American comedian and actor Will Forte appeared on Saturday Night Live for eight seasons from 2002 to 2010. He gained recognition for his role in the comedy MacGruber and also appeared in recurring roles on 30 Rock and as the lead in The Last Man on Earth.
Childhood & Education
Orville Willis Forte IV, famously known as Will Forte, was born on June 17, 1970, in Alameda, California to parents Orville Forte III, a financial broker, and Patricia, a former schoolteacher and artist. He spent his childhood in Moraga and relocated to Lafayette at the age of 13 with his family.
From a young age, he developed a love for comedy and looked up to comedians like Steve Martin and Peter Sellers, frequently pulling pranks on his parents. Despite this, his initial career goal was to become a football player.
He attended Acalanes High School, where he participated in both the football and swim teams. He then pursued a degree in history at UCLA and successfully graduated.
Will Forte’s Career
After graduating from UCLA, Forte decided to pursue a career as a financial broker at Smith Barney Shearson in Beverly Hills, just like his father. However, he soon realized that the job was not for him and instead shifted his focus towards comedy and writing.
He began attending classes at the Groundlings, an improvisational sketch comedy group and took up tutoring as a source of income.
Subsequently, he produced the comic book titled “101 Things to Absolutely Avoid if You Want to Attract a Girl,” which led to his initial career opportunity as a writer for “The Jenny McCarthy Show.” Later, he spent nine months as a writer on the popular program “Late Show with David Letterman.”
After that, Forte went back to Los Angeles and joined the Groundlings’ Main Company for performances. He worked as a writer for the unsuccessful sitcoms “The Army Show” and “Action,” and later secured writing positions on the popular sitcoms “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “That ’70s Show.”
In 2001, Forte caught the attention of “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels while performing with the Groundlings. Michaels invited him to audition for the show, but Forte turned down the opportunity in order to maintain financial security by working on “That ’70s Show.”
After his appearance on “SNL,” Will Forte went on to have a regular role as Paul L’astnamé, a cross-dressing character, on the NBC show “30 Rock.”
He later made guest appearances on shows like “How I Met Your Mother,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Up All Night,” and lent his voice to multiple animated series such as “Sit Down, Shut Up,” “The Cleveland Show,” “American Dad!,” and “Allen Gregory.”
In 2015, Will Forte took on his most celebrated role after leaving “SNL.” He assumed the lead role of Philip Tandy “Phil” Miller in the post-apocalyptic comedy series “The Last Man on Earth,” which he also developed, scripted, and oversaw.
His contributions earned him three Emmy Award nominations, including two for his performance and one for his writing skills.
In 2004, Will Forte’s first appearance in a feature film was as Young Bobby in the reimagining of “Around the World in 80 Days.” He then went on to star in “Beerfest” in 2006.
The year after, he took on his first major role as the lead, alongside Will Arnett, in “The Brothers Solomon,” which he also wrote. Forte then went on to play supporting characters in various comedies, including “Baby Mama,” “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men,” and “Fanboys.”
In 2009, he provided the voice for Joe Towne in the animated movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” The following year, he returned to his “SNL” character of MacGruber for a movie adaptation of the sketch.
Will Forte then went on to star in several other comedic films, such as “A Good Old Fashioned Orgy,” “Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie,” “Rock of Ages,” “That’s My Boy,” and “The Watch.”
Personal Life
Will Forte got engaged to Olivia Modling in 2019. The couple first crossed paths in 2018. Their daughter was born in February 2021 and the couple tied the knot on July 31, 2021.
Net Worth
With a net worth of $14 million, Will Forte is a well-known actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He gained recognition as a member of the cast of “Saturday Night Live” from 2002 to 2010 and later received praise for his work as the creator and lead actor of the Fox sitcom “The Last Man on Earth.”
