Michael Urie on Coming Out } It gets easier for actors when a high profile performer comes out
By Greg Hernandez greginhollywood.com
Former Ugly Betty star Michael Urie is dedicating a lot more time to his stage career these days in such plays as The Temperamentals and last year’s revival ofAngels in America.
Former Ugly Betty star Michael Urie is dedicating a lot more time to his stage career these days in such plays as The Temperamentals and last year’s revival ofAngels in America.
The actor was interviewed by Huffington Post and has some interesting things to say about being out:
Your “Ugly Betty” character, Marc St. James, was really ahead of the curve in terms of being a fashion-loving, flamboyant young gay man on a TV series. How much of an influence do you think the character had on the current array of unashamedly gay characters on primetime TV?
When I look at the things we were doing on “Ugly Betty” in its first season, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come as a society… not just on TV, but as a society. Shows like “Modern Family” and “Glee” are two of the biggest comedies on TV and certainly very buzzworthy, and both have great gay characters who have really big problems beyond just coming out of the closet. I think we’ve come a long way, and I like to think we helped pave the way. I remember when I was a kid, watching Ellen Degeneres come out on TV with my family. I imagine kids that were that age in 2005 or 2006 watching “Ugly Betty” and being able to see themselves. Also, having the Justin Suarez character [played by Mark Indelicato] come out of the closet was a major, major step forward for LGBT youth on TV. He certainly helped pave the way for the Kurt Hummel character on “Glee.”
When I look at the things we were doing on “Ugly Betty” in its first season, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come as a society… not just on TV, but as a society. Shows like “Modern Family” and “Glee” are two of the biggest comedies on TV and certainly very buzzworthy, and both have great gay characters who have really big problems beyond just coming out of the closet. I think we’ve come a long way, and I like to think we helped pave the way. I remember when I was a kid, watching Ellen Degeneres come out on TV with my family. I imagine kids that were that age in 2005 or 2006 watching “Ugly Betty” and being able to see themselves. Also, having the Justin Suarez character [played by Mark Indelicato] come out of the closet was a major, major step forward for LGBT youth on TV. He certainly helped pave the way for the Kurt Hummel character on “Glee.”
You’ve said in the past that you weren’t comfortable talking about your sexual orientation in the media. How was that changed for you?
When “Ugly Betty” first came on, I was certainly very keen to leaving the door open to playing leading men, romantic leads. When I first started on the show, not even Neil Patrick Harris was out yet. I learned pretty quickly that while it would limit me, it wouldn’t limit me more than I was already limited, if that makes sense. Sometimes I play gay characters, sometimes I play straight characters…I just think of myself as playing awesome characters.
So would you encourage new, up-and-coming actors to come out of the closet?
I think that for certain people, if it were to come out, it would still limit them as actors, which is why there are a lot of them who choose to remain mum about their sexuality. Every time another high-profile person comes out, it becomes less and less of a burden for actors. But people with the biggest suspension of disbelief are those who watch TV or go to the theater for pleasure only. It’s so interesting what people will say when you encourage them to judge it. While it’s tricky when you’re trying to get jobs…once you get the job, that’s the easy part.
When “Ugly Betty” first came on, I was certainly very keen to leaving the door open to playing leading men, romantic leads. When I first started on the show, not even Neil Patrick Harris was out yet. I learned pretty quickly that while it would limit me, it wouldn’t limit me more than I was already limited, if that makes sense. Sometimes I play gay characters, sometimes I play straight characters…I just think of myself as playing awesome characters.
So would you encourage new, up-and-coming actors to come out of the closet?
I think that for certain people, if it were to come out, it would still limit them as actors, which is why there are a lot of them who choose to remain mum about their sexuality. Every time another high-profile person comes out, it becomes less and less of a burden for actors. But people with the biggest suspension of disbelief are those who watch TV or go to the theater for pleasure only. It’s so interesting what people will say when you encourage them to judge it. While it’s tricky when you’re trying to get jobs…once you get the job, that’s the easy part.
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