Harvey Guillenwants people to stop coming out.
“It should be called, ‘letting you in,'” says the queer actor.
“‘I’m letting you in, and what you do with that information is your choice.’
Harvey Guillén for EW’s 2023 Pride cover.Bronson Farr for EW
Sometimes the hardest thing is to let someone in.
It’s such a vulnerable thing.
“It was just surreal.
Harvey Guillén for EW’s 2023 Pride cover.Bronson Farr for EW
red carpet show before heading into the event.
She was wearing couture Versace, and I got to meet Donatella.
That was a pinch-me moment.”
Harvey Guillén for EW’s 2023 Pride cover.Bronson Farr for EW
And it wouldn’t be the last time he’d be asked to hide part of himself.
“I would literally have dreams of being on a Hollywood set,” he says.
I mean, you’re already round and brown…’ And I was like, ‘And proud!’
Harvey Guillén and Jane Levy on ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’.Sergei Bachlakov/NBC
“If you don’t see yourself, then become the first.
Change the narrative.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You really do seem to live your life so unabashedly.
What We Do in the Shadows.Russ Martin/FX
Were you always comfortable in your own skin?
HARVEY GUILLEN:I remember a time where I knew I was different.
When I was younger, I knew that I just acted different.
Harvey Guillén for EW’s 2023 Pride cover.Bronson Farr for EW
I had different feelings.
I had crushes, and I thought, “Why?
Because I’m being told by my surroundings that it’s not.”
Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Perrito (Harvey Guillén) in ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’.DreamWorks Animation
“Stand like a man.”
“Talk like a boy.”
Things like that are kind of a death by a thousand cuts.
Harvey Guillén for EW’s 2023 Pride cover.Bronson Farr for EW
How do I portray what you want me to be?”
We’re always trying to c’mon a person who’s not satisfied with who we are.
We have no one to like but ourselves.
Was your family always supportive of you being yourself?
I remember going to visit my grandma in Mexico as a kid.
I was really excited, and I brought my Tonka truck which was pretty boyish, I thought.
Now, my mom let me be myself.
She never tried to hinder me to be something that I wasn’t.
So I was really excited to share these toys with these kids in the rancho.
I didn’t know what that word meant in that context.
I was like, “Well, what’s wrong with being a butterfly?
They’re beautiful and they’re fabulous.”
But, to them, it was a bad thing.
“That’s disgusting.
Boys should not be butterflies.
That’s not good.”
And I felt this guilt in my stomach thinking that something was terribly wrong with me.
So I said, “Well, I don’t want to play with you anyways.”
And I grabbed my toys and I was walking away.
They kept chanting it over and over, “Mariposa!
And even though the word itself was beautiful to me, it had become tarnished and negative.
[Tears begin rolling down his face.]
As I walked away, I could hear them saying it louder and louder.
And as I turned around, I looked up and saw something flashing by.
It was a rock.
And it cut the top of [my eyebrow.]
You could see, here, the scar where it cut me.
And I realized, I’d just been gay bashed for being different.
I was just a kid and it broke my heart.
All I wanted to do was play with these kids to share who I was.
Why are they calling me mariposa?”
And she said, “Who cares what they call you?
And so I make it a point to fight for our rights we’re not going anywhere!
This world is full of mariposas, and you’re just lucky to be in their presence.”
[Pause] Sorry, can I get a tissue?
I don’t want to do the whole interview with my eyes like this.
[Laughs]
I’m sorry to make you relive that.
You’re a beautiful crier, though.
It’s still triggering after all these years.
I mean, literally the scar is still on my face.
I didn’t understand what the problem was with being round and brown.
I know I’m not 6 foot 2, blond, blue-eyed, what the traditional leading man is.
But I know I can do it and I know I have it in me.
What’s wrong with this body?
“It’s just not what Hollywood’s looking for.”
Let’s change that narrative.
I never tried to fit myself into a mold.
I just kept going at it, being myself and just living and breathing in my body.
That’s all you’re able to do.
That’s all it’s possible for you to offer someone.
And people wanted what you were offering.
[He would go on to book the role himself.]
Because I like to think of myself as not fitting into one category.
There was no cookie cutter for me to fit into.
There was no mold for me to fill.
So for me to carve out this cookie cutter that can fit a lot of us is really nice.
You know what I mean?
We started with Guillermo being very submissive and quiet.
And the writers and everyone agreed.
But the whole story with Guillermo is that he’s more than meets the eye.
And yet he lives underneath the staircase, because he’s put there by other people.
And unfortunately, he’s hanging out with a bunch of a-holes, but he loves them.
They become his chosen family.
The reason the fans really cheer for Guillermo is because they see themselves represented in him.
I think Guillermo got bullied a lot when he was little.
And Guillermo fell into a world of fantasy where he longed to be a vampire because what are vampires?
They’re usually very hot.
They’re usually very rich.
He wanted that life where no one could mess with him.
But his coming out was really special because he’s torn between his chosen family and his biological family.
And Nadja is a natural killer of humans.
He’s in the middle.
And the only reason he comes out…
It’s not because he’s ready.
His coming out was only meant for someone else.
I don’t know how you’ll react to this.
Will you still love me?"
That’s my biggest fear.
And so letting my mom in, I remember in that little second of just a pause in between.
And it felt like this weight on my shoulders dropped and I could breathe.
I think Perrito is a character that we can all kind of aspire to.
He looks at everything as the glass half full.
He’s had a horrible past.
Sometimes we need to check on our friends.
Sometimes we do need to talk to someone.
And we can use entertainment as that window.
We’re using it right now, and we will continue to use it.
You will join us here on this side soon and have a fabulous life.
So just hold on, keep fighting and being yourself.
You practiced what you preach.
