Gilles Tschudi Biography: Age, Net Worth, Wife, Children, Height, Movies & TV Shows

Gilles Tschudi is a Swiss actor whose four-decade career spans the precision of German-language theater, the intimacy of Swiss television, and the global lens of arthouse cinema, most memorably as the pragmatic mayor in Olivier Assayas’s Clouds of Sils Maria (2014).

Trained at Zurich’s Schauspiel-Akademie and seasoned in ensembles from Basel to Cologne, he has embodied everyman authority figures with a quiet gravitas that earned him the 2004 Swiss Film Prize for Best Supporting Actor in Jagged Harmonies: Bach vs. Frederick II.

Profile

• Full Name: Gilles Tschudi
• Stage Name: Gilles Tschudi
• Born: 6, March 1957
• Age: 68 years old
• Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
• Nationality: Swiss
• Occupation: Actor
• Height: 1.8m
• Parents: Mr. Tschudi , Mrs. Tschudi
• Siblings: Unknown
• Spouse: None
• Children: 3
• Relationship: Unknown
• Net Worth: $2 million

Early Life and Education

Gilles Tschudi was born on March 6, 1957, in Basel, Switzerland, a city at the intersection of German, French, and Swiss cultures.

Details about his family are scarce, but he grew up surrounded by the city’s vibrant arts scene and attended local schools before pursuing acting.

From 1975 to 1979, he trained at the Schauspiel-Akademie Zürich, where he developed classical skills and ensemble discipline.

His Swiss-German background influenced his pragmatic and understated acting style.

Though he has not spoken about religion, his environmental activism suggests a worldview focused on stewardship.

Career

Gilles Tschudi launched his career immediately after graduation in 1979, joining the Stadttheater Basel before moving through a string of prestigious German-speaking ensembles: Schauspielhaus Zürich, Deutsches Theater Göttingen, Schauspielhaus Wuppertal, and Stadttheater Köln, where he spent much of the 1980s honing roles in classics by Schiller, Büchner, and contemporary Swiss playwrights.

These early years built his reputation for reliability and depth, transitioning seamlessly to Swiss television in the 1990s with guest spots that showcased his ability to ground ensemble dramas.

His breakthrough came with the long-running series Lüthi und Blanc (1999–2006), where he played the steady-handed Michael Frick for over 300 episodes, becoming a household face in German-speaking Switzerland and earning steady recognition for bringing quiet authenticity to everyday struggles.

The 2000s marked Tschudi’s pivot to film, beginning with a Swiss Film Prize-winning turn as the conflicted court musician in Jagged Harmonies: Bach vs. Frederick II (2004), followed by the harried Swissair executive in Grounding (2006) and the stoic astronaut in the sci-fi thriller Cargo (2009).

His international profile rose with Olivier Assayas’s Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), where his portrayal of the pragmatic Sils Maria mayor opposite Juliette Binoche offered a masterclass in less-is-more acting.

Parallel to screen work, he maintained theater ties in French-speaking Switzerland and Zurich, while taking on leadership as president of the Swiss Film & Video Syndicate, advocating for fair contracts and sustainable production practices.

These milestones reflect a career built on institutional trust and artistic restraint.

Gilles Tschudi’s legacy rests in his embodiment of the Swiss everyman—reliable, principled, quietly commanding—whether negotiating corporate collapse in Grounding, navigating cosmic isolation in Cargo, or anchoring small-town politics in Clouds of Sils Maria.

His environmental ethos informs choices like vegetarianism as a public stance, and his syndicate presidency shaped industry labor standards.

Recent roles in series like Wilder and Tschugger keep him relevant, while voice work in documentaries and radio dramas extends his reach.

A mentor to younger actors through workshops, Tschudi remains a bridge between Switzerland’s theater tradition and its evolving screen identity.

Social Media

• Gilles Tschudi has no social media account.

Personal Life

Gilles Tschudi is a devoted father of three grown sons, who has chosen to maintain a private boundary around his romantic life, with no verified marriages or publicly acknowledged long-term relationships, thereby preserving a sense of intimacy and allowing his family life to develop away from public scrutiny.

He carefully balances his time between the vibrant cultural environment of Zurich and the tranquil beauty of the Engadin valley, where he finds solace in outdoor activities such as hiking through scenic trails, immersing himself in reading, and nurturing a modest garden that reflects his connection to nature and peaceful contemplation.

Filmography

• Jagged Harmonies: Bach vs. Frederick II (2004)
• Grounding – Die letzten Tage der Swissair (2006)
• Cargo (2009)
• Sennentuntschi (2010)
• Der Verdingbub (2011)
• Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)
• Amur senza fin (2017)
• Wilder (2017–2022)
• Tschugger (2021–2023)

Net Worth

Gilles Tschudi has amassed an estimated net worth of $2 million through a stable career anchored in Switzerland’s subsidized theater system, long-running television contracts like Lüthi und Blanc, and selective film roles in award-winning productions such as Clouds of Sils Maria and Cargo.