Yanic Truesdale (born March 17, 1970) is a Canadian-American actor best known for his portrayal of Michel Gerard in the television series Gilmore Girls.
Early life and education
Truesdale was born and raised in Montreal. At 17 years old, he joined the National Theatre School of Canada and graduated at age 20.
Career
One of Truesdale's first big breaks was a starring role in He Shoots, He Scores, a popular Canadian series about hockey. He went on to work for six years on the television series , and in 1998 was nominated for his first Gemini Award for Best Acting - Comedy Series or Special for his performance in the sitcom '.
Truesdale moved to New York City and studied at the renowned Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Truesdale’s very first audition in Los Angeles was for Gilmore Girls, a character he portrayed for 158 episodes starring opposite Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and Melissa McCarthy as the opinionated, sarcastic, and good-hearted concierge of the Independence Inn, Michel Gerard. The role garnered Truesdale critical acclaim, landing him on the Variety 10 Actors to Watch list opposite Ryan Gosling and Jennifer Garner. Curb Your Enthusiasm for HBO (where he played Lin-Manuel Miranda’s agent), and is a part of the ongoing murder mystery franchise Fallen Angels Murder Club for Lifetime opposite Toni Braxton.
In 2022, Truesdale performed in the Netflix comedy series God's Favorite Idiot opposite Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone. God’s Favorite Idiot follows a mid-level tech support employee who finds love with a co-worker at exactly the same time that he becomes the unwitting messenger of God.
In 2025, Truesdale reunited with Gilmore Girls creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino for their Amazon Prime series Étoile, appearing as Raphaël Marchand, colleague and confidant of the director of the fictional Le Ballet National in Paris, in all eight episodes of the show's first season.
Personal life
Truesdale is the owner of indoor cycling studio Spin Énergie in Montreal.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film/TV
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1991
| '
| Joseph Brousseau
| TV movie
|-
| 1992
| Prince Lazure
| Michel
| TV movie
|-
| 1996
| '
| Philippe Tessier
| Gemini Award Nomination – Best Acting : Comedy Series or Special
|-
| 1996
| '
| Arsenio
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1997
| Un gars, une fille
| Le guide / Le serveur
|
|-
| 1999
| The Sentinel
| Patrolman
|
|-
| 2003
| See Jane Date
| Noah
| TV movie
|-
| 2006
| '
| Yanic
|
|-
| 2000–2007
| Gilmore Girls
| Michel Gerard
| Main cast
|-
| 2008
| '
| Réjean (le comptable)
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2012
| '
| Yan Patrick
| 5 episodes<br>Gemini Award Nomination – Best Supporting Actor: Comedy
|-
| 2014
| Mohawk Girls
| Sex Shop Clerk
|
|-
| 2015
| The Fixer
| FBI Agent Kincaid
| TV mini-series
|-
| 2014–2015
| La théorie du K.O.
| Patrick
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2016
| Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
| Michel Gerard
| Mini-series
|-
| 2016
| Sing It!
| Beau Hemsworth
| Web series; Episode: "Let's be Real!"
|-
| 2017
| Curb Your Enthusiasm
| Aaron
|
|-
| 2017
| The Catch
| The Cleaner
|
|-
| 2018
| Christmas Catch
| Ken
|TV movie
|-
| 2020
| Love by Accident
| Officer Paul
| TV movie
|-
| 2020
| My Salinger Year
| Max
|
|-
| 2020–2022
| '
| Étienne Lebeau
| Series regular<br>2023 Gemini Award Nomination - Best Actor Comedy
|-
| 2022
| God's Favorite Idiot
| Chamuel
| Series regular
|-
| 2025
| Étoile
| Raphaël Marchand
| Recurring role
|}