Outtake No. 5
Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows, and Interview With the Vampire
“Outtakes” is back with another installment about all things pop culture. As promised in the last newsletter, I want to focus my attention on Harvey Guillén, the star of What We Do in the Shadows, which is back with an excellent and even funnier season 3 on FX, and the queer community’s love for vampires.
The acclaimed FX series from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi continues to chronicle the exploits of four vampire roommates -- Nandor (the husky Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) -- and their human companion Guillermo (Guillén). Season three raises the stakes for all members of the Staten Island household, especially after the unexpected, bloody events that ended season two.
Ahead of the new season, which premiered at the beginning of September, I spoke to the 31-year-old actor Guillermo’s “changes.” During our conversation, he teased how this season fans will see a much bolder, more confident character, who was revealed to be a descendant of the famed vampire hunter Van Hesling and demonstrated his adept skills for staking.
“It’s so funny, the way that we left off with that huge finale -- the killing of all the vampires in that theater -- if you would have told me season one that that would have been the trajectory for Guillermo for the next couple of seasons, I would not have believed you,” Guillén says.
While the actor couldn’t have predicted where Guillermo would be today, the actor did inadvertently predict his Helsing heritage when he came up with his character’s last name. “I remember asking Jermaine. I said, ‘Can I give him a last name?’ Cause when we did the confessional interviews and stuff, I thought it’d be nice to slate to his full name. And he was like, ‘Well, we haven’t thought about that. So what are you thinking?’” Guillén explains. And that’s when he came up with “de la Cruz.”
When Clement asked what it meant, Guillén told him, “Of the cross.” And he goes, “That’s perfect.” After that, the actor never gave it a second thought until he was reading the script for the season two finale and found out that Guillermo has Helsing blood in him. “It was full circle. Like, ‘Wow, kismet. Everything’s meant to happen,’” he recalls.
Van Hesling’s Latinx Hertiage
As an out queer, Mexican actor, Guillén cares about authentic representation onscreen. So much that he’s gone to great lengths to make sure the smallest of details accurately represented his culture. For instance, he made buñuelos for a brief scene in season two. Despite being in the background, he told Remezcla that he couldn’t live with himself if someone spotted an inauthentic version of the dish.
That said, the revelation that his character is a descendant of Hesling opens up the possibilities about rewriting the history of the famed vampire slayer on the series to include a Latinx heritage that connects to Guillermo’s story. When asked about the connection during a press conference in August, WWDITS executive producers Paul Simms and Stefani Robinson were open to the idea, saying that it’s something that can be explored more in the future of the series, which has already been renewed for season four.
“I think there’s a world where we can show that [this is his] lineage,” Guillén tells me, explaining that he thinks there’s no reason why they can’t explain what happened centuries prior — through “all the family trees” — and show how “that this badass hero, vampire slayer could be Latinx.”
He adds, “That would be great representation for the community, for anyone who doesn’t see themselves on TV. As part of a marginalized group and part of a group not represented [often onscreen], it would be a big achievement for all of us.”
Guillermo’s heritage, along with his sexuality, the actor promises is something that will continue to be explored in seasons to come as the series expands its storytelling to include more diverse and inclusive characters. Besides, it’s been in the works since the actor named his character de la Cruz.
For the Love of Vampires
Given Guillermo’s sexuality, one great detail about his past and undying — yes, pun intended — passion for the vampire community is that it comes from his love for the Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire and the 1994 film. More specifically, Guillermo’s dream of becoming a vampire is inspired by Armand, the 500-year-old, long-locked and alluring vampire who was famously portrayed by Antonio Banderas opposite the likes of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
And when it comes to vampire lore, there’s no shortage of favorites, including Rice’s novels, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood, that the LGBTQ community have latched onto for one reason or another. When asked why he thinks that is, Guillén says, “It’s because, for so long, queer people have related to that to living in secret. They’ve had to live their lives — and fabulous, wonderful lives — almost in the darkness, right? And it’s like, ‘Here’s this amazing creature. And yet no one can know. You can’t share it with people because they don’t know the truth and will chase you out of town.’”
“For so long that’s exactly what our storylines have been. We have to keep our powers or identities a secret because if anyone would find out it would be torches around town with people screaming, ‘Monster,’” he continues. “So I think people are drawn to vampires because it’s the most fabulous of all of the creatures. It’s like, ‘Hello, you can fly, you can wear beautiful gowns and clothing and capes. And all you care about is lust.’”
Because of that, Guillén explains, it’s a natural draw for the queer community. “You can live your best life as a vampire,” he says.
If only we all could live as lavishly as Armand. “Exactly,” he adds with a laugh.
Quick Takes
Here are a few other stories I wrote that are worth checking out:
Amber Tamblyn on How the Joker, Meghan McCain Inspired Her 'Y: The Last Man' Character
'Y: The Last Man' Star Ben Schnetzer on Yorick's Journey and Finding Beth
'Y: The Last Man' Boss Breaks Down What to Know About the Post-Apocalyptic Series
Inspiration4's Jared Isaacman and Dr. Sian Proctor Discuss Their Historic Mission Into Space
Annaleigh Ashford on Paula Jones and Why 'American Crime Story' Is an Act of Social Justice