Michael Urie: “I don’t think it’s really newsworthy if the gay guy from ‘Ugly Betty’ is gay or not”

Obviously any gay person has the absolute right to come out – or not – whenever they choose. But Ugly Betty star Michael Urie has so far declined to come out as anything despite playing a gay role on TV in Betty, currently playing an early gay activist on stage in The Tempermentalist, and appearing at countless LGBT events.

He was interviewed by New York Magazine about his refusal to discuss his sexuality even though ion his website he describes himself as “a member of the LGBT community.”

“Actors have to be able to do lots of different things, and while I’d say there’s an ongoing theme [to the parts I play], I’m also not interested in having any real publicity about who I am and what my private life is and things like that,” Urie said. “I’m an actor and I don’t want to be a [fill-in-the-] blank actor.”

He was asked if he was tired of interviewers asking him about his sexuality: “They don’t ask about it as much as you might think. Actually, it’s been a long time since anyone asked it. I don’t think it’s really newsworthy if the gay guy from Ugly Betty is gay or not.”

This reminded me of an interview I had with Urie two years ago at the Television Academy where the cast of Ugly Betty had assembled for an event. We were talking about his character, Marc, coming out to his mother (played by the great Patti LuPone) on a recent episode and had the following awkward exchange:
Greg: “You’re out…”
Urie: Nods his head no.
Greg: “Are you out?”
Urie: Nods his head no.
Greg: “Do you not really discuss your personal life?”
Urie: “Not really, no. You read that magazine that was like…you know…”
Greg: “Really, I don’t care. i just thought you might have something to say about it.
Urie: “I think it’s important to be completely honest with the ones around you and yourself. Marc, by not being honest with his mother was not being honest with himself.”