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Guillermo del Toro, at the top of his career at 55
Mexican hero Guillermo del Toro is known as one of Hollywood's best and most respected directors, at the top of his game. To get there, the 55-year-old had to follow his dreams and step out of his comfort zone, and he never stopped striving to reach even greater heights.
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Guillermo showed early promise in all things cinema. He even surprised his teachers at at the Science Institute with his knowledge of the seventh art.
"Guillermo stood out because he knew about movies," former teacher Daniel Varela said in an interview with El Tiempo.
And that's how one of Hollywood's biggest directors got started. Let's take a look at his rise to fame.
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He was never afraid of monsters under the bed
Guillermo del Toro has always been fascinated by monsters and ghosts since he was a child. His obsession was such that his very Catholic grandmother tried to exorcise him to make him stop drawing otherworldly beings. "She exorcised me twice with holy water, literally. The more holy water she threw at me, the more ridiculous I thought it was," the told the Sun newspaper.
"My Holy Trinity was made up of Frankenstein, the monster from the Black Lagoon, and werewolves," Guillermo said in October 2017 at the Lumière Festival in Lyon, France.
A very active imagination
Besides being great at drawing beings from other worlds, Guillermo del Toro was always very imaginative. He would create universes full of monsters in the few minutes it took him to go to the bathroom at night in his grandmother's house.
"I used to have lucid dreams as a child. I would open my eyes and keep on dreaming. I'd look around and there would be animated beings around me, on shelves and under my bed. I used to ask the monsters to, please, let me go to the toilet in peace," he recalls.
He shot his first film at 13
Despite having no formal training, Guillermo del Toro shot his first film - Pesadilla 1 (Nightmare 1) - at 13, using a camera he borrowed from one of his teachers.
Professor Daniel Varela remembers: "There was a hand covered in some green goo that came out of the toilet. He'd manipulate the camera with his other hand and shoot a single-frame continuous video across the school's halls."
His parents were key to his success
Though his father, Federico del Toro, was excited about Guillermo joining the family business in the auto industry, he knew enough to respect the dreams his son had been very clear about even as a teenager.
As well as supporting him, his mother Guadalupe Gómez was also lead actress in Guillermo's first projects, such as Matilde, Doña Lupe and Geometría.
He bet everything on his first movie
Though he came from a wealthy family - his dad had won the lottery - Guillermo del Toro was never one to take the easy way out, so he mortgaged his first house to shoot his first movie, Cronos, in 1993.
It was a big risk and could have ruined him. But the movie won several awards at the Ariels and even one at Cannes.
He kicked off his Hollywood career with Mimic
Guillermo del Toro's first taste of Hollywood was with Mimic in 1997. It wasn't a box office success but it did mark the start of a successful career for Guillermo, who studied cinema at the Center for the Investigation and Study of Cinema at the University of Guadalajara.
After Mimic came The Devil's Backbone, Blade II, and Hellboy.
Pan\'s Labyrinth gave brought his first Oscar nomination
Pan's Labyrinth, which came out in 2006, was a highlight in Guillermo del Toro's career in Hollywood since it was his first project to be nominated for an Oscar, once for Best Original Screenplay and again for Best Foreign Language Film.
Even though he went home empty-handed on this occasion, he continued to go from strength to strength in Hollywood.
He shared his life on film
After directing Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Pacific Rim, in 2015 Guillermo del Toro shot Crimson Peak, a film based on his mother's experiences following his grandmother's death.
"Crimson Peak is based on something that happened to my mother. Some time after my grandmother died, she visited my mother. I have also had experiences with ghosts in my life," the director said of the inspiration behind the movie.
His first Oscar came with The Shape of Water
In 2017, Guillermo released The Shape of Water, a movie that was a box office success and widely acclaimed by the critics after winning two Oscars.
The film earned him an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, realizing his childhood dreams.
His name passes into Hollywood legend
Guillermo is now working on his next project, his version of Pinnochio, and praise from his work continues to roll in. The director has now been immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The director is also known for helping young Mexican people to realize their dreams, showing his integrity and humility, which got him where he is today. He doesn't work to famous, just to do what he loves.