Which celebrity would you love to meet, and what would you talk about?
If I could meet any celebrity and just sit down and talk to them, I think I’d want to meet Guillermo del Toro. We would discuss his vision of the world and, obviously, his monster obsession.
I love the way he sees the world, especially when he talks about the religious trauma he experienced growing up Catholic. I feel like a lot of us can relate to that in one way or another. I mean, when one of the first things you’re taught is that you’re born in sin, you’ll live in sin, and you’ll die in sin, it does something to your brain.
And before you get in the comments going, “But Eryn, weren’t you raised Christian?” Yes, yes, I was. BUT I also have divorced parents. My mom is Christian, and my dad is Catholic, so I got to experience both sides of that religious upbringing. A little sampler platter of religious trauma, if you will.
There’s something so touching about Guillermo del Toro’s stories about growing up, especially when he talks about his grandmother disapproving of the gothier things in his life. You know, the monsters, the violence, all the things that make Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro. And his response was essentially, “Okay, then take all that out of the Bible.”
LIKE, HELLO? THAT IS SUCH A SLAY.
Because honestly, have you read the Bible? There are monsters, violence, horrifying imagery, and enough questionable behavior to keep a horror writer employed for generations. But somehow, his fascination with monsters was the problem?
I just think the more you learn about Guillermo del Toro, the cooler he gets. He has this way of looking at the things other people fear or consider monstrous and finding something beautiful, human, or even sacred in them. And I love that.
Maybe that’s why his work resonates with me so much. Sometimes the monsters are easier to understand than the people who are supposed to be good.
