What We Do in the Shadows‘ Harvey Guillén on Guillermo’s Cozy Style and Season 6 Mindset

Throughout What We Do successful the Shadows‘ run, we’ve seen put-upon familiar Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén) awkwardly prosecute his extremity of becoming a vampire, adjacent aft realizing his Van Helsing heritage—before ultimately, astatine the extremity of play five, realizing he’s really amended suited to stay a quality being. That sets up a caller dynamic for him in play six, and io9 was thrilled to inquire him what’s successful store for the sweater-clad instrumentality favorite.

Cheryl Eddy, io9: One of the funniest moments successful any occurrence is erstwhile thing ridiculous happens and Guillermo makes oculus interaction with the camera successful these precise knowing 4th partition breaks. How would you qualify his narration with the documentary crew?

Harvey Guillén: The prime I made aboriginal connected successful the amusement … successful the pilot, Guillermo didn’t truly talk a lot. He introduces the documentary unit to the house. He opens the doorway and helium gives them a speedy statement of everything. And past it’s disconnected to the races. They are determination to travel the vampires—that’s what they’re determination to document, a radical of vampires surviving unneurotic connected Staten Island with their quality familiar. Early on, Guillermo didn’t talk a batch due to the fact that helium ever felt this fearfulness of speaking retired of spot and retired of turn. He doesn’t accidental overmuch due to the fact that remember, successful the pilot, Nandor is ever reprimanding him for everything … [nothing helium does is ever] bully enough. He’s ever terrified due to the fact that each clip helium does thing wrong, helium gets demoted and gets different further twelvemonth of servitude to them for free. He conscionable can’t spend immoderate more—he’s already been determination a decade.

So the narration helium has with the documentary unit is—he knows that they’re human, and truthful erstwhile [the vampires] accidental worldly that’s incriminating, that’s the look that he’s like, “You didn’t get that connected tape, did you?” Or “Please don’t usage that!” Of course, helium has nary power implicit that. But the looks helium gives to the camera are what the assemblage is thinking. Like, “I can’t judge I conscionable heard that!” That’s the benignant of narration that helium has with the documentary crew.

io9: Guillermo’s wardrobe has been beauteous accordant crossed the seasons. You are a precise stylish person—always with astonishing reddish carpet outfits—did you person immoderate input into his outfits, specifically his sweater choices?

Guillén: Well, you know, it’s funny. When I auditioned for the show, the quality was 20 years older than I am. Guillermo was 20 years older. So I wanted to property myself a small spot older … I don’t usually bash this for a character, but … I went to my closet and got this long-sleeved striped garment with this brownish sweater vest. Then I was like, “Well, I don’t cognize what helium would look like, but this would beryllium closer.” Then I saw a poster of Guillermo del Toro’s [At Home With Monsters book] and there’s a representation of him with his hairsbreadth parted successful the middle. And helium has glasses. And I was like, “Well, he’s Guillermo.” So I virtually mimicked that. I got these Harry Potter glasses and I popped the lenses out, and I parted my hairsbreadth successful the mediate and I curled it, and I wore that to the audition. After I booked it, the wardrobe [department] was asking [executive producer] Taika [Waititi], “So what bash you deliberation for Guillermo?” [He said] “Well, what did you deterioration for the audition?” And I was like, “I wore this…” “Yeah, that!”

And truthful they recreated the look that I wore from the audition … I had walked successful with this thought of who Guillermo was, and they conscionable took that and past created much connected it and more. And arsenic the years went by with [costume designer] Laura Montgomery, it’s similar a collaboration. She already knows she wants for the season, but she’s truthful large astatine talking to the actors and [asking], “What bash you spot this season?”

When [Guillermo becomes] Van Helsing, we tuck his pants [into] boots, and we bash similar a bladed pinstripe garment that we rotation up the sleeves, but we person brownish gloves due to the fact that helium has to beryllium capable drawback the woody stakes truly quickly. And that alone—along with a fitted vest that has pockets that helium tin enactment antithetic worldly in, similar beatified water—gives you a antithetic structure. He’s much fitted, helium looks much superhero-ish, and it gives him much of this confidence. He walks otherwise erstwhile he’s successful that outfit arsenic opposed to erstwhile he’s successful an oversized sweater that’s similar a 1988 signifier [laughs]. So helium conscionable acts otherwise erstwhile he’s successful antithetic clothes, similar erstwhile he’s successful his trench overgarment that flares retired erstwhile he’s warring … that’s a antithetic vibe. It’s thing we speech about, adjacent the size of the coat—we added a furniture to marque it flare retired successful the back, truthful erstwhile he’s doing the stunts, it gives the movement, similar it looks magical. Stuff similar that we talked done thoroughly. It was ne'er by accident. And Laura, who won the Emmy for the costume plan for the show, is thing abbreviated of amazing, and I’m going to miss moving with her. It was specified a collaboration of, each twelvemonth the quality developed thing new, adjacent if it was the slightest happening connected his outfit.

© Russ Martin/FX

io9: That’s truthful cool. And successful play five, we saw Guillermo execute his imagination of becoming a vampire and past realizing it wasn’t truly what helium wanted. In play six we spot Guillermo has acceptable immoderate caller boundaries with the vampires—but those boundaries are besides beauteous darn porous. Where bash you deliberation his headspace is astatine erstwhile the play begins?

Guillén: I deliberation his headspace is “Yes, and”—like, taking chances this year. I deliberation that for truthful agelong he’s been comfy successful a concern that doesn’t payment him. It doesn’t behoove him to enactment successful this satellite overmuch longer. It is not what he’s meant to do. It’s not what’s successful him, naturally. And that’s okay. And I deliberation arsenic humans, we hide that sometimes that’s the scariest thing, to instrumentality a archetypal measurement successful a absorption that’s unknown. But what bash you person but thing to lose, everything to gain? And truthful I deliberation that’s wherever we spot him. And I’m truly excited due to the fact that it’s a antithetic broadside of Guillermo that helium has to accommodate to this caller firm satellite and marque a beingness for himself. Now, does it wage off? You person to find retired and see. Does helium larn something? Maybe. You know, we larn thing each day. I deliberation that the chances are beauteous high. But besides it makes for large drama to enactment him successful an environment, a concern that he’s not utilized to. And past bringing on the vampires to articulation him is conscionable drama gold.

io9: And arsenic you say, successful play six we spot Guillermo enactment his mode up the firm ladder, with a small propulsion from Nadja—but besides immoderate maneuvering that’s his ain idea. We cognize he’s bully astatine occupation solving. Do you deliberation helium would person yet succeeded successful that environment?

Guillén: I deliberation so. I deliberation that helium has bully ideas connected his own. Some of the obstacles that mightiness travel successful his way, that mightiness person been hiccups, get omitted by Nadja and the pack trying to marque it a creaseless modulation for him. But [that] could besides hinder him, due to the fact that you deliberation you’re helping, but you’re really adding to the problem, and I deliberation helium gets flustered easy successful that way. But I deliberation helium would person done good connected his ain due to the fact that it is—as you’ll find retired aboriginal successful the season—it’s his ain thought process that puts things unneurotic that leads to a immense decision and a immense climax to this year’s storyline.

io9: What quality trait astir Guillermo would you accidental you bask the most, oregon that you enjoyed playing the most?

Guillén: I truly similar however overmuch Guillermo is simply a precise loving person. He’s truly endearing. I truly similar however helium does deliberation the champion of people, and helium wants the champion … He’s ever nice. He ever leads with his bosom and has empathy. And that is not a weakness. People deliberation that’s a weakness. And I deliberation that we been trained to deliberation that’s a weakness. I deliberation that’s a strength. And to beryllium bully is simply a strength. And I deliberation that we should we should promote it more.

What We Do successful the Shadows play six drops its three-episode premiere contiguous connected FX, streaming the adjacent time connected Hulu.

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