Yanic Truesdale as Michel Gerard:
Birthday: March 17
Hometown: Montreal, QC
Actor Bio:
Though Yanic (pronounced Ya-neek) Truesdale is a fresh face to American
audiences, he has been one of Canada's businest and most popular actors for
years. He made his American television debut in Gilmore Girls, the first
role he auditioned for after relocating to Los Angeles. His performance as the
arrogant Frenchman Michel prompted Daily Variety to select him as one of the "10
Actors to Watch" last season.
Truesdale was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He got into acting "by accident" at age 17 when he decided on a whim to audition for acting school with a friend. Though his friend was turned down, Truesdale got in, and soon discovered a passion for acting. He graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada when he was 20 and the talented actor was quickly in demand.
His first big break came with a starring role in He Shoots, He Scores, a hugely popular Canadian television series about hockey. A six-year role on the series The Duval Family followed, during which Truesdale also found time to co-host a live daytime talk show for teenagers called Special Delivery.
Truesdale was later nominated for a Gemini Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy) for playing the only black child of white parents on the sitcom Roommates. The role mirrored his own life offscreen, as Truesdale was raised solely by his mother, who is Caucasian.
On stage, his hilarious performance as the maid in the long-running Canadian production of The Bird Cage earned him rave reviews.
After many professional accomplishments in Canada, Truesdale decided it was time for new challenges. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York and moved to Los Angeles, which he now calls home. He enjoys dual citizenship. The self-described "movie maniac" sees several films each week, and also enjoys writing and traveling.
Besides Gilmore Girls Yanic has been in the following movies and TV shows: See Jane Date, Les Heritiers Duvual, Majeurs et vaccines, Lance et compte: Tous pour un, Prince Lazure, Open Mike with Mike Bullard, and The Sentinel.
Character Bio:
Michel worked at the Independent Inn with Lorelai and now works at the Dragonfly
Inn with her and Sookie. He's a little rude and a little reserved, but
deep down - really, really deep - he's a nice guy.