Froy Gutierrez overcomes his fears and forges a life of his own

words & photos by Dio Anthony styling by Jordan Dorso, grooming by Natasha Leibel

26-year-old Froy Gutierrez is no stranger to horror–with notable roles on MTV’s Teen Wolf, the psychologically twisted Cruel Summer, and now–ushering in his Scream King era, a starring role in The Strangers: Chapter 1. Born in Dallas, Texas and growing up juggling two cultures, and two languages–Spanish and English has undoubtedly expanded his way of thinking and informed the way he moves through this world. But what are the things that motivate him to wake up every morning? What grounds him, and what terrifies him? Fresh off the box-office success of the Strangers: Chapter 1, he sits down for a conversation about growing up as a shy kid, real life fears, and what motivates him to live.

ANTHONY: How are you man? It’s great to see you again.

GUTIERREZ: Oh, thank you! You as well.

ANTHONY: I'm excited to talk to you today. I was thinking about how to frame the interview and came up with the question of real life horror. You just starred in a horror film—What are some real life horrors you’ve experienced? As an actor for example—have you ever grappled with the idea of never fulfilling your dream? Has that ever been a real life concern for you?

GUTIERREZ: Yeah. I think I used to be really afraid of not having work or not having approval. I think a lot of artists can become artists from that unhealthy place of wanting approval from other people— seeking validation. A lot of it for me was that I was really lonely and I was bad at socializing. And so acting was a way to learn how to be in front of people. As I've gotten older, I've learned to not care so much about that. I find that the more that you care about working and the more that you care about getting approval or getting that next job, the less likely you are to get it.

“What skills am I building? Am I a good friend? Do I communicate with my family well? ”

— Froy Gutierrez

(CONTINUED): If I can approach auditions or projects from a place of—I already have everything that I want or need, It kind of lets me be a better actor. That's been a big focus for me in my twenties, what does my life outside of art look like? What skills am I building? Am I a good friend? Do I communicate with my family well? Am I using my body in a way that makes sense every day? Things like that are really important.

ANTHONY: Really being a well-rounded person outside of your career. I'm curious, what are some things that you’ve realized as you explore those questions? Now that you’ve almost released yourself from these pressures of living only for your art.

GUTIERREZ: I think when you have that pressure, it doesn't let you create from a place of an organic flow state, for lack of a better word. It makes you create from a place of wanting or needing something. As an actor anyway, for me at least, you go into a scene it really helps to have a very clear direct mission. My character wants one simple thing in this scene. And if I'm going into that scene thinking about my day-to-day life and wanting something out of that scene… If I want people to laugh or cry or like me, then I'm suddenly bringing my own wants and needs into the scene, and I'm not making it about the character anymore.

So I try my best to relinquish myself in service of the character, if that makes sense. Also that comes with accepting that you're never gonna fully be the character either. It’s a meeting between who you are at that moment in time and the character that you're playing. Like my character on Cruel Summer—Jamie is a character I'll never be able to play again, because that was a period of time. That was a window right between the material and me. And that's kind of what came out.

ANTHONY: That was a period of time in your life, so you're bringing in something specific from that time in your life. If you were to play him a couple years later, you're older, you're wiser. Your half of things is different. That’s really interesting.

GUTIERREZ: Exactly. I think the more confidence that I can have and letting go of that imposter syndrome—it lends itself to the work being better. I find that if the imposter syndrome does pop up, then it's a part of the character. Does that make sense?

ANTHONY: It does. It's interesting thinking about imposter syndrome in the context of acting, because you are impersonating someone in a sense. I think that's kind of fascinating.

GUTIERREZ: Yeah, and also often you're impersonating someone who's trying to impersonate someone else, you know? My character in The Strangers, Ryan, was trying to be somebody who thought he had things under control when in reality he didn't. So there's an element of imposter syndrome there that comes naturally to the character in that moment. He's trying to be more protective and more self-assured than he really is throughout the movie.

ANTHONY: I read in an interview recently where you said one of the things that attracted you to the character was their motivation to live and what they were living for. I thought that was really profound. It made me curious about what those things are in your own life.

GUTIERREZ: In my life, I think friends and family and food [laugh] are important for sure. I think often about my little brother and my little sister. They're 12 years old at the moment. I think when you're around younger people or kids they remind you that there's beauty everywhere. It's a perspective thing often. So I try to remind myself of that.

ANTHONY: Totally. I'm around children a lot too. I have a lot of nieces and nephews and little cousins. They remind you to relax and to be present. That things aren’t that serious at the end of the day. Like you said, they help you see magic in little bits of ordinary life. I’m curious, since you’re bilingual, what's your Spanish life like? I know that you’re fluent, but do you speak Spanish a lot?

GUTIERREZ: Well, I didn't even know my dad spoke English till I was about 12 basically. My dad was very gung-ho about me knowing how to speak Spanish. So, growing up I had two houses and I would speak English in one and then Spanish in the other. And that was kind of my normal. I would watch TV and movies in Spanish at my dad's house and English at my mom's house. I'm really grateful for that. Half of my family lives in Guadalajara. Every time I would go over there I would click into Spanish again. It usually took a few days, but I’ll always remember how I would suddenly find myself dreaming in Spanish [laughs]. Then I’d go back to dreaming in English once I got back to the states.

ANTHONY: Do you ever find yourself thinking in Spanish?

GUTIERREZ: Yeah. Only when I'm there for more than a few days. But I find most of my thoughts are not really in words. They're kind of abstract or pictures usually. Every now and then, I do find myself thinking in words and in Spanish. What about you?

ANTHONY: I've always just thought in English—my vocabulary is just more extensive in English. But the other day I was walking home and I found myself thinking in Spanish, and it was the first time that had ever happened. I was fascinated by it. Like you, it was because I had been so immersed in the language, watching a lot of Spanish-speaking programming.

GUTIERREZ: I also find that there's phrases or words that make more sense to me in a different language. I only know two languages, so I'm very jealous of the folks out there who know three or four or whatnot. I'll think of exactly what I want to say in Spanish, but there's not a direct translation for it. I'll know the word for it in Spanish, but I'll say it in English anyway, because that word or that phrase makes more sense to me. Sometimes it’s not even about the word not fully existing, but the feeling that the word gives off is not the same if you change it.

ANTHONY: That’s where the spanglish comes in.

GUTIERREZ: Like, “I miss you” in English, is— I am without you. Whereas in Spanish, the direct translation is—you’re making a stranger of me. You know what I mean? It means the same thing, but the vernacular, the way that you get there is very different, which I find really interesting.

ANTHONY: I read an interview in which you said that you felt alienated sometimes as a child. I was wondering if you can speak to that a bit. Do you remember what those feelings were? What do you remember? When did you start to see the light at the end of that particular tunnel?

GUTIERREZ: I think I was more shy than a lot of kids are normally. And I struggled a lot to make friends growing up. I just didn't really have a lot of the social skills that I thought that I needed. I think what really helped was getting comfortable with the loneliness or getting comfortable with the alienation and knowing that it's not a bad thing. It's a very human feeling. I think we all feel lonely and alienated at different points in our lives, or always to some degree, right? That’s not unique to me. That's a very universal feeling. And nobody is really born with social skills. I was always in fear that I was behind the curve in some way, when in reality I was afraid to talk to people. I don't even know if I can really speak to it, ’cause I can still be quite the hermit even now.

ANTHONY: I think that's interesting because to your point—it’s not a negative trait to hold. It can be a facet of your personality.

GUTIERREZ: I think everybody deals with it. I also have a lot of community and I have a lot of friends and I have a lot of family, and I'm really grateful for them. I'm very lucky to have a lot of people in my life who care about me.

ANTHONY: I’m curious about your learning process when it comes to speaking Spanish. Since you were so young—did it feel like much effort on your part, or did it come naturally by just living and having that influence around you?

“I think when you’re around younger people or kids they remind you that there’s beauty everywhere. It’s a perspective thing often. So I try to remind myself of that.”

— Froy Gutierrez

GUTIERREZ: I remember my parents telling me stories about how when I was a toddler they were worried about me because I had a delayed speech situation. I wasn't speaking English or Spanish till I was about three-ish. They were worried I had an issue developmentally, but they figured that it was probably about being bilingual. Once I turned about three, I started being able to speak very fluently and very normally.

ANTHONY: You grew up in Dallas, Texas. I’m curious, growing up in Dallas, what are some things that you remember fondly?

GUTIERREZ: You know, it's so funny because the version of Dallas that I grew up with is so far removed from what most people think of when they think of Dallas. I think of Dallas and I think about punk rock. I think about graffiti on an outlet mall. I think about Deep Ellum and I think about the arts district. The diverse and very cool community of artists that live in Dallas. I think the Dallas that I’m familiar with is non-traditional.

ANTHONY: My last question for you is a little fun, but unfortunately it might be one that you’ve been asked before. I typically stay away from questions like these—but being the cinephile that I am— I have to know. What’s your favorite kind of horror film?

GUTIERREZ: I’m not really a fan of ghost stories necessarily, but they do scare me. I grew up very Catholic, so you know, ghosts and demons do it for me in a way that a slasher doesn’t. I really love thrillers and that's kind of the gateway into horror. But is that horror?

ANTHONY: I certainly think so. Think of something like Flight Plan with Jodie Foster. She leaves her seat mid-flight to use the restroom and comes back to find her daughter missing. She’s looking everywhere on the plane and people are telling her that there’s no record of this girl being on the plane with her—ever. I think for a parent, that’s as bad as it can get in a situation like that. That feels like a horror story to me.

GUTIERREZ: Right. I think Ari Aster is doing incredible work in the horror space with Hereditary and Midsommer. Those are phenomenal films. I love Alex Garland’s Annihilation. There's definitely a cosmic horror element to those as well. I love cosmic horror, something like Lovecraft Country, you know what I mean? Things that are kind of unknowable and abstract in a way that feels gut wrenching.

ANTHONY: Hell yeah. I love that.

GUTIERREZ: I loved Us. Lupita Nyong’o was absolutely phenomenal in that movie.Her portrayal of the other version of her was so great. To play two characters at once like that.

ANTHONY: That film, it makes you think about malls differently, doesn’t it? [laugh].

GUTIERREZ: There's definitely something gothic about malls, you know? Have you ever seen those videos of decrepit malls that are abandoned? Yes.

ANTHONY: I love those. I love watching abandoned anything really.

GUTIERREZ: Those are so fun to watch. There’s a spookiness to them, you know?

ANTHONY: I agree. They’re these locations that at any given time hold so much life inside them. To see them that way—completely void of any activity is spooky, like you said.

GUTIERREZ: 'Cause there's a decadence to the mall, right? It’s this pillar of consumerism. So for it to be completely empty feels kind of spooky in an economic way.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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