Michael Urie

Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC comedy drama television series Ugly Betty and Brian on the Apple TV+ series Shrinking, a role for which he won a Critics Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor and received two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations. He can be heard as Bobby Kerns in As the Curtain Rises, an original podcast soap opera from the Broadway Podcast Network.

Early life and education Michael Lorenzo Urie was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Plano. He is of Scottish and Italian descent. He graduated from Plano Senior High School in 1998.

Urie then studied at Collin County Community College before being accepted at the Juilliard School in New York City. Urie graduated from Juilliard in 2003. He received the 2002 John Houseman Prize for Excellence in Classical Theatre from the Juilliard School. His classical credits include Shakespeare, Jacobean drama, and commedia dell'arte. thumb

He is on the board of Plum Productions and serves as its casting director. With the same company he has produced and appeared in Prachtoberfest and lowbrow (and a little bit tacky). As a freelance producer, he has worked on Like The Mountains and The Fantasticks (Four Players Theatre). He also directed the latter production.

In 2006, Urie began appearing in the ABC dramedy Ugly Betty as Marc St. James, the assistant of Wilhelmina Slater, played by Vanessa Williams. The show began with the concept that Wilhelmina would have a different assistant in each episode; thus Urie was originally billed as a guest star in the credits. However, Williams loved their chemistry, and Urie was signed on as a full-time regular midway through the first season. He and the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2007 and 2008. The role earned Urie a Ewwy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009. He remained with Ugly Betty until the show's cancellation in 2010.

During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, Urie hosted TLC's reality-based series Miss America: Reality Check. The program followed the contestants participating in the 2008 Miss America Pageant.

Urie has returned often to his theater roots, including directing a one-night celebrity-performed staging of Howard Ashman's unproduced musical Dreamstuff. The musical was reimagined by Howard's partners Marsha Malamet and Dennis Green and performed at Los Angeles's Hayworth Theatre as part of the Bruno Kirby celebrity reading series. He has also been on Live with Regis and Kelly and has also starred in the 2008 Disney blockbuster production Beverly Hills Chihuahua as the voice of Sebastian.

Urie originated the role of Rudi Gernreich in the 2009 off-Broadway play The Temperamentals, about the foundation of the early LGBT rights organization the Mattachine Society. Urie received a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. In January 2012, Urie made his Broadway debut, joining the cast of the second revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in the role of Bud Frump.

He created his own website for videoblogging and live chats. In 2012, Urie also starred as the mysterious limo driver James in the film adaptation of Wendy Mass's children's book Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, written and directed by Tamar Halpern.

Urie was one of the leads in CBS's short-lived series Partners. The multi-camera comedy, from Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, centered on lifelong friends and business partners – one straight and one gay. The series premiered on September 24, 2012, but was cancelled after only six episodes had aired.

His performance in 2013's one-man show Buyer & Cellar won him a Clarence Derwent Award as well as a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.

In April 2015, Urie became the host of Cocktails & Classics on Logo TV, in which he and panels of celebrity friends watch and comment on classic movies while imbibing cocktails named or made for the films. Films profiled on the series have included All About Eve, Steel Magnolias, Valley of the Dolls, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Mommie Dearest.

In November 2018, Urie starred as Arnold Beckoff in Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song revival on Broadway. He had a recurring role as Redmond, the gossipy book agent, in the TVLand dramedy series Younger, produced by Darren Star.

In 2018, Urie played Prince Hamlet in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Hamlet in Washington, DC. He reprised the role in mid-2019 for the company's "Free for All" production run.

On September 13, 2019, it was announced that Urie would team up with his Ugly Betty co-star Becki Newton on a sitcom project for CBS and Warner Bros. Television called Fun, in which he would both co-star and serve as a co-executive producer with creator Michael Patrick King and fellow Ugly Betty showrunners Tracy Poust and Jon Kinnally. CBS passed on the pilot of the series on May 4, 2020.

In 2021, Urie starred in the Netflix Christmas romantic comedy Single All the Way. In 2023, Urie began starring in the Apple TV+ series Shrinking.

Urie has narrated several audiobooks, including novel Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Urie narrated the voice of Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus held captive in a local aquarium. The audiobook was a 2023 finalist for the Audie Awards, which recognizes achievement in audiobook narration.

Personal life In 2009, Urie referred to himself as "a member of the LGBT community" on his website. In a 2010 interview with The Advocate, he said that he was in a relationship with a man and is queer. He said it never felt wrong when he was with women previously. Since 2008, he has been in a relationship with actor and writer Ryan Spahn.

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 2002 Undressed Justin Episode: "Tangled Beards" 2004 Kat Plus One Roger Television film 2006–2010 Ugly Betty Marc St. James Main role 2008–2009 Mode After HoursMarc St. James Main role2010 Popatron Himself Episode: "1.2" Brain Trust Prof. Franklin Gordon Television film Celebrity Ghost Stories Himself Episode: "2.4"2012Submissions OnlyZach BlumenkrantzEpisode: "Y'all Were Great!" 2012–2013 Partners Louis McManus Main role2013It Could Be WorseMikeEpisode: "I Need Help" Hot in Cleveland Jeffery Episode: "Cleveland Indians" 2014 Modern Family Gavin Sinclair 2 episodes 2014–2016 The Good Wife Stephen Dinovera 4 episodes2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself Episode: "Snatch Game" Workaholics Joey Episode: "Gayborhood" 2016 Almost Royal Himself Episode: "Romance" 2016–2021 Younger Redmond Recurring role (seasons 2–7) 2018 After Forever Daniel 2 episodes 2019 The Good Fight Stephen Dinovera 2 episodes 2019–2020 Almost Family Nate 3 episodes 2020 Ms. Guidance Brant Finklestein Episode: "The Taming of the Jenny" 2021 The Bite Josh 3 episodes 2023–present Shrinking Brian Main role 2023 American Dad! Mark Zuckerberg / Student (voice) 2 episodes 2023–2025 Krapopolis Hermes (voice) 12 episodes 2025 Night Court Toby Nulman Episode: "Funnest Judge in the City"

Director and executive producer Year Title Role Notes 2009 House of Kai Milla Executive producer Television film2012 He's Way More Famous Than You Director Thank You for Judging Co-director; executive producer Documentary

Theater Year Title Role Venue Notes 2009-2010 The Temperamentals Rudi Gernreich New World Stages Off-Broadway 2010 Angels in America Prior Walter Signature Theatre Company Off-Broadway 2011 The Cherry Orchard Yepikhodov Classic Stage Company Off-Broadway 2012 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Bud Frump Al Hirschfeld Theatre Broadway replacement 2013 Buyer & Cellar Alex More Barrow Street Theatre Off-Broadway 2014 Various National Tour2015 Menier Chocolate Factory Off West End A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Hysterium Two River Theater Red Bank, New Jersey Shows for Days Car Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater Off-Broadway 2016 Homos, Or Everyone in America The Writer LAByrinth Theater Company Off-Broadway2017 The Government Inspector Ivan Alexandreyevich Hlestakov The Duke on 42nd Street Off-Broadway Torch Song Arnold Beckoff Second Stage TheaterOff-Broadway2018 Hamlet Hamlet Shakespeare Theatre Company Washington, D.C. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Bud Frump Kennedy Center Washington, D.C. 2018–2019 Torch Song Arnold Beckoff Hayes Theater Broadway2019 High Button Shoes Harrison Floy New York City Center Encores! A Bright Room Called Day Gregor The Public Theater Off-Broadway 2020 Grand Horizons Brian Hayes Theater Broadway 2021 Chicken & Biscuits Logan Leibowitz Circle in the Square Theatre Broadway 2022 Jane AngerWilliam ShakespeareShakespeare Theatre Company Washington, D.C. 2023 The Da Vinci Code Robert Langdon Ogunquit Playhouse Regional Spamalot Sir Robin / Guard 1 / Brother Maynard Kennedy Center Washington, D.C. Gutenberg! The Musical! The Producer (one-night cameo) James Earl Jones Theatre Broadway 2023–2024 Spamalot Sir Robin / Guard 1 / Brother Maynard St. James Theatre Broadway2024 Once Upon a Mattress Prince Dauntless New York City Center Encores! Hudson Theatre Broadway 2024–2025 Ahmanson Theatre Los Angeles2025 Oh, Mary! Mary's Teacher Lyceum Theatre Broadway Richard II King Richard II Astor Place Theatre Off-Broadway2026 Oh, Mary! Mary's TeacherTrafalgar TheatreWest End replacement

Awards and nominations