Yanic Truesdale – Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

By starrymag | December 21, 2016

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I just wrapped shooting an episode of “The Catch” last week and that will premiere in 2017. I also have two writing projects that are in development in Canada. One should be starting production sometime next summer. Also, I have my theatre studio in Montreal that keeps me busy.

Q) What were your first thoughts when they asked you about returning to “Gilmore Girls?”

A) I love Michel! I think he is a great character. I think he is a fun character because has no filter. He has the funniest lines. So, to me it was like reconnecting with an old friend. I was thrilled to revisit him and see where he was at and also give new material and new episodes for the fans because people have been rewatching the show so many times by now that it is nice to have something new to give them.

Q) Was it easy to step back in to the character?

A) Yeah! It was super easy because for some reason when you’re an actor that has played a part for a very long time it stays with you. It’s in you. So, it really doesn’t take much to bring back the guy. Like I have the same sort of situation with “The Bird Cage” that I did at age nineteen. There was a question three or four years ago about doing it on Broadway and when I touched the material again, even though it had been twenty years, it all came back. It was super easy to come back, like putting on an old sweater.

Q) Who had you kept in touch with from “Gilmore Girls?”

A) Melissa [McCarthy] and Lauren [Graham], we have been friends now for fifteen years. So, I’ve stayed in touch with them. Obviously, it is a big cast so you can’t stay in touch with everybody, but we would go to dinner from time to time. Also, Kelly Bishop and I stay in touch.

Q) Was there something you originally added to Michel that wasn’t in the initial breakdown for him?

A) There is no way you play a character without adding parts of you. A character is a part of you. There is a part where there is not much separating the two. You know who he is and he knows who you are and then you kind of meet in the middle. Also, Amy [Sherman-Palladino] had used moments of us as actors from seeing us in our day to day lives. At a Christmas party one year I think I was dancing like crazy. She saw me dancing and sure enough she added a scene where Michel was dancing at the front desk. So, I think over the years you all blend together.

Q) Talk about your relationship with Lauren Graham because Lorelai and Michel almost seem to have a sibling rivalry.

A) I think that is a very accurate way of describing it. I have seen Lorelai as more of a younger sister – older brother relationship. You know better, you love them, but they are annoying – all that stuff that comes with family. They have been working together so long and she started really young there that I really feel like they are family. I’m sure everyone has in their life people who feel like family even though they are not family. But what is family? It is having a connection, unconditional and taking people for who they are without judging. I mean, he judges a little. [laughs] And then you saw the revival, they are like four people at the wedding and Michel is there.

Q) Michel has such a love for The Dragon Fly Inn. What did you think about his tentative interest in moving to New York?

A) Well, as you saw he doesn’t move. She buys a new place. But I think that the desire felt very true to me and addressed many of the fans questions wondering how this French guy could end up in this small town and stay there without pursuing something bigger or better. So, I think it was a legitimate thing for him to want more. He has been there too long and is too good for the job, in his own head. I think it was a nice arc to have for him because it felt very organic. After ten years, for sure, this guy could be like, “I’m out of here. This is too small!” [laughs]

Q) Michel is hesitant to have children with his husband. Is it because he’s not ready to fully grow up yet?

A) I actually have friends like him. He has never been fond of kids so I think it is less the commitment to that relationship that he is in. I know people who don’t connect with kids. It’s not that they don’t like kids, it’s just that they don’t know how to behave with kids. They don’t want to do the baby talk and not being able to communicate. I have friends that said they loved their kids started talking more because they could connect more with the kids. I think it is more being uncomfortable about being around kids as opposed to committing to the relationship and the aspect of it.

Q) Who were you most looking forward to most reconnecting with from the series?

A) I mean Melissa, because for a while we weren’t sure she was going to be able to do it. When it was finally all solved and resolved, I felt excited because we hadn’t played together in so long (even though it was not a long moment). She has become such a star with where she is at with her career that I was excited about that. Also, Lauren because she is such an amazing actor and a friend. So, I always like being with her and bantering with her.

Q) What was your favorite moment from revisiting “Gilmore Girls?”

A) I think the table read. The table read because it was the first time we saw each other for the first time around the table like we’d use to with our nametags on it. I was just like, “Wow!” This was a rare moment because there are very few shows that get the chance to revisit and their character. So, it all kind of sunk in when we sat around the table read and then I would say the day that Melissa was on set.

Q) Would you be interested in doing more episodes of the series?

A) Yes, but I don’t think anything is going to happen with that. But, yeah, sure. [laughs] In fact, ten years from now when I’m an old man. Sure, of course.

Q) You are a part of social media. What kind of fan response have you received to the return of “Gilmore Girls?”

A) So over the moon! Maybe the people that didn’t like it don’t tweet. [laughs] But everyone who has tweeted has been really, really happy with the revival and were so over the moon with it. Some people stayed up all night when it came out at midnight and didn’t go to bed. They watched the four episodes in a row. This show has a big place in a lot of peoples’ heart. So, it is nice to be able to trust people that way.

Q) Fans finally got to have the ending with the four words. What were your thoughts?

A) I was just afraid. It made sense to me because there is something about coming full circle with life. So, I was like, “Huh. That’s fine.” But at the same time it made me afraid because I thought the fans were going to be like, “What?! We need more! We need more!” So, that was the only thing. I knew it would open the door for people to wanting more.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure that fans know about working on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life?”

A) I just want people to know that as much as they wanted it to happen it really happened because of their strong love for the show. That never went away. It felt very special. It was a very special moment for us to go back and give them new episodes. We felt very blessed to have that opportunity.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) The same way, we get to do what we do when people follow us and respond to what we do. You’re only as good as the material you get and “Gilmore Girls” is really strong writing, material and characters. So, I was fortunate to have that joy. I hope that I will get the chance to have as other characters that are as strong and that will connect with the audience as much as Michel has and hopefully people will follow me into the new world and into this new guy that will eventually show up on their screens.