Guillermo del Toro Gómez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico on October 9, 1964.¹⁾

He grew up in a devout Catholic family.²⁾

Del Toro began playing with his father's Super 8 camera when he was approximately eight years old, producing short films with Planet of the Apes toys and other materials.³⁾

One short featured a “serial killer potato” with global ambitions; it slaughtered del Toro's mother and brothers before walking outdoors and getting smashed by a vehicle.⁴⁾

Del Toro attended Guadalajara's Centro de Investigación and Estudios Cinematográficos.⁵⁾

Along with renowned Mexican directors such as Emmanuel Lubezki and Alfonso Cuarón, he created and directed four episodes of the cult series La Hora Marcada.⁶⁾

Del Toro studied make-up and special effects with special-effects artist Dick Smith.⁷⁾

He worked as a special-effects makeup artist for ten years before starting his own firm, Necropia.⁸⁾

He also helped to establish the Guadalajara International Film Festival.⁹⁾

Later in his career, he established his own production company, the Tequila Gang.¹⁰⁾

The young del Toro, like many youngsters, was afraid by the prospect of terrible entities pursuing him. The filmmaker believes he struck a deal with the monsters in order for them to leave him alone, giving rise to the delightfully twisted creatures seen in Cronos, Hellboy, and Pan's Labyrinth.¹¹⁾

Miramax Films gave Guillermo a $30 million budget to shoot Mimic in 1997, when he was 33 years old.¹²⁾

In 1987, the filmmaker enrolled in Smith's make-up course in New York, and the two became fast friends.¹³⁾

Del Toro sees horror as fundamentally political, noting, “Much like fairy tales, horror has two aspects”. One is pro-institution, which is the most heinous form of fairy tale: Don't go wandering into the woods, and always follow your parents. The second kind of fairy tale is anarchic and anti-establishment“.¹⁴⁾

Peter Jackson hired del Toro in April 2008 to direct the live-action film adaptation of J. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien Del Toro departed the production on May 2010, due to extended delays caused by MGM's financial problems.¹⁵⁾

He is recognized as a co-writer in An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies, despite not directing the films.¹⁶⁾

He was chosen to serve on the Cannes Film Festival's main competition jury in 2015.¹⁷⁾

Del Toro appeared as Pappy McPoyle in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia titled “McPoyle vs. Ponderosa: The Trial of the Century” in February 2016.¹⁸⁾

Del Toro's best-known picture is the 2006 fantasy Pan's Labyrinth, which received widespread praise.¹⁹⁾

Pan's Labyrinth is a brutal and compelling fusion of a Spanish Civil War tragedy and a fairy tale, forcing us to question the nature of reality: are we doomed to live in a violent world, or is there a fantasy, pain-free realm to which we might escape after death?²⁰⁾

Del Toro envisioned Pan's Labyrinth as a conceptual companion piece to The Devil's Backbone, his 2001 picture set in 1939 Spain.²¹⁾

Del Toro personifies the 'one for them, one for me' attitude. His Hollywood productions, which include Mimic, Blade II, the Hellboy films, and Pacific Rim, have much higher budgets and stars than his Spanish films.²²⁾

There are extremely few real flames or sparks in Pan's Labyrinth due to a drought. When del Toro shot his picture in Segovia, Spain, the region was facing its worst drought in 30 years, so his crew had to be inventive.²³⁾

His father, automotive mogul Federico del Toro, was abducted in Guadalajara at the time. Although he was finally released unharmed, del Toro's family was forced to pay twice the sum originally requested owing to heavy economic pressure from his kidnappers.²⁴⁾

Del Toro, his parents, and his siblings relocated to another country as a result of the incident. In an interview with Time magazine, he stated, “Every day, every week, something happens that reminds me that I am in involuntary exile from my nation”.²⁵⁾

He's working on a darker animated Pinocchio.²⁶⁾

He almost created the video game inSANE.²⁷⁾

He is married to Lorenza Newton, the cousin of Guadalupe Pineda, a Mexican singer.²⁸⁾

In addition to the home where he lives with his family, he has a second residence where he keeps his books, poster artwork, and other work-related items. The mansion, dubbed “The Bleak House,” boasts blood-red drapes and houses all of the numerous animals he has gathered over the years, both from his films and from other sources.²⁹⁾

Del Toro defined his political views as “a touch too liberal” in a 2007 interview. He noted that the villains in most of his works, such as the industrialist in Cronos, the Nazis in Hellboy, and the Francoists in Pan's Labyrinth, have the trait of authoritarianism. “I despise structure.” In terms of faith in institutions, I am entirely anti-structural. They irritate me. “I despise every social, religious, or economic institution”.³⁰⁾