Author and screenwriter

Daniel Kraus

Best known for Co-writing The Shape of Water and Trollhunters with Guillermo del Toro, and the novel Whalefall

Born: 1975
From: American
Working since: 2009

Daniel Kraus knows how to build a monster. The bestselling writer became Hollywood's favourite dark conspirator after teaming up with Guillermo del Toro to spin tales about subterranean trolls and romantic amphibian men. If you love stories that crawl under your skin, chances are you've read his work.

He first turned heads with gritty, unsparing fiction like Rotters before diving straight into pop-culture royalty. When horror legend George A. Romero died leaving an unfinished zombie epic behind, Romero's estate trusted Kraus to finish the job. Add in solo hits like Whalefall, and he has locked down his spot as modern horror's sharpest storyteller.

Follows: X @DanielDKraus

Latest: Austin Abrams Gets Swallowed by a Whale in ‘Whalefall’ and Early Viewers Are Losing It · 6 October 2026

Daniel Kraus in brief

—Co-created The Shape of Water alongside director Guillermo del Toro.
—Completed George A. Romero's massive posthumous zombie novel The Living Dead.
—Broke into the mainstream with the animated Netflix adaptation of his Trollhunters series.
—Scored critical acclaim and horror awards with his macabre 2011 book Rotters.
—Made waves in 2023 with Whalefall, a thriller set entirely inside a sperm whale.

Latest on Daniel Kraus

Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner gasping for air inside the dark belly of a whale in the survival movie Whalefall.

Hollywood6 October 2026

Austin Abrams Gets Swallowed by a Whale in ‘Whalefall’ and Early Viewers Are Losing It

By Marla Devine

Early reactions to Austin Abrams' survival thriller 'Whalefall' praise the intense, claustrophobic performance ahead of its October 16 cinema release.