Del Toro, Guillermo << dehl TAWR oh, gee YEHR moh >> (1964-…), is a Mexican motion-picture director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his works that deal with fantasy, science fiction, and the supernatural. Del Toro won an Academy Award for directing The Shape of Water (2017). This movie also won an Academy Award for best picture. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), which del Toro co-wrote and co-directed, won an Academy Award for best animated feature film. Del Toro and his films have won many other awards, including Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Del Toro was born on Oct. 9, 1964, in Guadalajara, Mexico. In the 1980’s, he worked as a makeup designer and supervisor. During this time, he also produced and directed Mexican television programs and taught film. Del Toro formed his own special-effects production company, Necropia, in 1985. The same year, del Toro made his debut (first public appearance) as a director with the short horror film Doña Lupe, which he also wrote. In 1986, he helped establish the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Del Toro received international attention in 1993 for the horror film Cronos, which he wrote and directed. The film won a number of awards, including a critics’ prize at the 1993 Cannes Festival. Del Toro’s first Hollywood film was the science-fiction thriller Mimic (1997). He formed his own production company, The Tequila Gang, in Mexico later that year.
Other notable films directed by del Toro include The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), and Pacific Rim (2013). Del Toro wrote or co-wrote a number of these films.
Del Toro is also coauthor with the American writer Chuck Hogan of the “Strain” trilogy of vampire novels. The trilogy (series of three) includes The Strain (2009), The Fall (2010), and The Night Eternal (2011). Del Toro also co-wrote the young-adult fantasy novel Trollhunters (2015) with the American author Daniel Kraus.
