Michael Urie | |
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 Urie in 2025 | |
| Born | Michael Lorenzo Urie (1980-08-08)August 8, 1980 (age 45) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1993–present |
Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal ofMarc St. James on the ABCcomedy drama television seriesUgly Betty and Brian on theApple TV+ seriesShrinking, a role for which he won aCritics Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor and received aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nomination.[1] He can be heard as Bobby Kerns inAs the Curtain Rises, an original podcast soap opera from the Broadway Podcast Network.[2]
Michael Lorenzo Urie was born inHouston, Texas, and raised inPlano. He is of Scottish and Italian descent.[3][4] He graduated fromPlano Senior High School in 1998.[5]
Urie then studied atCollin County Community College before being accepted at theJuilliard School in New York City.[5] While there, he was a member of the Drama Division'sGroup 32 from 1999 to 2003.[6] Urie graduated from Juilliard in 2003.[5]
Urie, while still a student at Juilliard, performed in the world premiere ofLove and Happiness (2001) at the Consolati Performing Arts Center, starring as a sixteen-year-old trying to get rid of his mother's boyfriend.[7]
He received the 2002John Houseman Prize for Excellence in Classical Theatre from the Juilliard School. His classical credits include Shakespeare,Jacobean drama, andcommedia dell'arte.[8]
Urie played the central character in the stage playWTC View as well as in the film adaptation.
He is on the board of Plum Productions and serves as its casting director. With the same company he has produced and appeared inPrachtoberfest andlowbrow (and a little bit tacky). As a freelance producer, he has worked onLike The Mountains andThe Fantasticks (Four Players Theatre). He also directed the latter production.[9]
In 2006, Urie began appearing in theABC dramedyUgly Betty asMarc St. James, the assistant ofWilhelmina Slater, played byVanessa 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.[10] 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.[11] The role earned Urie aEwwy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009. He remained withUgly Betty until the show's cancellation in 2010.
During the2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, Urie hostedTLC'sreality-based seriesMiss America: Reality Check. The program followed the contestants participating in the 2008Miss America Pageant.[12]
Urie has returned often to his theater roots, including directing a one-night celebrity-performed staging ofHoward Ashman's unproduced musicalDreamstuff. The musical was reimagined by Howard's partners Marsha Malamet andDennis Green and performed at Los Angeles'sHayworth Theatre as part of theBruno Kirby celebrity reading series.[citation needed] He has also been onLive with Regis and Kelly and has also starred in the 2008 Disney blockbuster productionBeverly Hills Chihuahua as the voice of Sebastian.
Urie originated the role ofRudi Gernreich in the 2009off-Broadway playThe Temperamentals, about the foundation of the earlyLGBT rights organization theMattachine Society. Urie received aLucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor.[13]
In January 2012, Urie made his Broadway debut, joining the cast of the second revival ofHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in the role of Bud Frump.[14]
Urie has also started his own website for videoblogging and live chats.[15] In 2012, Urie also starred as the mysterious limo driver James in the film adaptation ofWendy Mass's children's bookJeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, written and directed byTamar Halpern.
Urie was one of the leads in CBS's short-lived seriesPartners. The multi-camera comedy, fromWill & Grace creatorsMax Mutchnick andDavid Kohan, centered on lifelong friends and business partners – one straight and one gay.[16] The series premiered on September 24, 2012, but was cancelled after only six episodes had aired.[17]
His performance in 2013's one-man showBuyer & Cellar won him aClarence Derwent Award[18] as well as aDrama Desk Award forOutstanding Solo Performance.[19]
In April 2015, Urie became the host ofCocktails & Classics onLogo 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 includedAll About Eve,Steel Magnolias,Valley of the Dolls,Breakfast at Tiffany's, andMommie Dearest.[20]
In November 2018, Urie starred as Arnold Beckoff inHarvey Fierstein'sTorch Song revival on Broadway.[21][22]
He had a recurring role as Redmond, the gossipy book agent, in the popular TVLand drama-comedy seriesYounger, produced by Darren Star.[23]
In 2018, Urie played Prince Hamlet in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production ofHamlet in Washington, DC.[24] He reprised the role in mid-2019 for the company's "Free for All" production run.[25]
On September 13, 2019, it was announced that Urie would once again team up with hisUgly Betty co-starBecki Newton on a sitcom project forCBS andWarner Bros. Television calledFun, in which he would both co-star and serve as a co-executive producer with creatorMichael Patrick King and fellowUgly Betty showrunnersTracy Poust andJon Kinnally.[26] CBS passed on the pilot of the series on May 4, 2020.[27]
In 2021, Urie starred in theNetflix Christmas romantic comedySingle All the Way.[28]
In 2023, Urie began starring in theApple TV+ seriesShrinking.[29]
In 2009, Urie referred to himself as "a member of theLGBT community" on his website.[30] In a 2010 interview withThe Advocate, he said that he was in a relationship with a man and isqueer. He said it never felt wrong when he was with women previously.[31] Since 2008, he has been in a relationship with actor and writerRyan Spahn.[32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Uptown Girls | Pig Walker | Uncredited |
| 2005 | WTC View | Eric | |
| 2008 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua | Sebastian | Voice |
| 2011 | The Decoy Bride | Steve Korbitz | |
| Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life | James | ||
| 2012 | Petunia | George McDougal | |
| 2013 | He's Way More Famous Than You | Himself | |
| 2014 | Such Good People | Richard Nearly | |
| 2019 | Lavender | Arthur | Short film |
| 2020 | Nora Highland | Gala Host | |
| Smithtown | Ian Bernstein | ||
| 2021 | The Extinction of Fireflies | Jay | |
| Swan Song | Dustin | ||
| Single All the Way | Peter | ||
| 2023 | Summoning Sylvia | Jamie | |
| Maestro | Jerome Robbins | ||
| 2024 | Goodrich | Terry |
| 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 Hours | Marc St. James | Main role |
| 2010 | Popatron | Himself | Episode: "1.2" |
| Brain Trust | Prof. Franklin Gordon | Television film | |
| Celebrity Ghost Stories | Himself | Episode: "2.4" | |
| 2012 | Submissions Only | Zach Blumenkrantz | Episode: "Y'all Were Great!" |
| 2012–2013 | Partners | Louis McManus | Main role |
| 2013 | It Could Be Worse | Mike | Episode: "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 episodes |
| 2015 | 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" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | House of Kai Milla | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2012 | He's Way More Famous Than You | Director | |
| Thank You for Judging | Co-director; executive producer | Documentary |
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| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Ugly Betty | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Ugly Betty | Nominated | |
| Gold Derby Award | Ensemble of the Year | Ugly Betty | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Actor Comedy | Ugly Betty | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Fab-u-lous | Ugly Betty | Nominated | |
| Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Sidekick | Ugly Betty | Nominated | ||
| Webby Award | Best Performance - Webisodes | Mode After Hours | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Ensemble Performance | The Temperamentals | Won | |
| Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play | The Temperamentals | Won | ||
| Theatre World Award | Outstanding Debut Performance | The Temperamentals | Won | ||
| 2011 | Williamsburg Independent Film Fest | Best Documentary | Thank You for Judging | Won | |
| 2013 | Cleveland International Film Festival | Best American Independent Feature Film | He's Way More Famous Than You | Nominated | |
| Slamdance Film Festival | Best Narrative Feature | He's Way More Famous Than You | Nominated | ||
| Dallas International Film Festival | Narrative Feature Competition | He's Way More Famous Than You | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Solo Performance | Buyer & Cellar | Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Solo Performance | Buyer & Cellar | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Nantucket Film Festival | Best Short Film | The Hyperglot | Won | |
| Friars Club Comedy Film Fest | Best Short | The Hyperglot | Won | ||
| Berlin International Film Festival | Short Film | The Hyperglot | Won | ||
| 2015 | Cleveland International Film Festival | Best Live Action Comedy Short Film | The Hyperglot | Honorable mention | |
| San Joaquin International Film Festival | Best Film | The Hyperglot | Won | ||
| 2018 | International Academy of Web Television | Best Ensemble Performance (Drama) | After Forever | Nominated | |
| Los Angeles Independent Film Festival | Best Short Film Ensemble | After Forever | Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | The Government Inspector | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play | Torch Song | Nominated | |
| 2021 | New Media Film Festival | Festival Award | After Forever | Nominated | |
| OUT at the Movies International LGBT Film Festival | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | Nora Highland,Swan Song andThe Extinction of Fireflies | Won | ||
| 2025 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Shrinking | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Shrinking | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Choice Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Shrinking | Won | ||
| Astra TV Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Shrinking | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | Once Upon a Mattress | Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical | Once Upon a Mattress | Nominated |
He is, he reveals, part Scots by descent.
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