Harvey Guillen Reveals The Twilight Director's Feelings On The What We Do In The Shadows Homage - Exclusive
Whenever the song "Supermassive Black Hole" comes on, it's difficult not to get immediately transported to Forks Washington for a dramatic baseball game with a group of sparkly sullen vampires. The vampire comedy "What We Do in the Shadows" is known for its pop culture homages, but Season 3 of the series takes the cake with a kickball homage to the epic baseball scene in the original "Twilight" movie. Muse must have loved the idea, too, as it dramatically looms over the scene much like its predecessor. A group of not-so-vegetarian vampires may interrupt the Cullens during game night, but the vampires in "What We Do in the Shadows" get a wolfy visit during the moment.
Harvey Guillén spoke to Looper during an exclusive interview where he dished on that epic "What We Do in the Shadows" "Twilight" parody — and what Catherine Hardwicke thought of the moment.
Supermassive reference
On what it was like working on the "Twilight" parody in "What We Do in the Shadows," Guillén said, "I loved it. I thought it was so funny, that whole scene, which was mimicking the baseball scene that they did in 'Twilight,' down to the music." As it turns out, Guillén had a previous connection with "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke, and he was eager to hear her opinion on the homage: "I remember when the episode aired, and I was talking to Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the original 'Twilight.' She directed me in 'Eye Candy' She's like, 'Did you guys just do...' And I [said], 'Yes. Did you love it?' She [said], 'I love it.'"
He added, "The idea that it was full circle was so great, and showing Guillermo's little bit of jealousy, until the attention that he's giving to someone else. Then, accidentally, what happens, it's terrible." Well, there you have it. The woman responsible for bringing that iconic baseball scene is totally here for the "Shadows" rendition.
Guillermo's backstory
On the possibility of Guillermo getting a queer storyline and if that's something Guillén wants to see from his character, he said, "Yeah, absolutely. I would love to see him explore his true self. For so long, the backstory to Guillermo is that [the reason] he's been so enamored with the idea of being a vampire is because he thinks that's what he needs to be his authentic, true, free self, whatever that means to him."
The actor listed off the possibilities of Guillermo's backstory that would lead him to seek out a group of vampires. "[It might have] to do with his sexuality, or the freedom of being comfortable in your own body, your body image of yourself, the confidence that you get, because I feel like this backstory is that he's probably been bullied his whole life and fresh out of school. He found someone who could potentially make him a vampire," Guillén said. "He was like, 'Oh my gosh. If I just work with you for a little, a couple of years, you'll make me a vampire, and everything I've known to be bad will melt away.' It's not happening. It's now going on 12 years of service — well, 11 years of service, one year of bodyguard, and it's not happening. He's starting to take matters into his own hands."
It's been fun to watch Gizmo come into his own.
The first season of "Reacher" is now streaming on Prime Video.