Guillermo del Toro
Director·b. 1964·Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
33 horror credits
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.
Director12 films
Frankenstein
Director
The Shape of Water
Director
Crimson Peak
Director
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Director
Pan's Labyrinth
Director
Hellboy
Director
Blade II
Director
The Devil's Backbone
Director
Mimic
Director
Cronos
Director
Geometry
Director
Mrs. Lupe
Director
Writer13 films
Frankenstein
Writer
Roald Dahl's The Witches
Screenplay
The Shape of Water
Story / Screenplay
Crimson Peak
Writer
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Screenplay
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Screenplay / Story
Pan's Labyrinth
Writer
Hellboy
Screenplay
The Devil's Backbone
Screenplay
Mimic
Screenplay
Cronos
Screenplay
Geometry
Writer
Mrs. Lupe
Screenplay
Producer17 films
Frankenstein
Producer
Antlers
Producer
Roald Dahl's The Witches
Producer
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Producer
The Shape of Water
Producer
Crimson Peak
Producer
Mama
Executive Producer
The Captured Bird
Executive Producer
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Producer
Julia's Eyes
Producer
Splice
Producer
While She Was Out
Executive Producer
The Orphanage
Executive Producer
Pan's Labyrinth
Producer
Home Delivery
Executive Producer
Geometry
Producer
Mrs. Lupe
Executive Producer
Actor11 films
Surrealistic Nightmares: An In-Depth Look at Walloon Horror Cinema
Self
Dario Argento: Panico
Self
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story
Self
78/52
Self
Extraordinary Tales
Narrator (voice) (segment 'The Pit and the Pendulum')
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Creature (Voice)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Creature Vocals (voice) (uncredited)
Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of An Artist
Self
Diary of the Dead
Newsreader (voice) (uncredited)
Hellboy
Guy Dressed as Dragon (uncredited)
Cronos
Man Walking Dog (uncredited)
Other Crew7 films
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Screenstory
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron
Creative Producer
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms
Creative Producer
Hellboy
Fight Choreographer
Mimic 2
Characters
Mimic
Screenstory
Mrs. Lupe
Casting / Assistant Editor