Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows

By starrymag | August 9, 2019

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) Guillermo has quickly become a fast fan favorite character. Did you expect that?

A) Yeah, it’s so weird. I never expected that to happen. When you do a character, you just want to stay true to the character and be honest with what that character brings forth – never expecting it to be someone’s favorite moment or someone’s fan favorite. When it does happen, you are like, “What?!What’s happening?!” I thought it would be Season 3 or Season 4 when some of these shows become cult favorites like “Strangers with Candy” or “Veep” they started talking about with Season 2. I never thought it would catch on so quickly, but we already had a built-in fanbase because of the movie so we kind of had a jump start. It also could have hindered us because it also could have easily failed miserably or we could have done the show and people compared us to the movie and say, “It’s not this” or “It’s not that.” With the blessing of the creators, we did the show. The ultimate goal is to do good work and I’m really glad it’s well received.

Q) You must get people quoting the series to you all of the time!

A) I catch myself quoting the show all the time. I think it’s just funny that I’m on the show that I, myself, catch myself. There are such great one-liners and zingers that I find myself saying them myself. We have such amazing writers. Paul Simms and everyone who works on the show are just incredible. It’s been so nice to get to know the fans of the show that are really devoted. We had some fans who couldn’t go to Comic Con so we did a private meet and greet in San Diego at the FX Live Lounge outside of the Hilton where they could come and say hello for free. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fans. Honestly, I thought one or two people would show up because most people would have the ticket to go to the con and it turned out there was a line! They formed a line all around the Hilton. I thought it was so cool all of these fans were waking up and coming to say hello. It kind of blew my mind and I was like, “Wow! We have really great fans.” Every time I get a chance to do something like this it’s for the fans.

Q) We can’t wait to see what Season has in store.

A) Paul is already saying they have some ideas for next season. Of course, they won’t tell us anything. I didn’t even know about my lineage and Van Helsing until probably the table read. I showed up and we got the script. We’re sitting down and I went ahead and started reading it before we start. I was like, “Wait! What?! What’s happening?!” They were like, “Yep. That’s where we’re going.” I thought it was so cool. I think I like it that way, too. We shoot out of order because we shoot pretty fast. We shoot an episode and a half in about a week so it’s kind of crazy. We will shoot Episode 2 and Episode 5 and then we’ll jump to Episode 4 and Episode 8. We don’t shoot in order. So, for us, as the actors, sometimes going back and forth with the storyline you have to stay very alert.

Q) Season 1 had some incredible guest stars!

A) What’s so funny is that I had just hung out with Kristen [Schaal] a week before we started filming that episode. She was filming a movie in Toronto and I went to the wrap party. I saw Kristen there and we didn’t really hang out though until that night. She’s friends with Jemaine [Clement] and I was like, “You should be in the show!” She was like, “Oh yeah! Put me in coach!” I was like, “Really?!” She said she was done with the movie and I was like, “Okay!” I think I mentioned it to Jemaine. I told him she was in town and she said she wanted to come play on the show. He was like, “Hmm.” I kid you not, within forty-eight hours she was like, “I’m doing the show!” [laughs] She’s so great. She moderated our panel in LA and we had Evan Rachel Wood moderate at Comic Con. That episode was so amazing to do. We had to shoot several of those people at different days, times and months apart because of their scheduling. Some of those scenes look so effortless, but they weren’t even in the room. Wesley Snipes was shot in a hotel on the East Coast like a week before the episode was due. Tilda was shot in the UK. It was just all over the place with different people.

Q) How much improvisation is done on the show?

A) It’s really heavy on improvise. You don’t know what the other actor is going to do. They have different ideas so you have to give options for when they’re cutting and doing editing there are different takes that can be gelled together. It never gets old!

Q) Talk to us about doing your own stunt work for the series.

A) I love doing stunts and when I can always do my own stunts I love it. If I can do it, I can do it. Flying is super fun. I wanted to do it in general because I wanted to fly in real life. Period. So, when I got the chance to do it, I was so looking forward to it. Ironically, the scenes where I fly are the last scenes I shot. My first scene on camera was with Nandor (Kayvan Novak) where he says, “Guillermo, are you mad at me?” I walk down the alley and I’m mad at him. He says, “I know how to make it better,” and he gives me his hand. I put my hand over his hand and we fly up to the sky. That little scene was the first scene I ever shot in Toronto and the next scene you see was shot on the last day – my last day of work. So, in this episode you see my first day and last day of work within two seconds of each other.

Q) How do you think Guillermo would fair as a vampire hunter? We see him being accidentally accurate.

A) I kind of fear for his natural talents. If he’s that good by accident, I’d had to see how good he is when he tries. It’s kind of amazing to see him go with it. It’s kind of like a double-edged sword. He’s really devoted his life to being one thing and then he has to think maybe he’s so connected to vampires and wanting to be one or around them. He wanted to be close to them, but he didn’t know why. Also, it could be the desire you think you want or need, but you are destined for something greater. Maybe going after your dreams is the moral to the story. No matter what the obstacle, you should go after your dreams. If you choose to be a vampire…It’s such a great complex storyline they are going into for the series.

Q) No matter what Nadja and Lazlo say, he still is so devoted to Nandor. Roadblocks don’t really matter to him most of the time.

A) It’s definitely going to put things into perspective. “With great power comes great responsibility.” You have to remember he has formed a bond with his master. Not so much with Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Lazlo (Matt Berry) or Colin (Mark Proksch) because they are “the mean vampires,” if you will. Nothing is driven by emotion with them. The people who have the emotions in the story are the human, Guillermo. He’s rubbing off on Nandor. Even though he’s a vampire, he sometimes slips back into his old human manner and human ways. When he has to ask Guillermo, “Guillermo…What is this feeling I have?” He’s like, “That’s guilt, master.” He’s like, “Oh! I don’t like it.” [laughs] So, he’s rubbing off on him – the human emotions we all have. I think that’s why everyone roots for Guillermo because…Someone told me this the other day, “Guillermo is like the people’s familiar.” Because we’re all Guillermo. At one point or another, we’ve been all been Guillermo. We wanted the promotion at work. We wanted to have the person we have a crush on to like us back. We wanted to be seen the way we see ourselves. We thought someone saw us on a certain level and caliber and they don’t see us that way. We’ve all been Guillermo. Guillermo is just a reflection of who humans are and the goodness in humans. We put up with a lot of shit. [laughs] At the end of the day, we can still be good and we can still try to do right and do the right thing. It’s all those human emotions that we’ve all kind of forgotten about for a little bit. We had thought they were lost in vampires and at least with Nandor it’s not. With the other three, it’s like an everyday routine. It’s not emotional or feeling driven. It’s just like a sex party. Having more wild drunken nights. Having more blood thirsty orgies. That’s the main focus of those vampires and I think the human side of Nandor is coming out thank to Guillermo. So, I think he’s good for him.

Q) And Guillermo seems to be there for Lazlo and Nadja, to help save them as well. As much as they hate him, they need him to survive as well.

A) They forget that he’s not their familiar. They’ve been at this for centuries. They get what they want. They say it or they just grab it. They forget the trouble that comes with the struggle of going out and getting it. It’s very entitled in a way. We forget that some people are entitled that way and that’s just the way they go along their lives. They don’t get reminders. Vampires don’t get reminders that they are being mean because they are vampires. They’ll kill you. [laughs]

Q) Nadja seems to have some motherly instincts though with her newly created vampire.

A) I love when Nadya says, “Shut up, you stupid baby.” In her mind it’s like, “Aren’t I a sweet mother?” That’s kind of mean. To her, that’s her equivalent of being a good mother.

Q) She’s this awkward girl who no one notices. She is kind of similar in that way to Guillermo.

A) Yeah. To Guillermo, it’s like here comes this newbie who just walked into the picture and gets made into a vampire just like that. Just like that. Within days of meeting Nadja and here I am literally trying to become a vampire and do everything in my power to literally become a vampire and do everything my master says for ten years. A decade! And I get nothing. I get an added year to my service when Nandor says, “That’s another year as my familiar,” when I drop holy water on him. It’s so upsetting. I think if you look closely at Guillermo at that moment when he realizes sometimes as a human when you feel powerless you are more powerful than you think. I think that’s a great moment and lesson to remember. He could easily destroy Nandor. He could open the blinds when he wakes up so Nandor is burned, but he doesn’t do it. He chooses not to do it. He has the power to do it and is aware that he is powerful in that way, but he’s still human and has a conscience and is still a good person at the root of things. He’s trying to play by Nandor’s book of “do this and I’ll make you a vampire,” but now it’s starting to fade away. The glamor of it is starting to seem murky and seem unattainable. If it’s unattainable, then you start asking yourself, “What am I doing?”

Q) You’re a fan yourself of so many shows and people. What was it like for you to be at Comic Con where you got to meet people you admire as well?

A) I was walking down the hall from doing a photoshoot at the Hard Rock, I think for Entertainment Weekly or something. I had heard Lin-Manuel was a big fan because he had posted about it and had tweeted about it. I was so blown away. Originally, I had become friends with Gloria Calderon Kellet (the creator of “One Day At a Time”) and she was telling me, “He loves you. He thinks you’re amazing.” I was like, “Oh my God! I am honored! I’m such a fan of his. I would die.” I had heard through third parties and had woken up to some tweets that were really nice and I felt so honored to even be mentioned. Then, in this thread it was Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gloria and then Natalie Morales who had just recently directed me and offered me a part in “Room 104” for HBO. She added on to the chain reaction and I was like, “What is happening?!” It was these three Latin creators that I admire so much. For them to speak about me in a thread back to back with each other was just like me as a fly on the wall. I was like, “What is happening right now?! What is life?! I don’t understand what my life is and how amazing this moment is.” I took it in and it was just Wow! These are people I admire and for them to say these kind words, when they don’t have to outloud, I was like wow! I am so honored and blessed to have that moment. I was walking down the hall though after shooting this thing for Entertainment Weekly and I saw what I thought was Lin-Manuel. I was like, “OH that looks just like…It is..” and then he just runs over and says, “I love you! I love your show!” I was like, “Oh my God!” My sister was next to me. She’s a huge fan as well. She was just shocked. I’ve never seen her face like that. She’s pretty mellow and her face is always neutral. She doesn’t show any kind of expression when it comes to that kind of stuff. She’s never starstruck or anything and her jaw was just on the floor. I had never seen that on her face. My face was the same! I was like, “What is happening?!” We hugged each other for like three minutes. We went back and forth. I was being transported from one place to another so I had to get into a van. They were all waiting for me and were like, “Harvey we have to go.” I was like, “I know, but I can’t! I don’t want to go!” He was like, “Are you going to the Entertainment Weekly party tonight?” I said yeah and he was like, “Okay, I’ll see you then.” We got in the van and I was like, “What just happened?!” My sister was like, “Dude. What. The. F**k. Just. Happened.” I was like, “I do not know.” Our makeup artist, who was with us, was like, “AW! Do you know how huge this is?! I’m a huge musical theater kid. This is such a huge moment. I’m going to cry.” We were just all in shock. I saw him at the party that night. We just hung out and talked for what felt like hours. He is so generous with the knowledge that he has. It was just a great night. I felt like Cinderella at the Comic Con ball.

Q) What are the upcoming projects you have in the works?

A) I’m a part of the web series The Filth. You can go to thefilfthseries.com and watch the whole series. We have some great cameos in it. We have Danny Franzese, Cassie Scerbo, Beverly D’Angelo, and so many more. That’s a great project and I’m really excited because I think it’s a great piece of work out there for the LGBTQ community. I’m really proud of it. I’m working on other stuff that I’m really proud of, but I can’t really talk about yet. I will as soon as I can.