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Throughout What We Do in the Shadows‘ run, we’ve seen put-upon familiar Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén) awkwardly pursue his goal of becoming a vampire, even after realizing his Van Helsing heritage—before ultimately, at the end of season five, realizing he’s actually better suited to remain a human being. That sets up a new dynamic for him in season six, and io9 was thrilled to ask him what’s in store for the sweater-clad fan favorite.
Cheryl Eddy, io9: One of the funniest moments in any episode is when something ridiculous happens and Guillermo makes eye contact with the camera in these very knowing fourth wall breaks. How would you characterize his relationship with the documentary crew?
Harvey Guillén: The choice I made early on in the show … in the pilot, Guillermo didn’t really speak a lot. He introduces the documentary crew to the house. He opens the door and he gives them a quick description of everything. And then it’s off to the races. They are there to follow the vampires—that’s what they’re there to document, a group of vampires living together on Staten Island with their human familiar. Early on, Guillermo didn’t speak a lot because he always felt this fear of speaking out of place and out of turn. He doesn’t say much because remember, in the pilot, Nandor is always reprimanding him for everything … [nothing he does is ever] good enough. He’s always terrified because every time he does something wrong, he gets demoted and gets another additional year of servitude to them for free. He just can’t afford any more—he’s already been there a decade.
So the relationship he has with the documentary crew is—he knows that they’re human, and so when [the vampires] say stuff that’s incriminating, that’s the look that he’s like, “You didn’t get that on tape, did you?” Or “Please don’t use that!” Of course, he has no control over that. But the looks he gives to the camera are what the audience is thinking. Like, “I can’t believe I just heard that!” That’s the kind of relationship that he has with the documentary crew.
io9: Guillermo’s wardrobe has been pretty consistent across the seasons. You are a very stylish person—always with amazing red carpet outfits—did you have any input into his outfits, specifically his sweater choices?
Guillén: Well, you know, it’s funny. When I auditioned for the show, the character was 20 years older than I am. Guillermo was 20 years older. So I wanted to age myself a little bit older … I don’t usually do this for a character, but … I went to my closet and got this long-sleeved striped shirt with this brown sweater vest. Then I was like, “Well, I don’t know what he would look like, but this would be closer.” Then I saw a poster of Guillermo del Toro’s [At Home With Monsters book] and there’s a picture of him with his hair parted in the middle. And he has glasses. And I was like, “Well, he’s Guillermo.” So I literally mimicked that. I got these Harry Potter glasses and I popped the lenses out, and I parted my hair in the middle 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 do you think for Guillermo?” [He said] “Well, what did you wear for the audition?” And I was like, “I wore this…” “Yeah, that!”
And so they recreated the look that I wore from the audition … I had walked in with this idea of who Guillermo was, and they just took that and then created more on it and more. And as the years went by with [costume designer] Laura Montgomery, it’s like a collaboration. She already knows she wants for the season, but she’s so great at talking to the actors and [asking], “What do you see this season?”
When [Guillermo becomes] Van Helsing, we tuck his pants [into] boots, and we do like a thin pinstripe shirt that we roll up the sleeves, but we have brown gloves because he has to be able grab the wooden stakes really quickly. And that alone—along with a fitted vest that has pockets that he can put different stuff in, like holy water—gives you a different structure. He’s more fitted, he looks more superhero-ish, and it gives him more of this confidence. He walks differently when he’s in that outfit as opposed to when he’s in an oversized sweater that’s like a 1988 pattern [laughs]. So he just acts differently when he’s in different clothes, like when he’s in his trench coat that flares out when he’s fighting … that’s a different vibe. It’s something we talk about, even the size of the coat—we added a layer to make it flare out in the back, so when he’s doing the stunts, it gives the movement, like it looks magical. Stuff like that we talked through thoroughly. It was never by accident. And Laura, who won the Emmy for the costume design for the show, is nothing short of amazing, and I’m going to miss working with her. It was such a collaboration of, every year the character developed something new, even if it was the slightest thing on his outfit.
© Russ Martin/FX io9: That’s so cool. And in season five, we saw Guillermo achieve his dream of becoming a vampire and then realizing it wasn’t really what he wanted. In season six we see Guillermo has set some new boundaries with the vampires—but those boundaries are also pretty darn porous. Where do you think his headspace is at when the season begins?
Guillén: I think his headspace is “Yes, and”—like, taking chances this year. I think that for so long he’s been comfortable in a situation that doesn’t benefit him. It doesn’t behoove him to stay in this world much longer. It is not what he’s meant to do. It’s not what’s in him, naturally. And that’s okay. And I think as humans, we forget that sometimes that’s the scariest thing, to take a first step in a direction that’s unknown. But what do you have but nothing to lose, everything to gain? And so I think that’s where we see him. And I’m really excited because it’s a different side of Guillermo that he has to adapt to this new corporate world and make a life for himself. Now, does it pay off? You have to find out and see. Does he learn something? Maybe. You know, we learn something every day. I think that the chances are pretty high. But also it makes for great comedy to put him in an environment, a situation that he’s not used to. And then bringing along the vampires to join him is just comedy gold.
io9: And as you say, in season six we see Guillermo work his way up the corporate ladder, with a little push from Nadja—but also some maneuvering that’s his own idea. We know he’s good at problem solving. Do you think he would have eventually succeeded in that environment?
Guillén: I think so. I think that he has good ideas on his own. Some of the obstacles that might come in his way, that might have been hiccups, get omitted by Nadja and the gang trying to make it a smooth transition for him. But [that] could also hinder him, because you think you’re helping, but you’re actually adding to the problem, and I think he gets flustered easily in that way. But I think he would have done fine on his own because it is—as you’ll find out later in the season—it’s his own thought process that puts things together that leads to a huge conclusion and a huge climax to this year’s storyline.
io9: What character trait about Guillermo would you say you enjoy the most, or that you enjoyed playing the most?
Guillén: I really like how much Guillermo is a very loving person. He’s really endearing. I really like how he does think the best of people, and he wants the best … He’s always nice. He always leads with his heart and has empathy. And that is not a weakness. People think that’s a weakness. And I think that we been trained to think that’s a weakness. I think that’s a strength. And to be nice is a strength. And I think that we should we should encourage it more.
What We Do in the Shadows season six drops its three-episode premiere tonight on FX, streaming the next day on Hulu.
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