Guillermo del Toro

A highly imaginative Mexican auteur, Guillermo del Toro has found both indie and mainstream success while staying true to his own dark, strange aesthetic. Del Toro's early ventures into Hollywood made the potentially lame movies Mimic and Blade II surprisingly entertaining, and he proved adept at making more artful fare with the wartime ghost story, The Devil's Backbone. Though all of del Toro's films have elements of horror and fantasy, some of the director's productions, particularly the Hellboy movies, add a shot of action and adventure, even as others are more pensive and slower paced, most notably the acclaimed magical-realist tale Pan's Labyrinth. Turning down offers to helm sure-fire blockbusters, del Toro used his post-Pan's Labyrinth buzz to make his pet project, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, a lively creature feature that faired well both critically and commercially. A close friend of fellow Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, del Toro was enlisted by another kindred spirit, Peter Jackson, to direct and co-write two movies based on the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, though he ultimately left the project due to production difficulties. In 2009, del Toro unveiled The Strain, a hit vampire novel co-penned by Chuck Hogan, allowing him to add "bestselling author" to his already-impressive resume.