57 Facts About Will Forte

Orville Willis Forte IV is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer.

Outside of SNL, Will Forte is known for creating and starring in the sitcom The Last Man on Earth.

Will Forte worked as a writer and producer on "3rd Rock from the Sun" and That '70s Show before joining Saturday Night Live.

Will Forte played various roles in comedy films before starring in the drama film Nebraska.

Orville Willis Forte IV was born in Alameda, California, on June 17,1970, the son of artist and former schoolteacher Patricia C and financial broker Orville Willis "Reb" Forte III.

Will Forte was raised in Moraga before moving to Lafayette at age 13.

Will Forte went by "Billy" in his early years until he was teased at school for it being a girl's name, at which point he decided he would from then on be known as "Will".

Will Forte was interested in comedy from a young age, growing up idolizing comedians Peter Sellers, David Letterman, and Steve Martin, as well as the sketch-comedy television series Saturday Night Live.

Will Forte often pulled pranks on his parents, and would record himself performing imaginary radio shows.

Will Forte did not aim to be a comedian and initially wanted to become a football player.

Will Forte was "a laid-back teen with a lot of friends" and a member of the varsity football and swim teams at Acalanes High School, from which he graduated in 1988.

Will Forte was voted "Best Personality" by his graduating class and served as freshman class president.

Will Forte had no ambitions for a television or film career, though his mother noticed a "creative streak" in him.

Will Forte co-wrote a feature-length script while there, and later said that he discovered he loved writing "more than anything [he] had ever done in [his] life".

Will Forte had been encouraged to attempt comedy during his years at university, and he decided to change his career path to do so.

Will Forte began taking classes at the Groundlings in Los Angeles, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school, while tutoring children to make ends meet.

Will Forte recalled his stint on the program as unpleasant, noting that he did not have enough experience in writing.

Will Forte tried stand-up comedy three times, mostly at open mic nights, but quit after being voted into the Main Company.

Will Forte joined the writing teams of two failed sitcoms, including The Army Show and Action.

Will Forte got jobs writing for 3rd Rock from the Sun and That '70s Show.

Will Forte loved writing and had mostly given up on acting, aside from acting with the Groundlings.

Will Forte felt his confidence was higher than usual, as That '70s Show had been picked up for two more years.

Will Forte was invited to audition for SNL, which he regarded as unexpected.

Will Forte's final character was an older piece from his days with the Groundlings, in which he portrays a gold-painted street performer who performs fellatio to pay for his face paint, which devolves into a song needlessly uttering the words "cock" and "face paint" dozens of times.

Will Forte felt his time to shine as a performer was already over, as he was in his thirties when he auditioned.

Will Forte felt working for SNL could not live up to the idealized version he had dreamed of, but he later realized he would be making a mistake.

Will Forte was promoted to repertory player after his first year.

Will Forte had to "re-learn" how to perform after years as a writer, and later felt his natural tendency to "overthink" things improved his performance.

Will Forte was particularly uncomfortable portraying President George W Bush, as he felt he was not the best impressionist and it paled in comparison to Ferrell's impersonation of Bush.

Will Forte was nearly fired from the program following his third season, but after two three-week extensions to decide his fate, he was brought back.

Will Forte estimated it took five seasons for him to feel fully comfortable performing on the show.

Will Forte made his film debut in Around the World in 80 Days.

Will Forte was well known for his characters Tim Calhoun, Greg Stink, and the Falconer.

Will Forte co-starred with Andy Samberg in the first SNL Digital Short, "Lettuce".

Will Forte often spent long hours crafting his sketches for the program, missing deadlines, but his pieces were often greeted warmly at table reads.

Will Forte was initially reluctant to commit to the sketch, deeming it too dumb, but accepted after persuasion from Taccone.

Will Forte left Saturday Night Live shortly before the beginning of the show's thirty-sixth season in 2010.

Will Forte felt it the "right time to go," considering his eight-year tenure there, his expansion into film with MacGruber, and his age.

Will Forte soon regretted the decision, calling the following year an "emotionally trying period," as he felt "devastated" that he would no longer be on the program.

Will Forte assumed his shot at a film career was ruined, and he imagined that if acting did not work out, he would return to writing primarily.

Will Forte took a role as Paul L'astname, the cross-dressing boyfriend of Jenna Maroney on the critically acclaimed sitcom 30 Rock.

Director Steph Green offered him the part, and Will Forte imagined it a "fun thing to try," though he noted that she had more confidence in him than he had himself.

Will Forte equated his casting in the film to his fear of joining SNL a decade prior, noting that he was "terrified" to begin working on it.

Will Forte began work on The Last Man on Earth, a sitcom, with longtime collaborators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller in 2013.

Will Forte serves as the series' creator, a writer, the lead role, and showrunner for the first season.

Will Forte felt odd being in charge of its writing team, and awkward at delegating tasks, so much so that he would end up doing the work himself.

In 2016, Will Forte played Hulka, a low-level weed dealer, in the comedy Keanu, starring Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key.

In 2021, Will Forte starred in Sweet Tooth, reprised his role as MacGruber in a TV series on Peacock, and began voicing Wolf Tobin in the animated sitcom The Great North.

In 2022, It was announced that Forte will voiced the lead role as Coach Dan in Disney and Pixar's first full length upcoming series Win or lose which will be on Disney+ in late 2023.

Will Forte was a childhood friend of founder Steven Wampler and previously the national spokesman for SciEyes, a non-profit organization created to support research, training and public education in stem cell biology and to further the field by recognizing and supporting its potential for creating new therapies for the treatment of blinding and debilitating eye diseases.

Will Forte was a primary donor towards the establishment of a research fellowship for third-year medical students at Duke Medical Center.

Will Forte serves on the board of directors of the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness.

Will Forte purchased his home there just two weeks before joining the cast of Saturday Night Live, which required him to move to New York City, and later admitted that "it was not the greatest timing".

Will Forte dated his Last Man on Earth co-star January Jones in 2015.

Will Forte's mother has visited every film set on which he has worked and made an appearance on a Mother's Day episode of SNL, in which he sang a song to her on Weekend Update.

Will Forte officiated his sister Michelle's wedding and filmed the birth of his niece and nephew.

Will Forte recounted listening to only one song in his office at SNL for an entire year because he wanted to challenge himself.