Michael Urie

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. While there, he was a member of the Drama Division's Group 32 from 1999 to 2003. Urie graduated from Juilliard in 2003.

Career

Urie, while still a student at Juilliard, performed in the world premiere of Love and Happiness (2001) at the Consolati Performing Arts Center, starring as a sixteen-year-old trying to get rid of his mother's boyfriend.

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|right|Urie at the 2012 [[PaleyFest]]

Urie played the central character in the stage play WTC 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 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.

Urie has also started 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 popular TVLand drama-comedy 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 once again 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

Director and executive producer

Theater

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Michael Urie Praises 'Up and Comer' Costar Harrison Ford as He Wins Critics Choice Award for 'Shrinking'".
2. (October 17, 2020). "As the Curtain Rises – Broadway's First Digital Soap Opera | Broadway Podcast Network".
3. Copstick, Kate. (August 3, 2010). "Interview: Michael Urie, Comedian". [[The Scotsman]].
4. "Michael Urie: Biography". NetGlimse.com.
5. Jones, Arnold Wayne. (February 22, 2007). "It's an ''Ugly'' Job, But Somebody Has to Do It". [[Dallas Voice]].
6. (February 2012). "Alumni News". The Juilliard School.
7. Sommer, Elyse. "Love and Happiness". CurtainUp.
8. "Ugly Betty – Bios". [[American Broadcasting Company.
9. (December 28, 2023). "Michael Urie: 5 Key Roles Explored". Twisted.
10. Jacqueline Cutler, "Celebrity Scoop: Michael Urie". ''[[Winston-Salem Journal]]''. November 7, 2009.
11. [http://imdb.com/name/nm1235530/awards Michael Urie – Awards]
12. Regina Schaffer. "Miss America gets real (or just about as real as a beauty pageant can get)". ''The Press of Atlantic City'' (NJ). January 4, 2008. page B1.
13. Healy, Patrick. (May 20, 2010). "Honors and the End for ''Temperamentals''". [[The New York Times]].
14. "''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (2011 revival)". [[Internet Broadway Database]].
15. "Michael Urie". MichaelUrie.net.
16. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 16, 2012). "''Ugly Betty''{{'}}s Michael Urie Gets Lead in ''Partners'', Pooch Hall Joins ''Ray Donovan''".
17. "Partners".
18. "Annaleigh Ashford, Michael Urie Receive Equity's Clarence Derwent Award". ActorsEquity.org.
19. Meyer, Dan. (August 15, 2019). "Upcoming Grand Horizons Star Michael Urie to Host The Acting Company's 2019 Fall Gala". [[Playbill]].
20. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4724436/ Cocktails & Classics at the Internet Movie Database].
21. (October 23, 2017). "Acclaimed Torch Song Revival, with Michael Urie, Extends Again {{!}} Playbill".
22. Hipes, Patrick. (February 20, 2018). "''Torch Song'' To Re-Alight On Broadway In November In Former Home".
23. Nguyen, Hanh. (September 28, 2016). "''Younger'': Darren Star on Ageism and Liza's 'Mid-Love Crisis' in Season 3".
24. (February 5, 2018). "Shakespeare Theatre Company stages ''Hamlet'' with modern espionage twist". WTOP.
25. Howes, Sophia. (July 18, 2019). "Review: ''Hamlet'' at the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Free for All".
26. [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/michael-urie-becki-newton-star-michael-patrick-king-cbs-comedy-1239625 "Michael Urie, Becki Newton to Star in Michael Patrick King CBS Comedy"] from ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' (September 13, 2019)
27. Andreeva, Nellie. (May 5, 2020). "CBS Comedy Pilot ''Fun'' Starring Becki Newton & Michael Urie Not Going Forward". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
28. Bugbee, Teo. (December 2, 2021). "''Single All the Way'' Review: Cookie Cutter Christmas". The New York Times.
29. "Michael Urie stars in new show 'Shrinking'".
30. (January 31, 2025). "12 Books That Are Even Better as Audiobooks: From Historical Fiction to Fantasy, Romance and More!". Woman's World.
31. (June 28, 2009). "Michael Urie on Playing an Activist and Assistant on The Temperamentals and Ugly Betty". [[New York (magazine).
32. (January 12, 2010). "The Not So Ugly Truth". [[The Advocate (LGBT magazine).
33. (December 23, 2023). "How Michael Urie Spends His Sundays". [[The New York Times]].