The actor found the gig in a &34;Village Voice&34; ad. Michael Urie reveals the unusual job he had before Ugly Betty: 'It was a wild thing'

The actor found the gig in a "Village Voice" ad.

Michael Urie reveals the unusual job he had before Ugly Betty: 'It was a wild thing'

The actor found the gig in a "Village Voice" ad.

By Daysia Tolentino

August 31, 2025 11:00 a.m. ET

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Michael Urie. Credit:

JC Olivera/Variety via Getty

Before the world met him as Marc St. James on *Ugly Betty*, Michael Urie was a medical marijuana tester.

Urie made an appearance on Chelsea Handler's *Dear Chelsea* podcast and talked about the gig. The comedian had tried to become a tester herself "so many times" and asked how the actor was able to snag it.

The *Shrinking *star said he had found an ad in the *Village Voice* and applied with a friend. While his pal was skipped over, Urie was chosen for testing. He would test strains at various strengths.

"It was a wild thing," he said. "I would go into a hospital and I would sit in a hospital room and it was a double blind test."

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Sometimes, he would get "paranoid" or roll around the hospital. During these trials, Urie said he'd take cognitive tests involving shape matching and fill-in-the-blank prompts.

"Sometimes I was really good at it and sometimes I wasn't," he said. "And then there were days when it was like a placebo."

Handler shared her experience trying to become a medical marijuana tester. Despite her attempts, she never got picked.

"I'm always like, 'Bring me the drugs. I'll do them,'" she said. "Because I'm like a horse. Like, I can take a lot of drugs and still be standing."

Michael Urie's first big role was as Marc St. James on 'Ugly Betty'.

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The *Single All the Way *actor said that marijuana now helps him learn his lines. He said he memorizes big chunks of scripts better if he is high while reading them. When he's sober, Urie often finds that the material has stuck with him.

Urie had his first major breakthrough as Marc St. James on *Ugly Betty*, devoted and snarky assistant to Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams). *Ugly Betty* ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010.

Listen to the full episode of *Dear Chelsea *with Michael Urie below.**

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Source: "AOL TV"

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Source: LUX MAG

Full Article on Source: LUX MAG

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