Before he could manage to make a living from acting, Gillet was a theater usher but didn't have enough money to enroll in the 'Eva-Saint-Paul Drama School'. Due to his
androgynous beauty, Gillet was then sent to Japan by an agency for four months to land modelling contracts but once in Tokyo, he found no work or relationship and felt lost in translation. From this failure, Gillet drew motivation declaring:"This period of hardship I went through there forced me to reflect and made me mature. I returned to France with the 'niaque': no more dilemmas, I want to play. I changed my life."He first appeared on stage in the title role of
Caligula, in a celebrated staging by
Charles Berling. He made his television debut in 2005, in the role of
Hugh Despenser the Younger in the remake miniseries
Les Rois maudits, based on the
French novel series of the same name by
Maurice Druon. He also appeared in series such as
Éternelle and
Un village français. His debut in cinema came in 2006, with
Nouvelle chance by
Anne Fontaine and ''L'homme de sa vie'' by
Zabou Breitman. The following year, he appeared in acclaimed director
Eric Rohmer's final film, ''
Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon''. == Private life ==