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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)