EXCLUSIVE: Yanic Truesdale Talks Michel's New Dating Life, 'Gilmore Girls' Revival: 'It Is No Longer a Half Me
Lauren Graham is far from the only OG Firefly who's excited about the upcoming Gilmore Girls revival.
Yanic Truesdale, who played snobby-but-big-hearted French concierge Michel, gets visibly excited when the topic of the Netflix series comes up. Chatting with him at the one-day-only Luke's Diner pop-up in Studio City, California, the 46-year-old actor's eyes light up at the thought of being back on set with his Gilmore family.
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"It's been eight years, but I have stayed in contact with Lauren (Lorelai Gilmore), with Melissa [McCarthy, who plays Sookie St. James], with Kelly [Bishop, who plays Emily Gilmore], so it's not like I haven't seen most of these people in a long, long time. But it really felt like a high school reunion, because we were all very young," he tells ET. "We're all more grown up [now]. Like with high school, I think you embellish the memory, and you have fond memories."
"It kind of changed everyone's life on that show," he adds. "It was our first big experience, so to be able to go back as an actor, which never happens -- when you're done with a part, you're done with a part, and that's it -- we felt very privileged and very happy to have a second shot at something special."
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Gilmore Girls first hit the airwaves in October 2000, making it exactly 16 years since we were introduced to the town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Though everyone has grown up quite a bit in almost two decades, Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore) has had some of the biggest life events occur since her breakthrough role.
"When Alexis started the show, she was 16. Now she's 33. She's a mother," Truesdale explains. "The dynamic between an adult and her mom is not the same dynamic as an adolescent and her mom, so that has changed, but [Lorelai and Rory] still have the same friendship and connection."
As for fan favorite Michel, Truesdale says we’ll get to see a whole new side of him in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
"Michel has grown into someone who has a love life, which we've never seen before," he says. "He would go on dates, but it was very vague -- we didn't see anyone or see the dates -- so we'll get to know much more about who he is personally. That's the big change for me."
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Gillies are excitedly counting down to the premiere date on Nov. 25, and while Truesdale isn't revealing what those infamous famous last four words will be -- "No, obviously I can't tell!" he laughs -- he does say that fans who were disappointed by the show's seventh season, which was devoid of creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, will be very happy with these final four episodes.
"It is no longer a half meal," he muses. "It will be a full meal with everything that made it special the first time around. Definitely."
As wonderful as that is – and it really is quite nice to hear -- hard-core Gilmore Girl fans are just happy to get back to Stars Hollow, because we never thought we’d get that opportunity.
Then again, Truesdale admits, "We didn't either!"
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