Guillermo del Toro bio, best filmes, age, wife, children, height, ethnicity 2025

Biography of Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro is a director, screenwriter, author, and artist who's made his mark with dark horror films that blend stunning visuals with profound storytelling. His directorial vision has brought us "Pan's Labyrinth," "The Devil's Backbone," "Hellboy," "Pacific Rim," "Crimson Peak," and other films that grip audiences from the opening scene to the final frame.

Guillermo del Toro, the genius of dark aesthetics

Childhood

Guillermo del Toro Gomez was born on October 9, 1964, in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. Despite—or maybe because of—having a Catholic grandmother who strictly enforced his religious upbringing, he was drawn to everything dark and mystical from an early age.

At age 8, this budding film fanatic got his hands on his father's Super8 camcorder and started shooting his first short films, using "Planet of the Apes" toy figures and whatever else he could find. One of his childhood films featured a "serial killer potato" bent on world domination—in the story, it murdered del Toro's parents, fled the house, and met its end under a car's wheels.

His passion for directing only grew stronger: in high school, he made about 10 short horror films before heading to film school after graduation. Two of his early films survive: "Donna Lupe," shot when he was 19 (about an elderly tenant seeking revenge on police running contraband behind her back), and "Geometria," made two years later (about a boy using black magic to pass a geometry exam).

Geometria (1987) - Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

In the mid-80s, this talented artist also founded his own special effects company, Necropia. He worked in this field until 1993—when audiences first discovered director Guillermo del Toro.

Early Works

In 1993, a 29-year-old director presented his first feature film "Cronos" to the public, shot for just $2 million – pocket change by Hollywood standards. The film captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with its unique premise: it centered on an ancient device that granted its owner immortality as long as it was fed with their blood. Guillermo del Toro's directorial debut was even nominated for the main prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Guillermo del Toro's first feature film was already a success

Del Toro remains deeply connected to Mexico, though he still remembers being forced to flee his homeland. In 1997, Miramax Studios allocated Guillermo $30 million for shooting the horror film "Mimic". Then kidnappers seized his father Federico, who owned a car sales business, and demanded a ransom twice the size of the fee from Miramax. Director James Cameron helped organize the collection of money for the ransom and found people to negotiate. The father was saved, but after that, the entire Guillermo family moved to Canada.

While the film didn't recoup its budget, it still earned positive reviews from critics, and the subsequent horror film "The Devil's Backbone" (2001), the script of which del Toro wrote as a schoolboy, was a genuine feast for horror fans.

A scene from the movie 'The Devil's Backbone'

Next, Guillermo tackled the sequel of the comics about the vampire hunter Blade. The film, with Wesley Snipes in the lead role, grossed over 150 million worldwide.

In 2004, "Hellboy" with Ron Perlman was released, an adaptation of popular US comics about a demon from Hell, summoned to alter the course of World War II.

Guillermo del Toro on the set of 'Hellboy'

Del Toro had been harboring the idea of filming "Hellboy" for a very long time and declined the third part of "Blade" to focus on it, making a calculated decision about his priorities. The director himself appeared in one of the scenes of the film, hiding in a dragon costume.

Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman, who played Hellboy

Career Peak

In 2006, the critically acclaimed film "Pan's Labyrinth" by Guillermo del Toro was released - a mystical tale with a recognizable director's touch, where reality and fiction intertwine. 11-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) arrives at a military camp with her pregnant mother and stepfather - a fascist officer who must clear the area of rebels. During one of her walks, she discovers a mysterious labyrinth where a creature named Faun lives. It claims that Ofelia is a princess of fairy-tale lands, but she can become it only after three trials.

A scene from the movie 'Pan's Labyrinth'

"Pan's Labyrinth" received 6 Oscar nominations, including "Best Foreign Language Film", and won 3 for cinematography, makeup, and set decoration.

The director calls "Pan's Labyrinth" the sister film to "The Devil's Backbone". And in 2007, del Toro produced the horror film "The Orphanage" by Spanish director J.A. Bayona. The film became the third part of the trilogy, which began with "The Devil's Backbone".

After "Hellboy II" (2008), del Toro stepped back from directing. He co-wrote the "Hobbit" trilogy screenplay with Peter Jackson and penned the horror film "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce.

There are two sides to fear. The first happens, as in fairy tales, when you break taboos: don't go into the woods, don't talk to strangers, always obey your parents. The second is harder to describe, it's always chaotic and disorderly.

In 2013, del Toro's sci-fi action spectacle "Pacific Rim" premiered, starring Idris Elba and Charlie Hunnam. This time, del Toro drew inspiration from anime and tokusatsu—Japanese superhero series. While many found the plot formulaic, del Toro's signature visual spectacle drove the film to box office success.

The director was inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki

That same year, he served as executive producer of the horror film "Mama" and filmed an introductory couch gag for the animated series "The Simpsons".

Couch Gag for The Simpsons by Guillermo del Toro

Del Toro then ventured into television directing. Adapting "The Strain" trilogy he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan in 2009, he created a series about a parasite spreading a vampire virus. The richly detailed world, complete with unique vampire physiology, earned the series strong ratings across four seasons.

In 2015, the Gothic romance "Crimson Peak" with Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, and Tom Hiddleston was released. Del Toro considers it his finest work since "Pan's Labyrinth" and "The Devil's Backbone". The entire production spanned eight years, with del Toro spending six months in post-production purely "playing with color and scene order".

The director considers it the most beautiful of his films

Everything was thought out to the smallest detail, even the furniture used in the decorations was made in two sizes. When characters needed to appear vulnerable, they sat in oversized furniture to look small and diminished—and the reverse for moments of strength.

In 2016, del Toro launched the animated series "Trollhunters", based on his own book. The story follows 15-year-old Jim Lake, who discovers an amulet that transforms him into a troll hunter—battling evil trolls while allying with good ones. The main character was voiced by Anton Yelchin, who tragically died during the project.

'Trollhunters' - animation from Guillermo del Toro

In August 2017, Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water" premiered in the USA - a film about the love between an ordinary woman and an amphibian man. In March 2018, the film won three Oscars in the categories "Best Picture", "Best Production Design", and "Best Original Score". Del Toro himself took home the statuette for "Best Director".

Guillermo del Toro wins Best Directing for The Shape of Water

After this, the director began working on an interpretation of the fairy tale about Pinocchio in his own, dark key, which was finally released in 2022, and also planned to shoot his version of "Frankenstein". Interestingly, del Toro sees strong parallels between the wooden puppet and Frankenstein's monster: "These are creatures created and abandoned in a world they must discover for themselves. Both go through a moral and spiritual journey."

The director filmed a dark version of 'Pinocchio'

In 2021, he finished work on the noir thriller "Nightmare Alley" with Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett. The main character is a con artist who, to his misfortune, gets tangled up with someone far more dangerous.

Guillermo del Toro's Personal Life

In 1986, Guillermo del Toro married artist Lorenza Newton, whom he had known since his college days and with whom he remained inseparable until their divorce in 2017. They had two daughters together: Mariana and Marisa.

Guillermo del Toro with his first wife and children

In 2021, the director married for the second time. His new wife was historian and screenwriter Kim Morgan, with whom he worked on "Nightmare Alley". They made their first public appearance as a couple at the March 2018 Oscars ceremony. "The Shape of Water" took home four statuettes that night, winning in the most prestigious categories: "Best Picture" and "Best Director". Guillermo del Toro dedicated his victory to his wife.

The director owns a separate house dedicated to storing his books, drawings, and film props. He calls it "Bleak House".

Guillermo del Toro - Welcome to Bleak House

Guillermo sketches all his ideas—costumes, makeup, characters—in a notebook he always carries with him.

Guillermo believes in ghosts and claims he has encountered them twice. The first time was in Mexico, at his uncle's house. While sitting alone in an empty room at night, he heard someone sighing sadly right next to his ear for 15 minutes.

The second time was while filming "The Hobbit". As usual, he jokingly asked the hotel staff to put him in a haunted room. The exhausted film crew had already dispersed to their rooms. In the middle of the night, he was awakened by a loud woman's cry. He looked out into the corridor, found it empty, and continued searching. The sound led him to a window in his bathroom that overlooked a narrow alley. No one was there, but the sound was crystal clear and loud.

Many people think that Guillermo and Benicio del Toro are relatives. In reality, they just share the same surname.

Guillermo del Toro now

In October 2022, on the eve of Halloween, the series "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities" was released on Netflix. It is a collection of eight scary stories, filmed by different directors, but each of them was presented by del Toro.

In early 2023, the director shared plans to make an animated adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "The Buried Giant". And in March of the same year, he had another triumph at the Oscars - his "Pinocchio" won the award for "Best Animated Film".

Guillermo del Toro: latest news and articles

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