Guillermo Del Toro Quotes

Powerful Guillermo Del Toro for Daily Growth

About Guillermo Del Toro

Guillermo Del Toro Gómez-Delgado, born October 9, 1964, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, is a prolific filmmaker recognized for his dark fantasy and horror works that intertwine elements of beauty, mythology, and social commentary. Del Toro's fascination with the macabre was cultivated during his childhood, influenced by various sources such as comic books, Universal Studios monsters, and classic literature like Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. After completing a film studies degree at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, Del Toro began his career in the special make-up effects industry. He worked on numerous films, including "Hellboy" (2004) and the "Blade II" trilogy. In 1993, he co-founded Necropelia Studios, a company that specialized in creating special effects for various projects. In 1995, Del Toro made his directorial debut with "Cronos," which garnered critical acclaim and earned him the Best First Work Award at the 48th Venice International Film Festival. Subsequent works like "The Devil's Backbone" (2001) and "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006) further solidified his reputation as a visionary filmmaker, with the latter winning three Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Cinematography, and Best Achievement in Makeup. Del Toro is also well-known for his collaborative efforts in the comic book industry. He has worked on titles such as "Hellboy," "Justice League Dark," and "Strain." His latest film, "The Shape of Water" (2017), won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, cementing Del Toro's place among the greatest contemporary filmmakers. Throughout his career, Guillermo Del Toro continues to captivate audiences with his imaginative and visually stunning storytelling.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I don't make movies to scare people. I make them to move people."

Guillermo del Toro's statement indicates that his intention in creating films is not solely to elicit fear, but rather to stir emotions deeply within the audience. He aims to create an emotional impact through storytelling, using horror or fantastical elements as a vehicle to provoke a sense of wonder, empathy, or other powerful feelings in viewers. This perspective suggests that del Toro sees his work not just as a form of entertainment, but also as a means of connecting with and understanding the human experience on a profound level.


"The beauty of film is its capacity to make us believe in the impossible."

Guillermo Del Toro's quote emphasizes the power of cinema to captivate audiences by suspending disbelief and immersing them in fictional worlds, making the implausible seem plausible. This is achieved through compelling storytelling, striking visuals, and a deep emotional resonance that allows us to invest in the characters and their fantastical adventures. It's not just about entertaining; it's about sparking imagination, evoking emotions, and ultimately, expanding our understanding of reality.


"Fantasy is not just about dragons and fairies, it is about the marvelous and terrible things that can be found around every corner."

This quote by Guillermo Del Toro suggests that fantasy transcends the traditional realms of mythical creatures and magic; instead, it encapsulates the extraordinary and unsettling aspects of reality that lie hidden in everyday life. It invites us to look beyond the mundane and discover the wonder and terror that may be found in the corners we often overlook or ignore.


"Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out."

Guillermo del Toro suggests that cinema's essence lies in both its visible content (what's in the frame) and the unseen elements (what's out). The significance of these hidden or implied aspects contributes to the intrigue, mystery, and emotional resonance that enriches a film, making it more than just a collection of shots. This quote highlights the power of suggestion, subtext, and the viewer's imagination in shaping the overall impact of a cinematic work.


"I don't want to escape reality, I want to sink into it."

Guillermo del Toro's quote, "I don't want to escape reality, I want to sink into it," expresses a desire not to avoid the world as it is, but rather to immerse oneself deeply in it. It suggests an appreciation for the complexity and richness of life, and a willingness to engage with its challenges and wonders wholeheartedly. The phrase captures a creative mindset that seeks not to shy away from reality but to embrace it fully—to be inspired by its beauty, moved by its struggles, and transformed by its lessons.


I was very attracted to doing 'The Wolverine' in Japan because that's my favorite chapter in the story of Wolverine. But I'm not a superhero guy.

- Guillermo del Toro

Doing, Wolverine, Very, Chapter

Making a film is like raising a child. You cannot raise a child to be liked by everyone. You raise a child to excel, and you teach the child to be true to his own nature. There will be people who'll dislike your child because he or she is who they are, and there will be people who'll love your child immensely for the very same reason.

- Guillermo del Toro

Love, Reason, Very, Your Child

If you want to know how to handle a crew, it's great to be part of a crew.

- Guillermo del Toro

Want, How, Part, Handle

I think when we wake up in the morning, we can choose between fear and love. Every morning. And every morning, if you choose one, that doesn't define you until the end... The way you end your story is important. It's important that we choose love over fear, because love is the answer.

- Guillermo del Toro

Love, Wake Up, I Think, Answer

I'm fortunate enough that my personal life falls into whack with my professional life. My kids love visiting the sets; they love the monsters.

- Guillermo del Toro

Love, Visiting, Sets, Whack

There is a heavy Mexican Catholic streak in my movies, and a huge Mexican sense of melodrama. Everything is overwrought, and there's a sense of acceptance of the fantastic in my films, which is innately Mexican. So when people ask, 'How can you define the Mexican-ness of your films?' I go, 'How can I not?' It's all I am.

- Guillermo del Toro

Movies, Mexican, Your, Streak

Monsters are the patron saints of imperfection.

- Guillermo del Toro

Monsters, Saints, Patron

The problem with 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' was that it was designed to be a PG-13 movie. It was literally a horror movie for a younger generation. I was trying to do the film equivalent of teenage, young adult readers, and when they gave it an R rating, the movie couldn't sustain an R.

- Guillermo del Toro

Young, Movie, Equivalent, Horror Movie

I'm a lapsed altar boy.

- Guillermo del Toro

Boy, Altar

I wrote a screenplay for 'The Witches,' which Alfonso Cuaron was producing, but we couldn't get it made! The studio just wouldn't greenlight that movie. It's my favorite Roald Dahl book, 'The Witches,' because I grew up with my grandmother a lot of the time, and the relationship between the boy and the grandmother speaks volumes to me.

- Guillermo del Toro

Book, Movie, Studio, Volumes

When I was a kid, monsters made me feel that I could fit somewhere, even if it was... an imaginary place where the grotesque and the abnormal were celebrated and accepted.

- Guillermo del Toro

Kid, Made, Could, Imaginary

I was a kid when I read Jane Eyre and fell in love with that universe. I didn't have the acumen to say the prose is old or the prose is too complex. I just fell in love with Jane's very lonely soul, much the same way I fell in love with Frankenstein's creature for the same reason. Those old souls exist in every decade in every century.

- Guillermo del Toro

Love, Reason, Very, Frankenstein

I started seeing in the monsters as a more sincere form of religion because the priests were not that great, but Frankenstein was great.

- Guillermo del Toro

More, Monsters, Started, Frankenstein

I have a schizophrenic career. I have 'Cronos' and 'The Devil's Backbone' on one hand, and then I have 'Blade 2' and 'Mimic' on the other.

- Guillermo del Toro

Career, Devil, Other, Schizophrenic

There are two levels of vampirism: one is the regular vampire, which is just like it has always been; and then there's the super vampires, which are a new breed we've created.

- Guillermo del Toro

New, Always, Which, Breed

I don't think there is life beyond death. I don't. But I do believe that we get this clarity in the last minute of our life. The titles we achieved, the honors we managed, they all vanish. You are left alone with you and your deeds and the things you didn't do.

- Guillermo del Toro

Death, Believe, Your, Honors

Monsters are evangelical creatures for me.

- Guillermo del Toro

Me, Creatures, Monsters, Evangelical

The other thing that I started doing for myself was, I went through my diary of ideas that I keep and made sure that the translation of the comic to the movie was good.

- Guillermo del Toro

Doing, Through, Other, Translation

I've been going through immigration all my life, and I've been stopped for traffic violations by cops, and they get much more curious about me than the regular guy. The moment they hear my accent, things get a little deeper.

- Guillermo del Toro

My Life, Through, Cops, Accent

More and more, as I grow older, I find myself looking for inspiration in painting, illustration, videogames, and old movies.

- Guillermo del Toro

Grow, Old, More, Illustration

I feel that your ambitions should always exceed the budget.

- Guillermo del Toro

Feel, Always, Should, Exceed

I think love is the greatest force in the universe. It's shapeless like water. It only takes the shape of things it becomes.

- Guillermo del Toro

Love, Think, I Think, Love Is

I have a very promiscuous relationship with all my objects.

- Guillermo del Toro

Relationship, Very, Objects, Promiscuous

It's only in modern times that we have come to glorify vampirism.

- Guillermo del Toro

Modern, Times, Modern Times, Glorify

I saw a martyr in the Wolf Man, who is the very moving essence of outsiderness, with which I identified fully.

- Guillermo del Toro

Very, Martyr, Which, Identified

I think we live in a culture that is actually hedging all of it towards comfort and immediacy, things that scare me. All the things that they sell us as a way of life scare me.

- Guillermo del Toro

Think, Scare, I Think, Immediacy

To me, art and storytelling serve primal, spiritual functions in my daily life. Whether I'm telling a bedtime story to my kids or trying to mount a movie or write a short story or a novel, I take it very seriously.

- Guillermo del Toro

Storytelling, Very, Telling, Mount

I have 7,000 DVDs and Blu-rays. I have thousands of books - thousands - and roughly 15,000 comic books or something like that, hundreds of books about different art movements - the symbolists, the dadaists, the Pre-Raphaelites, the impressionists - you know, that I consult before I start every movie.

- Guillermo del Toro

Movie, Before, Comic Books, DVDs

For me, real life is hard work. Making movies is like a vacation for my soul.

- Guillermo del Toro

Making, Like, Making Movies, Vacation

Every movie, I complicate. I make the hard choices. I remember when I was pitching 'Pan's Labyrinth:' An anti-fascist fairy tale set in Civil War Spain, where the girl dies at the end. It's not easy.

- Guillermo del Toro

I Remember, Movie, Spain, Pan

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