Michael Urie finds it "powerful" when people tell him how meaningful they find his TV shows.

The 46-year-old actor is arguably most famous for playing Marc St. James in Ugly Betty, but has found fame more recently in Apple TV show Shrinking.

He's been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role, and loves hearing how much of a chord the show - and his character - has struck with viewers.

Michael told Awards Radar: "It's such a powerful tool, television, especially when you're on shows that are meaningful to people.

"I mean, I hear from people about Shrinking all the time, that it's like their family show, that they watch together, which is so moving to think that, like, we're watching something that people who love each other sit around and, you know, elbow and nudge and smile and laugh together and it's just like, that's awesome…."

The new season of Shrinking sees Michael's character Brian and Devin Kawaoka's Charlie became fathers, with Michael keen to do the storyline justice.

He mused: " [I]t's such a complicated thing when same sex couples have a child and I really wanted us to show it. I really appreciated that the writers wanted to tell that story and in such a specific way.

"I think it's so interesting about specificity in storytelling is, the more specific you get, the more suddenly relatable it all is. You know, I think there's a sense that make it for everyone, and then everyone will relate.

"But it's actually the opposite."

Michael added that despite playing a gay character on Shrinking, he's often stopped by straight men in the street - which means the world to him.

He explained: "When I'm stopped by people who like Shrinking, it's a lot of straight men…these are masculine guys and they love Brian and they are okay talking about their feelings.

"We're showing men how to take care of themselves and each other and it's awesome. It's so sweet when I see like a hetero dude come up to me and I can see in his eyes how much it means."