Harvey Guillén Says L.A. Wildfires Left Him in a ‘Depressed Dark Place’: ‘We Need to Create Entertainment Because We Need to Escape’

variety.com:

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Harvey Guillén walked the red carpet Monday at the Los Angeles premiere of his new horror thriller, “Companion.” The actor said it felt good to be back at work after putting things on hold due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

Guillén lives in Altadena. His house wasn’t destroyed by the fires, but it was left damaged. “In these times of chaos and mourning and darkness, we need to create entertainment because we need to escape,” the “What We Do in the Shadows” star told me.

He was able to visit the neighborhood a couple of days ago. “There was a mural on the side of this historic building,” Guillén said. “The building was burnt down but this sign on the wall, which was all brick, said, ‘Altadena.’…It was so poetic.

It was what the city is – yes, it’s had a hard time, but it’s still standing.” Guillén credits prayer and a neighbor’s advice just before evacuating for keeping his home intact. “I went into my backyard and asked the ancestors that night, ‘Please protect my house, please protect my house,’” he recalled, adding that his 80-year-old neighbor urged him to hose down the house before leaving. “So I hosed down the house, I put sprinklers on the roof.