Entertainment Movies Guillermo Del Toro Becomes Emotional as He Wins Oscar for Best Director: 'I Am an Immigrant' Guillermo Del Toro took home the Best Director prize at Sunday's 90th annual Academy Awards By Dave Quinn Dave Quinn Dave Quinn is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. He has been working at the brand since 2016, and is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 4, 2018 11:27PM EST Guillermo Del Toro took home the Best Director award at Sunday’s 90th annual Academy Awards. “I am an immigrant … The greatest thing our industry does is to erase the lines in the sand,” Del Toro, 53, said in his acceptance speech. “When the world tells us to make them deeper.” The Shape of Water director beat out four of the industry’s best, including Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) and Jordan Peele (Get Out). Del Toro was the category’s frontrunner, having picked up a handful of awards including the DGA trophy and the Golden Globe for his work in bringing The Shape of Water to life. He’s the third Mexican filmmaker to win the Oscar, behind Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant). Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock James Franco Out! Greta Gerwig In! Biggest Surprises and Snubs of 2018 Oscar Nominations The trio, who run a production company together called Cha Cha Cha Films and are known in Hollywood as the the Three Amigos, honed their craft together as young directors in Mexico. This is Del Toro’s first Oscar after an Original Screenplay nomination for 2007’s Pan’s Labyrinth. Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s full Academy Awards coverage to get the latest news on Hollywood’s big night. the Oscars Last year, La La Land director Damien Chazelle took home the Best Director trophy though his film ultimately lost the Best Picture prize to Moonlight. Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the 2018 Oscars, which are airing live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on ABC.