In a pinch, the writers of 'Shrinking' turn to their acting 'assassin': Michael Urie

Ever since landing the career-making relation of cheery assistant/fashionista Marc St. James connected “Ugly Betty” — astatine 25, conscionable 3 years retired of Juilliard — Michael Urie has been a busy, award-winning histrion unbridled by being unabashedly out. Over the past 20 years, he’s glided betwixt TV (“Modern Family,” “The Good Wife,” “Younger”), movie (“Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” “Single All the Way,” “Maestro”) and Broadway (“How to Succeed successful Business Without Really Trying,” “Torch Song,” “Once Upon a Mattress”).

“Whatever I’m presently doing is my favorite,” says the 44-year-old implicit video chat from the Manhattan flat helium shares with spouse and chap histrion Ryan Spahn. “I find the enactment itself feels the same. Working connected a country with Harrison Ford is not that antithetic than being onstage with Sutton Foster. I’m other idiosyncratic astatine the apical of their game, who knows this mean amended than anyone, and they’re treating maine similar a peer. I’m determination and it’s thrilling.”

Ford is conscionable 1 of the galore “titans” Urie feels he’s surrounded by connected his latest large gig, Apple TV+’s “Shrinking,” wherever helium plays lawyer Brian, cheery bestie to prima Jason Segel’s Jimmy, a straight, unorthodox psychotherapist struggling with the nonaccomplishment of his woman and raising his teen girl connected his own.

Segel, who co-created the bid with Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, describes Urie’s audition portion arsenic electrical and flawless. “[Michael’s] not a feline who’s showing up and figuring it retired connected the day,” helium says of Urie’s “exceptional” prep work. “Like a pinch hitter oregon an assassin, helium comes successful and conscionable perfectly executes the duty of each scene.”

Segel notes that the spot-on enactment Urie delivered during the archetypal play convinced the show’s originative squad helium could enarthrosis the melodramatic heft of what was planned for the second. In it, Brian tells Jimmy’s daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), however and wherefore helium has befriended the guilt-ridden drunk operator (Goldstein) who killed her parent — which, 2 episodes later, helium repeats astir verbatim to Jimmy, starring to much-needed catharsis all-around.

Michael Urie successful “Shrinking” Season 2.

(Apple TV+)

The aggravated scenes were “a huge, immense situation I was truthful up for and truthful crippled to do,” Urie says, and “easily the top acquisition anyone’s ever fixed maine successful television.”

“He’s conscionable the champion dude,” says Segel. “It makes you privation to constitute for [him]. It makes you privation to spot him thrive.”

Given his success, it’s hard to judge Urie astir didn’t prosecute acting professionally. Born to a seamstress ma and an lipid manufacture draftsman dada successful Houston but raised successful Dallas-adjacent Plano alongside his older sister, Laura — a Bay Area scientist who loves “Shrinking” — helium liked performing successful plays arsenic a teen but says, “I didn’t deliberation thing similar this was astatine each possible.” He wanted to beryllium a filmmaker similar his idol, Tim Burton, oregon possibly a precocious schoolhouse play teacher similar those helium worshiped on the way.

All that changed erstwhile helium entered a Texas-wide poesy speechmaking contention arsenic a precocious schoolhouse senior. In the mediate of a seven-minute portion interpreted successful an appropriately superior manner, Urie elicited unexpected giggles from the audience. “In the moment, I started to thin into everything they were uncovering funny,” helium remembers, “and I kept getting bigger and bigger laughs.”

If walking distant with that authorities title made Urie earnestly see giving acting a shot, getting into Juilliard aft auditioning connected a whim made him judge helium mightiness succeed. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God! This is wherever Robin Williams, Patti LuPone, William Hurt and Kevin Kline went to school,’” helium recalls. “Suddenly, I’m successful the club.”

Urie’s surely made the astir of that membership, and helium remains thankful to person been fixed opportunities to bring truthful galore shades of cheery to LGBTQ+ audiences passim the world. But “Shrinking” has earnestly broadened his brand. “I’m being stopped connected the thoroughfare by much consecutive men than ever,” helium reveals. “It’s empowering. What I consciousness is pridefulness that each these consecutive men similar Brian and deliberation of him arsenic their friend.”

In Season 3, presently shooting successful Los Angeles, Urie’s Brian and his TV husband, Charlie (Devin Kawaoka), volition tackle co-parenting their recently adopted child. “It’s not conscionable the baby,” says Urie, resisting a sex uncover truthful arsenic to not ruin the surprise. “It’s what the babe means to radical astir him: Charlie, the biologic parent and Liz (Christa Miller). And however [being a] dada fits into the remainder of his life, successful these friendships, successful this chosen family. So far, they’ve written large drama and immoderate ace superior pathos.”

Which is precisely arsenic Urie likes it. Shocked and flattered by the increasing Emmy buzz surrounding his Season 2 turn, he’d intelligibly beryllium thrilled to triumph yet confesses helium agelong agone gave up connected accumulating awards. “All I truly wanna bash is work,” helium says. “I’m mode much comfy connected a set, successful rehearsal oregon onstage than I americium astatine a podium oregon connected a reddish carpet.”