For four seasons of What We Do in the Shadows now, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) has waited ever so patiently for his master Nandor (Kayvan Novak) to turn him into a vampire. He's done all the chores around the vampires' house in Staten Island, he's fought other creatures of the night, and he's generally waited on hand and foot for Nandor, slowly clawing back some semblance of freedom from The Relentless. But no more says Guillén. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly for their Pride Month cover issue, he explained how Guillermo is entering Season 5 ready to take matters into his own hands and become a vampire before it's too late.
Guillermo has seemingly come close to finally getting his wish from Nandor before. At the end of Season 3, his master was planning to take him along to the Tigris River with him and bless him with eternal life until Laszlo (Matt Berry) pulled off some trickery to send Guillermo to London with Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) while he took care of baby Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch). Even then, with how many times Nandor has put off making Guillermo a vampire, there are no guarantees that he wouldn't have found another way to avoid giving his familiar that long-awaited bite. The drama between Nandor and Guillermo peaked in Season 4's finale when he made off with a stack of cash to give his friend in exchange for turning him into a vampire, leaving on a major cliffhanger for the upcoming Season 5.
"We pick up right where we left off," Guillén said about where the new season takes the familiar. "Guillermo is done waiting for his turn. Guillermo is taking matters into his own hands. And Guillermo is taking no prisoners. It's just like, 'We're done.' The clock is ticking." The entire series has been building to this point as Guillermo has been given example after example of what happens to familiars who are strung along by their masters until old age or death. Rather than resign himself to that fate, Guillén says Guillermo wants to take advantage of his youth while he can, adding:
"The whole idea of becoming a vampire is becoming a vampire at a young age, where you're still youthful. I mean, look at the familiars who were never made to vampires in the past seasons — it's kind of disappointing. We had [Jack O'Connell's] Benjy, who was like 86 and saying 'He's going to make me a vampire anytime soon...' Guillermo is like, 'I don't want that."
Guillermo's Struggle to Become a Vampire Is a Metaphor for Life
With a feistier Guillermo coming into the new season, there are bound to be more clashes than ever between him and his Staten Island vampire pals. Guillén finds a deeper meaning in Guillermo's struggles though. He personally found the familiar's situation a fitting metaphor for his own sexuality and even life itself. Guillermo's existence for much of the series has largely been dedicated to doing and being what the vampires demand of him, but that's not a satisfying way to live as the actor notes. "But we have no one to please but ourselves," he continued. "And when you realize that all that matters is that you're happy with who you are when you look in the mirror, then everyone else can go F off." Regarding what everyone can take away from Guillermo in Season 5, he explains it's about ignoring that inner Nandor that keeps putting off what you've always desired:
"We put off that vacation, we put off talking to that person that we have a crush on. It's 'later, later.' And then the clock is ticking and later never comes. Then you're stuck with no dreams and aspirations. You look back at a life and you think, 'Man, I wish I would've done this sooner.' So I think that's just for everyone in general. We never want to look back and have regrets that we didn't do it sooner. So you have a crush on someone? Tell them. If you want to change jobs, change it. If you want to quit your job, quit it. What are you waiting for? Start living your life now. Shut that off and breathe."
Guillén's career is in a fantastic spot right now, coming off of a starring role opposite Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek in the excellent Puss in Boots: The Last Wish while looking forward to Blue Beetle on August 18. Before joining the DCU on-screen, however, he'll rejoin Novak, Berry, Demetriou, Proksch, and Kristen Schaal in Season 5 of What We Do in the Shadows which comes out on July 13. These vampires and their familiar are also guaranteed at least one more season after this to conquer Staten Island.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on What We Do in the Shadows Season 5. Check out a previous interview with the cast below.