Guillermo del Toro
Known for: Directing
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.
Filmography
Series
The Simpsons
Guillermo del Toro (voice)
1989
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self
2015
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest
2015
Series
Futurama
Guillermo del Toro's Head (voice)
1999
Series
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Pappy McPoyle
2005
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
2003
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
2003
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944
Series
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Self - Guest
2015
Series
WIRED's Autocomplete Interviews
Self - Guest
2016
Series
Barry
El Toro
2018
Series
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
2015
Film
Puss in Boots
Comandante / Hombre del bigote (voice)
2011
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Series
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
Self - Host (uncredited)
2022
Film
Quantum of Solace
Additional Voices (voice)
2008
Film
The Book of Life
Land of the Remembered Captain's Wife (voice)
2014
Film
Hellboy
Guy Dressed as Dragon (uncredited)
2004
Film
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Creature Vocals (voice) (uncredited)
2008
Series
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
Self
2018
Series
Directors on Directors
Self
2021
Film
Diary of the Dead
Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
2007
Series
Five Came Back
Self
2017
Film
Cronos
Man Walking Dog (uncredited)
1993
Film
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
Self
2025
Series
The Game Awards
Self
2014
Series
Leonardo da Vinci
Self
2024
HypaSpace
Self
2002
Film
Love, Antosha
Self
2019
Film
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Creature (Voice)
2010
Series
The Director's Chair
Self
2014
Film
Netflix Tudum 2025
Self
2025
Film
Lennon or McCartney
Self
2014
Film
Frankenstein: The Anatomy Lesson
Self - Writer / Director
2025
Film
Mollusk
2025
Film
The Blood Pact: The Making of 'Blade II'
Self
2002
Film
Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner
Self
2007
Film
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
Self
2021
Film
Five Came Back
Self
2017
Film
Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds
Self
2023
Series
Elvis Goes There
Self
2019
Film
Reclaiming 'Mimic'
Self
2011
Film
Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
Self
2008
Film
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema
Self
2022
Film
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
Self
2012
Film
The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld
2025
Film
Starz Inside: Comic Books Unbound
Self
2008
Film
It’s a Mad Max World
Self
2025
Film
78/52
Self
2017
Film
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Self
2011
Film
Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film
Self
2019
Film
The Thing Expanded
Self
2026
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story
Self
2022
Film
THE ORIGIN OF ULTRAMAN
Self
2026
Film
Bullfighter
Bullboy #2
2000
Film
Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics
2013
Film
Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
2005
Film
Dario Argento: Panico
Self
2024
Film
Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss
Self
2012
Film
The Giant's Dream: The Making of the Iron Giant
Self
2016
Film
Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex
Self
2015
Film
El Santos vs la Tetona Mendoza
Gamborimbo Ponx (voice)
2012
Film
Drew: The Man Behind the Poster
Self
2013
Film
Extraordinary Tales
Narrator (voice) (segment 'The Pit and the Pendulum')
2015
Film
The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy
Self
2013
Film
Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation
Self
2004
Film
Back Into the Tunnels: The Making of 'Mimic'
Self
2011
Film
The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
Self
2008
Film
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro
Self
2008
Film
The House Is Alive: Constructing 'Crimson Peak'
Self
2019
Film
Surrealistic Nightmares: An In-Depth Look at Walloon Horror Cinema
Self
2025
Film
Masters of Horror
Self
2002
Film
07 Spaceys
2007
Film
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
Self
2008
Film
Sangre del Toro
Self
2025
Film
Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre
Self
2023
Film
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown
Self
2008
Film
The Light and Dark of Crimson Peak
Self
2016
Film
Spanish Gothic
Self
2013
Film
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
Self
2008
Film
Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard
Self
2007
Film
Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of An Artist
Self
2008
Film
Metal Gear Solid: Legacy
Self
2015
Film
Hellboy: In Service of the Demon
Self
2008
Film
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
Self
2009
Film
Saul Bass: Title Champ
Self
2008
Film
Men in Suits
Self
2012
When Romero Met Del Toro
2017
Film
Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters
Self
2022
Film
Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business
Self
2020
Film
Hand Tailored Gothic
Self
2016
Film
I Remember Crimson Peak
Himself
2016
Film
Nexus Generation: Fans & Filmmakers
Self
2007
Film
I'm No Longer Here: A Discussion with Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón
Self
2020
Film
Edith Head: Dressing the Master's Movies
Self
2008
Zombie Lover
Interviewee
2011
Film
El último truco
Self
2008
Film
North by Northwest: One for the Ages
Self
2009
Film
The First Hundred Feet, the Last Hundred Feet
Self
2015
Film
Que es un Fantasma?: The Making of 'The Devil's Backbone'
Self
2004
Film
A Living Thing
2016
Film
A Leap in Evolution: The Creatures of 'Mimic'
Self
2011
Film
The Color and the Shape
Self
2007
Film
Guillermo del Toro: Un director y su Oscar
Guillermo del Toro
2018
Film
Bob Burns' Hollywood Haloween
Self
2011
The Fall: Part II
Self
Film
Noin
Guillermo del Toro
2003
Film
Guillermo del Toro Interviews Paul Williams
Self
2014
Film
Light in the Darkness: The Impact of Night of The Living Dead
Self
2018
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
Self
2009
Film
George Pal: Un Marciano De Hollywood En Argentina
2023
The Melody Echoes the Fairy Tale
Self
2007
Film
Pan and the Fairies
Self
2007
Film
The Power of Myth
Self
2007
Film
Crimson Phantoms
2016
The Fall: Part I
Self
Film
The Digital Artistry of Pacific Rim
Self
2013
Film
Bloody And Groovy Baby! A Tribute to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2
Self
2018
The Devil's Backbone: Behind the Scenes
2001
Film
Que es un fantasma?
2004
Film
The Anatomy Lesson: Director’s Cut
Self
2026