Michael Urie on Why Starring in Broadway's “Spamalot” Is a 'Little Perfect Kismet Moment' (Exclusive)

Michael Urie plays the cowardly knight Sir Robin in Broadway's 'Spamalot,' an adaptation of 1975's classic 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'

Michael Urie is experiencing a full-circle moment with his latest stage role.

Urie, 43, currently stars in Broadway's revival of Spamalot, the musical comedy adapted from the 1975 comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The actor remembers seeing the musical during its initial Broadway run in the 2000s, when Clay Aiken at one point took on the role Urie now plays as King Arthur's cowardly knight Sir Robin.

"When I saw the show, I was like, that's a part I could play, and I really, really want to play it," Urie, known for his television role on Ugly Betty as Marc St. James, tells PEOPLE.

Years later, his opportunity to take part in the goofy retelling of the King Arthur legend came with the Spamalot revival, which began a limited run at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theatre in Washington, D.C., back in May.

Urie says when he heard about the revival he knew he was interested. So was Spamalot's music supervisor and director John Bell, who the actor says "had the same idea" and helped facilitate his casting.

"So it was kind of this little perfect kismet moment where I wanted to do it," Urie says. "They were interested in having me and then John sort of vouched for me."

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Urie acts alongside a powerhouse cast of Camelot knights that includes James Monroe Igleheart, Christopher Fitzgerald, Ethan Slater, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Jimmy Smagula and former Saturday Night Live star Taran Killam, who plays Sir Lancelot and a host of iconic characters from Monty Python's original film through Jan. 7.

"They're so in the room even though they're not there," Urie says of Monty Python, the influential British comedy troupe that made the 1975 film. Eric Idle, who played Sir Robin in the original movie, wrote Spamalot's book and lyrics; he also collaborated on the musical's score with the composer John Du Prez.

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Idle, now 80, recently attended a performance of the revival, writing on X Sunday that he is "proud of this amazing Spamalot cast & production & filled with so many emotions I had tears rolling down my cheeks."

Urie says, "We really feel all of those guys because the material — even though it's old, the movie's old and now it's a revival of the musical — the material is still so fresh. [There is] just something so fresh about this writing. It takes you by surprise. It takes an audience by surprise in such a wonderful way that the spirit of the Pythons is always with us."

"Really big shoes to fill," Urie adds of stepping into Idle's iconic role. (David Hyde Pierce played the role in the original Broadway production.) "He played Sir Robin in the movie and there he is. And it was an honor, an honor to meet him."

Spamalot requires most of its cast to play multiple roles. Urie's favorite scene in the show is one where he plays a castle guard assigned with keeping a prince (Slater) locked away in a tall tower by his father — only to continually bumble his assignment.

"It's so delicate, it's so perfectly written that I get a little bit nervous before every night because I want it to be perfect," he tells PEOPLE. "I want to make sure that the tempo is right, the pace and every word is perfect because I think it's such an incredible piece of writing."

Spamalot is playing at the St. James Theatre now.

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Read the original article on People.