Harvey Guillén feels lucky to have played Guillermo de la Cruz for 6 season’s on FX’s What We Do in the Shadows. Based on the 2014 movie starring Taika Waititi, the What We Do in the Shadows TV show ran for 6 years, giving us 61 episodes of the lives of four vampires and their familiar. And over that time we’ve watched Guillermo go from quiet and reserved underling to a man who is certain about his place in life, his sexuality, and what it takes to be living the life he wants to. That change and growth is something that Guillén has found in himself as the show reaches it’s series finale.
“I’m a different person,” Guillén told Remezcla when he sat down to speak with us ahead of the series finale. In his time on the show, he’s learned about the industry, the power that a character can have on the world, and what he wants to do with the platform that he’s been given. But in reflecting about all of it, this wild journey he’s been on as Guillermo, he feels like it happened so fast. “It’s bittersweet. It’s been a huge part of my life, all together since we shot the pilot and auditioned, it’s been 7 years of my life. A little over half a decade. And it’s so weird because it happened so quickly. It’s like I just blinked and it’s been six seasons.”
Shooting the final scene on the last day was also surreal for Guillén. Because it was his scene, his final moment as Guillermo with his master Nandor, that sealed the end of this beloved show. And it broke him something fierce. Guillén said, “Shooting the last scene on the last day was a really dramatic scene for Guillermo and a really emotional scene for him. And so it didn’t take much for me to fall into character that day because the waterworks were just on and I couldn’t hold it back.”
Guillén went on to say that he approached showrunner Paul Simms to ask him if he’d done this on purpose. Because Guillén has always felt that Guillermo was sort of the heart of the show. But he didn’t want to assume that the last scene was meant for him or that it was symbolic as to the importance of Guillén’s time on the show. “I remember talking to [Simms] and asking, “Did you purpoesfully put the last scene of the show, on the last day of the show, on the last day for me to do?” And he was like, “Absolutely, of course I did.” And I was like, “You monster.”
So he filmed it. He filmed his final scene, on the final day of filming, and he got into Guillermo’s headspace. And with the way it turned out [this writer herself crying at the scene] it was a good decision. “[Simms] knew that deep down inside, out of everyone on the show… I don’t want to say I’m the most emotional character. But I feel like Guillermo is such a soft character that, to say goodbye to him and have to shoot that scene in Guillermo’s headspace and in Guillermo, would break him. And he knew that would happen. So it was really brilliantly planned that I shoot the last scene of the last day.”
As hard as it was for Guillén to say goodbye to Guillermo, he understands that for fans at home, it’s going to be even harder. Fans have connected with Guillermo’s search for a place to belong, his Latino family, and even his queer journey. And saying goodbye to that, especially during these hard times, it hurts. Because of that, Guillén wants fans to remember Guillermo’s kindness. “I think Guillermo is a kind human finding his way and trying the best he can and I think that’s enough. It’s good enough. By doing the best he can, he ‘s discovered how strong he was, new layers of himself.”
And sometimes, we as fans and as human beings, we forget that we’re just like Guillermo. We’re trying our best. And that’s enough. That’s why Guillén added this gentle reminder: “I think we forget that we’re stronger than we think. And Guillermo had this idea of what his life would be like. […] He imagined a world where he could be himself and he could be happy, successful, and proud. And he thought the only way he could do that was to become a vampire. And that’s not true. You don’t have to be immortal and a vampire to be all those things. You can be human and you can be just as happy.”
There is one person that he’ll miss the most when it comes to his What We Do in the Shadows journey: Kayvan Novak. Over 7 years, Novak has been the scene partner to end all scene partners, with audiences eating up their scenes as Nandor the Relentless and Guillermo de la Cruz. And he’s going to miss him. Guillén said, “I think I’ve never had a scene partner who’s so giving, so loving. That man is like one of my best friends. Him and his fiancee have cooked me dinner in London in their flat. They took me in when I was in London. And we’re in each other’s lives.”
And just because What We Do in the Shadows is over doesn’t mean that their friendship is. It never is in a business like this. If anything, it just gives you someone you want to work with over and over again, something they’ve already started on. “We’re actually in the middle of developing something together right now. We’re really excited about it. But like we don’t want to not see each other. We want to work with each other. We want to be in each other’s lives. I’m just excited to have a friend for life. And that’s the one thing I’ll miss.”
Talking about about “missing,” Guillén also shared with us… that he took some things from set. Momentos of his that people wouldn’t miss because apparently “by the end of the next day of filming, they had to tear down” the iconic What We Do in the Shadows set to make room for the next show. So he took lamps. And sweaters. “There was one lamp, it was always by the light switch by Nandor’s room that I would always be next to and that I would always turn off. I took that. I have that lamp.”
He also took some iconic Guillermo wardrobe items home with him, which could one day be good charity auction picks. “I took Guillermo’s original Casio watch and glasses. I took a lot of his sweaters. Our costume designer was really amazing. She was like you can take whatever sweaters you want. And I took my favorite sweater. I think I took like 10 sweaters. I think they’re sweet. And Mark [Proksch] had a good idea. He said, “Those are great because you could always sign them in the future and raise money for like charities and auctions.” So I have definitely enough sweaters where we can raise some money.”
Or enough sweaters for Harvey Guillén to reprise his role as Guillermo if What We Do in the Shadows ever makes its return.
What We Do in the Shadows is available to watch on Hulu and Disney+.
