When Harvey Guillén auditioned for the vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, he had to convince the powers that be he was right for the role of Guillermo de la Cruz. Guillermo is the human assistant in a house of Satan Island vampires, who struggle with the mundane aspects of modern human life. “[What We Do in the] Shadows was not written for me. The character of Guillermo de la Cruz was written 20 years older,” Guillén tells Latino USA. But after auditioning as a “wild card,” he proved to be the best person for the role. He soon became a fan favorite and transcended the intended role of “sidekick.”

In late 2024, after six seasons, the critically acclaimed FX show with 29 Emmy Award nominations came to an end. But Guillén, 34, has not stopped working. He’s continued to grace our screens—in horror films like Companion, alongside actors Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid; playing the voice of Nightwing in the DC MAX original series Harley Quinn; and so much more.

Much like his experience being cast on Shadows, Guillén tells us that he’s made a career out of going for roles that might not have had him in mind, “with my eyes, with my height, with my body, with my voice, with my traits?” As a short, plus-sized, queer, Mexican-American actor, he was just not always what studios were looking for—that is, until he was able to show them a new version of the character they were trying to fill.

In a sometimes intimate conversation with host Maria Hinojosa, Guillén speaks to us about the latest fires in Los Angeles that hit his home. He recounts the night of the evacuations when he went to his backyard and asked his ancestors to protect his home.

In another intimate moment, Guillén reflects on the time he was, as he put it, “gay bashed” and called a “mariposa”—a butterfly. At only 6 years old, he ran home in tears, but with beautiful and encouraging words from his mother, he was able to understand that sometimes people don’t recognize that butterflies are beautiful and they have wings to fly to far away places.

Lastly, Guillén shares how lucky he is to have fostered his talent but also to have “the other T”: Tenacity. His tenacity, Guillén says, comes from his immigrant Mexican parents. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles, he wasn’t exactly thinking about becoming a TV or film star. His dream was making it on Broadway. Still, the city of Los Angeles had a large influence on his dreams, Guillén says: “Being so close to something that I wanted to be a part of was really aspirational.”

Acting was something Harvey always wanted to do. Before landing his breakout role in Shadows, Guillén studied theater in school and had been a working actor for a decade. Back then, his original dreams of making it as an actor didn’t always include the small screen. Instead, he planned to first become a Broadway star, then a film actor, and only then would he do television. But one audition led to another and after a stint in New York, he made it back to Los Angeles. His talent and tenacity would push him to make his dreams come true.

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This episode was produced by Monica Morales-Garcia. Edited by Andrea López-Cruzado. Mixed by Gabriela Baez.

Featured image courtesy of Harvey Guillén.