Guillermo del Toro
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.
Known For

The Simpsons

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Futurama

The Late Late Show with James Corden

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Golden Globe Awards

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
All Movies (96)
- THE ORIGIN OF ULTRAMAN2026 · as Self
- The Thing Expanded2026 · as Self
- Frankenstein: The Anatomy Lesson2025 · as Self - Writer / Director
- Mollusk2025
- The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld2025
- Sangre del Toro2025 · as Self
- It’s a Mad Max World2025 · as Self
- Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story2025 · as Self
- Netflix Tudum 20252025 · as Self
- Surrealistic Nightmares: An In-Depth Look at Walloon Horror Cinema2025 · as Self
- Dario Argento: Panico2024 · as Self
- Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre2023 · as Self
- Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds2023 · as Self
- George Pal: Un Marciano De Hollywood En Argentina2023
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema2022 · as Self
- Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story2022 · as Self
- Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters2022 · as Self
- Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster2021 · as Self
- I'm No Longer Here: A Discussion with Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón2020 · as Self
- Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business2020 · as Self
- Love, Antosha2019 · as Self
- Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film2019 · as Self
- The House Is Alive: Constructing 'Crimson Peak'2019 · as Self
- Guillermo del Toro: Un director y su Oscar2018 · as Guillermo del Toro
- Bloody And Groovy Baby! A Tribute to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 22018 · as Self
- Light in the Darkness: The Impact of Night of The Living Dead2018 · as Self
- When Romero Met Del Toro2017
- 78/522017 · as Self
- Five Came Back2017 · as Self
- The Giant's Dream: The Making of the Iron Giant2016 · as Self
- The Light and Dark of Crimson Peak2016 · as Self
- I Remember Crimson Peak2016 · as Himself
- Hand Tailored Gothic2016 · as Self
- A Living Thing2016
- Crimson Phantoms2016
- Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex2015 · as Self
- The First Hundred Feet, the Last Hundred Feet2015 · as Self
- Metal Gear Solid: Legacy2015 · as Self
- Extraordinary Tales2015 · as Narrator (voice) (segment 'The Pit and the Pendulum')
- Lennon or McCartney2014 · as Self
- The Book of Life2014 · as Land of the Remembered Captain's Wife (voice)
- Guillermo del Toro Interviews Paul Williams2014 · as Self
- Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics2013
- The Digital Artistry of Pacific Rim2013 · as Self
- The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy2013 · as Self
- Spanish Gothic2013 · as Self
- Drew: The Man Behind the Poster2013 · as Self
- El Santos vs la Tetona Mendoza2012 · as Gamborimbo Ponx (voice)
- Men in Suits2012 · as Self
- Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss2012 · as Self
- Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan2012 · as Self
- Puss in Boots2011 · as Comandante / Hombre del bigote (voice)
- Zombie Lover2011 · as Interviewee
- Reclaiming 'Mimic'2011 · as Self
- A Leap in Evolution: The Creatures of 'Mimic'2011 · as Self
- Back Into the Tunnels: The Making of 'Mimic'2011 · as Self
- Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope2011 · as Self
- Don't Be Afraid of the Dark2010 · as Creature (Voice)
- Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock2009 · as Self
- The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style2009 · as Self
- North by Northwest: One for the Ages2009 · as Self
- El último truco2008 · as Self
- Hellboy: In Service of the Demon2008 · as Self
- Quantum of Solace2008 · as Additional Voices (voice)
- Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock2008 · as Self
- Edith Head: Dressing the Master's Movies2008 · as Self
- Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro2008 · as Self
- Saul Bass: Title Champ2008 · as Self
- In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy2008 · as Self
- Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators2008 · as Self
- Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown2008 · as Self
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army2008 · as Creature Vocals (voice) (uncredited)
- Starz Inside: Comic Books Unbound2008 · as Self
- The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't2008 · as Self
- Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of An Artist2008 · as Self
- The Power of Myth2007 · as Self
- The Melody Echoes the Fairy Tale2007 · as Self
- The Color and the Shape2007 · as Self
- Pan and the Fairies2007 · as Self
- Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner2007 · as Self
- Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard2007 · as Self
- Nexus Generation: Fans & Filmmakers2007 · as Self
- Diary of the Dead2007 · as Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
- 07 Spaceys2007
- Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy2005
- Torrente 3: The Protector2005 · as Contacto Giannina (scenes deleted)
- Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation2004 · as Self
- Que es un fantasma?2004
- Hellboy2004 · as Guy Dressed as Dragon (uncredited)
- Que es un Fantasma?: The Making of 'The Devil's Backbone'2004 · as Self
- Noin2003 · as Guillermo del Toro
- Masters of Horror2002 · as Self
- The Blood Pact: The Making of 'Blade II'2002 · as Self
- The Devil's Backbone: Behind the Scenes2001
- Bullfighter2000 · as Bullboy #2
- Cronos1993 · as Man Walking Dog (uncredited)
All TV Shows (21)
- Leonardo da Vinci2024 · as Self
- Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities2022 · as Self - Host (uncredited)
- Directors on Directors2021 · as Self
- Elvis Goes There2019 · as Self
- James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction2018 · as Self
- Barry2018 · as El Toro
- Five Came Back2017 · as Self
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self - Guest
- Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter2015 · as Self
- The Late Late Show with James Corden2015 · as Self - Guest
- The Game Awards2014 · as Self
- The Director's Chair2014 · as Self
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia2005 · as Pappy McPoyle
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!2003 · as Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!2003 · as Self - Guest
- HypaSpace2002 · as Self
- Futurama1999 · as Guillermo del Toro's Head (voice)
- The Simpsons1989 · as Guillermo del Toro (voice)
- The Oscars1953 · as Self
- Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Nominee