Michael Urie Says 'Incredible Talent' Brett Goldstein's Shrinking Role Is 'Such a Departure from Roy Kent' (Exclusive)

Warning: This story contains spoilers for season 2 of Shrinking.

Michael Urie has nothing but praise when it comes to Brett Goldstein's casting in Shrinking.

It was announced in March that Goldstein, who serves as one of the dramedy's co-creators and executive producers, would guest star in the Apple TV+ show's sophomore season. The role the Ted Lasso star would play was initially shrouded in secrecy, but it was revealed in the season 2 premiere, which aired on Oct. 16, that Goldstein's character Louis Winston was the drunk driver responsible for the death of Jimmy Laird's (Jason Segel) wife Tia (Lilan Bowden).

Following Jimmy's unexpected encounter with Louis during the premiere episode's end, Jimmy's teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) begins spying on Louis and eventually ambushes him at his place of work, making for a very emotionally charged interaction. Alice left her wallet at Louis' job and in his attempt to return it, he runs into Jimmy's best friend Brian (Urie), who later strikes up a friendship with Louis.

In the Nov. 12 episode, Brian informs Alice of his secret bond with Louis, leading her to request that they all meet. The trio then have a candid conversation while getting to know each other, and Alice even forgives Louis for his fatal mistake.

Urie praises the "brilliant" writers, co-creator Bill Lawrence and Goldstein for their work.

"Here comes Brett Goldstein, who is an incredible talent as a writer, as a stand-up comedian, as an actor. He's right off of the success of Ted Lasso and Roy Kent and he comes into play Louis, which is such a departure from Roy Kent," Urie, 44, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "It's a completely different guy."

"It's marketing genius because people know he's on it but don't tell them what it is that they play. But anybody who watches the show, I love telling people, 'Yeah, he's on it, but you won't believe who he plays,'" he continues, noting that Goldstein's character is related to "an old story that you do already know and you're not even thinking of it."

The Ugly Betty alum says that because viewers wouldn't necessarily be "expecting" Goldstein's cameo to be tied to such a twist, "It's such a smart thing," he says.

"The season's about forgiveness and about chosen family, and that this person that is already in their lives ends up, in a complicated way, a part of their recovery together, their family. That is, I think, thrilling and beautiful," he continues. "[The fact] that Brian is the one that helps both was both surprising and inevitable, I think."

Urie adds, "When this season started, I thought if I have a couple of jokes in every episode, I'll be happy and then, I get such juicy stuff. This story with Brian, Louis and Alice, I'm so proud of it."  

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New episodes of Shrinking arrive Wednesdays on Apple TV+.