Interview with Michael Urie

When Michael Urie auditioned for the role of Marc on Ugly Betty the part was described only as a "bitchy, gay assistant" to Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams). Gay fans could be forgiven for not exactly greeting that stereotype with open arms. But with the collaboration of Urie and the show's writers, the character has grown into something considerably greater. That became even more true last week when the show introduced another gay character in the form of Cliff (David Blue), Marc’s first love interest.

AfterElton.com recently talked with Urie about what makes Marc tick, what’s in store for him and Cliff, and how much fans should expect to know about the actors who play their favorite characters.

AfterElton: I just watched tonight’s episode “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, so I’ve seen Cliff in the second episode he appears in but not the first. Do you know how many episodes he’s going to be in?
Michael Urie: He’s done three so far and there will be more, as far as I know. He’s sort of an open-ended character.

AE: How does the relationship go between the two of them? You call him back up at the end of tonight’s episode and say I’ve made a big mistake. Is there any hope for the two of you?
MU: I’ll say yes. Cliff is a very forgiving person and Marc is a very flaky guy. I think part of what intrigues Cliff about Marc is that he is such a shallow, self-centered person, but you see a glimmer of humanity and compassion when he meets Cliff. So I think that’s sort of the allure. . . they sort of look at each other like little projects. As you saw, Cliff is not the fashionable, sleek kind of a guy like Marc is, and Marc is not the sensitive, tender guy like Cliff is, so they sort of become each other’s pet projects a little bit.

AE: Did you read with David?
MU: I did actually. I read with the top three choices and they were great. They were all three very, very different. One was more of a comedian kind of guy. One was like a linebacker, and then David was sort of in between. Everybody fell in love with him. He’s such a sweet guy.

AE: He’s such an interesting choice. I love the diversity of gay characters we’re seeing these days. He’s a burly guy and looks like you’d see him at a football game. Do the two of you get to kiss at some point?
MU: Well, there has not been a kiss yet. Isn’t there a funny moment in the episode that you saw just now where he tries to kiss me and I say, "You know the fashion world is very homophobic."

AE: My partner was watching with me and we laughed so hard we almost fell off the couch!
MU: There’s definitely allusions to it. I don’t know if eight o’clock on a Thursday night is quite ready. I know that show Brothers & Sisters has gotten away with some boy on boy kissing, but . . .

AE: As the World Turns has a same-sex relationship going on during daytime TV and they’ve had some great kisses. I think we’re ready. What else can you tell us is going to be happening with Marc this season?
MU: He is going to continue to be Wilhelmina’s "shine" monkey, for lack of a better term. There’s a lot of stuff going on with Wilhelmina and Mode, and I don’t want to get too detailed with you, but it’s very dramatic and exciting and things happen that may or may not mean the end of Wilhelmina Slater at Mode. And of course anywhere she goes, Marc goes.

AE: They have a classic master/servant relationship that’s very symbiotic and it seems like a dramatic obstacle would be to have something come between the two of you. Anything like that in store?
MU: Yeah. I mean, there’s a little something coming between us all the time, which is funny. Occasionally Marc has to be the voice of reason to Wilhelmina, which is odd because he’s so selfish.

AE: Marc does have those superficial qualities, but time and time again we see that deep down, he’s really a decent guy, which is what makes that character work. Is Patti LuPone scheduled to come back?
MU: She is scheduled to come back. I don’t know when yet. I think it’s probably a matter of her schedule. But everybody agrees that she must come back, from the top to the bottom, so she’ll be back at some point – hopefully for more than just one episode.

AE: And hopefully it will involve something with you and her getting past her homophobia?
MU: Yeah. It’ll be something like that. I think it’ll actually be when Cliff and [Marc's mother] will meet.

AE: Oh, that will be great. What’s the best part of playing Marc and the worst part?
MU: I think the best part is probably that every day I get to go to work and do something silly and funny. I’m allowed to have a creativity that I know there are actors on television shows don’t get. I’m rarely told no as far as the antics that we play with, and that’s freeing and exciting and I couldn’t ask for a better gig than that.

Worst part about playing Marc? Sometimes the clothes are really uncomfortable. I have to say, I was wearing this great outfit the other day, and of course this always happens, my favorite outfit I wear in only one scene and then I never see it again and I end up in this tight, uncomfortable thing that I can barely sit in for three, four, five, six episodes. But, I actually got stuck in this suit that was like made of aluminum for two episodes straight, which was like four weeks. It was really frustrating.

And then I wear these amazing pair of pants which is like cotton and I can do anything in, and I turned to the director the first time — and the last time — I wore them, and I was like, “These are really good physical comedy pants. Give me something crazy to do while I’m wearing them,” and of course there was no place for it.