Mexican Born Director Is Golden Globe Winner

Director Guillermo del Toro poses with the trophy for Best Director – Motion Picture during the 75th Golden Globe Awards on January 7, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
News Americas, LOS ANGELES, CA, Mon. Jan. 8, 2018: Donald Trump may be pushing hard for a wall between Mexico and the US, but a Mexican-born director, known for his dark fantasy pieces, last night walked away with the Golden Globe for best director.

Guillermo del Toro Gómez, 53, who was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, won the award for the his latest film, The Shape of Water. He thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press on behalf of himself and his monsters, nothing that the award was 25 years in the making.

Del Toro Gómez has alternated between Spanish-language dark fantasy pieces, such as the gothic horror films, The Devil’s Backbone (2001) and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and more mainstream American action films, such as the vampire superhero action film Blade II (2002), the supernatural superhero film Hellboy (2004), its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), and the science fiction monster film Pacific Rim (2013).

Del Toro’s work is characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales and horror, with an effort to infuse visual or poetic beauty. He has a lifelong fascination with monsters, which he considers symbols of great power.

Del Toro spent 10 years as a special-effects make-up designer and formed his own company, Necropia. In 1997, at the age of 33, Guillermo was given a $30 million budget from Miramax Films to shoot another film, Mimic. During this time, his father, automotive entrepreneur Federico del Toro, was kidnapped in Guadalajara. Del Toro’s family had to pay twice the amount originally asked for as a ransom. The event prompted del Toro, his parents, and his siblings to move away from Mexico.