Harvey Guillen finds fame with Kiwi spin-off What We Do In The Shadows – Stuff.co.nz

A musical inspired What We Do In The Shadows star Harvey Guillen to become an actor.

I remember the first time I wanted to be an actor was when I was watching Annie and I was about six years old, says Guillen, who plays human familiar Guillermo in the vampire mockumentary series.

And I told my mum while watching Annie on TV, I want to be that. I want to be an orphan. And she looked at me weird.

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Although he didnt really want to be an orphan, he was keen to try acting. However, his mother had reservations.

I remember wanting to do it and she told me that it was for kids with money, he says.

You have to get training. We didnt have money. We came from a poor family.

My mum was like working several jobs, (we were) a low-income family, you know, struggling to make ends meet.

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Harvey Guillen in What We Do In The Shadows

So determined was the thensix-year-old boy to become an actor that he paid for one of his first acting classes with money hemade from collecting cans.

Fast-forward more thantwo decades and Guillen, aMexican-American actor who had a small role in The Internship with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, is now showing his funny side on TV.

In What We Do In The Shadows, which is in its second season, his character Guillermo lives with three vampire flatmates in New Yorks Staten Island.

The show, which also stars Kayvan Novak (Nandor), Matt Berry (Laszlo) and Natasia Demetriou (Nadja), was createdby New Zealanders Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement and is aspin-off from their 2014 film ofthe same name.

This is their baby. Jemaine is there a lot, like we see him a lot, says Guillen when asked if theKiwi film-makers were on set for the current season.

He gives us notes and writing and also like, you know, basically is also co-show-running the whole thing. So we do see Jemaine a lot.

Taika was not there as much in the second season just because you know he also has a million other things. It was just announced, hes doing the new Star Wars movie. So hes pretty busy.

But the great thing is that because its both of them, we always get one or the other. So were always grateful. Well take whoever can be there because its just so much better when they are there. Their vision is always so on point and clear.

Traditionally, vampires have been scary figures in literature and films but here they are centuries-old characters struggling to make sense of modern-day life.

Guillen, 30, cites one example from this season when his vampire flatmates receive a spam emailand become convinced their email is cursed.

Theyre not tech savvy and theyre not out in the pop-culture world and up to date with most pyramid schemes if you will,he says.

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Harvey Guillen in What We Do In The Shadows

To them it becomes alife-or-death situation. So I think thats what makes this world so funny is that there are everyday problems that can be resolved into seconds, but in the world of vampires, it takes twists and turns and is unpredictable.

Guillens Guillermo is an assistant to Kayvan Novaks vampire, Nandor. Theon-screen relationship has drawn comparisons with The Simpsons tyrannical Mr Burns and his devoted assistant Smithers.

Smithers is devoted to this man who treats himlike garbage. But that will never make him, you know, steer away from the love that he has for him, says Guillen. So I found that similarity.

This season, Guillens role on What We Do In The Shadows required a bit of vampire slaying.

This placed physical demands on the actor who starting going to the gym three times a week.

I did pretty much all the stunts, with the exception of a few that were too dangerous,he says.

So Im really excited to look back at thework and see how it all comes out. So as an actorit was a nice challenge and I welcomed it.

What We Do In The Shadows, streaming on Neon

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