2012), and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016).
10. Del Toro’s work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales and horror, with an effort to infuse visual or poetic beauty in the grotesque.
11. He has had a lifelong fascination with monsters, which he considers symbols of great power.
12. He is also known for his use of insectile and religious imagery, the themes of Catholicism and celebrating imperfection, underworld and clockwork motifs, practical special effects, dominant amber lighting, and his frequent collaborations with actors Ron Perlman and Doug Jones.
13. Guillermo Del Toro is close friends with fellow Mexican filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
14. Together they are collectively known as “The Three Amigos of Cinema.”
15. He was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.
16. He received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019.
17. He was married to Lorenza Newton from 1986 until 2017, when they divorced.
18. Together, they have 2 children, Daniel and Marisa del Toro.
19. Later, in May 2021 he got married with Kim Morgan.
20. His height is 1,78 m.
21. He often uses insects or insect imagery
22. He uses a lot of religious relics and artifacts.
23. He always mentions Catholicism.
24. He offten casts Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman and Doug Jones
25. Frequently works with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro.
26. One or more of his protagonists are often strongly and pivotally influenced by their father figures.
27. His works often feature horrifying but visually striking creatures with noticeably inhuman appearances.
28. His films often show an autopsy or have a scene set in a morgue. The autopsy is often performed on a non-human character.
29. Films often feature a portal that leads to different worlds
30. He offten depicts disturbing and graphic face trauma in his films
31. Use of gothic architecture in his production designs
32. Monsters in his works are often sympathetic despite their nature and horrifying appearances.
33. He offten casts non-American actors as American characters
34. Became a vegetarian after seeing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but only for four years. Currently, he’s no longer a vegetarian.
35. Turned down a chance to direct Blade: Trinity (2004), Alien vs Predator (2004) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) to work on his dream project: Hellboy.
36. Fought the film studios for almost seven years to get Ron Perlman for the title role in Hellboy.
37. The studio wanted a bigger name to ensure the success of the movie, but del Toro thought that Perlman was the perfect choice and wouldn’t make the movie if he wasn’t cast.
38. Friends with fellow successful Mexican directors Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. They often support each other.
39. He has a photographic memory.
40. Following his international breakthrough, his father was kidnapped for ransom in Mexico in 1997, and held for seventy-two days until the money was paid. Fellow filmmaker James Cameron helped secure the ransom money. Although del Toro still frequently works in Mexico, he has relocated his family to the United States out of fear of more kidnappings.
41. His favorite movie monsters are Frankenstein’s Monster and the Creature of the Black Lagoon.
42. Lost 45 lbs. while making Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), which he admitted in the DVD’s video prologue.
43. He regards Mimic (1997) as the weakest of his films and blames constant interference from the producers Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein as the main reason, because they didn’t respect his artistic vision. He later made peace with the film after creating a new Director’s Cut.
44. He was ranked #37 on EW’s The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.
45. His movie and comic book collection is so huge that he had to buy an extra home to accommodate this.
46. His favorite albums are “The Wall” (1979) by the rock band Pink Floyd and “Security” (1982) by Peter Gabriel.
47. Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame during their gala held on March 12, 2015 in Austin, Texas.
48. He has extensive knowledge and practical experience playing video-games, and is very good friends with Japanese video-game designer/director Hideo Kojima, with whom he shares many interests, including 1960s classic movies and Japanese television series, and rare toys.
49. He used to work as an orderly at a mental institution and would eat lunch in a morgue next to there.
50. President of the ‘Official Competition’ Jury at the 75th Venice International Film Festival in 2018.

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