Editing Will Forte (section)

==Early life==
Orville Willis Forte IV<ref name="people/8646635">{{cite news |last1=Picou |first1=Sabrina |title=Who Is Will Forte's Wife? All About Olivia Modling |url=https://people.com/who-is-olivia-modling-will-forte-wife-8646635 |access-date=1 May 2025 |work=[[People.com]] |date=May 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524122123/https://people.com/who-is-olivia-modling-will-forte-wife-8646635 |archive-date=May 24, 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="millionaire">{{cite AV media |date=April 8, 2020 |title=[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (American game show)|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire]] |medium=Television production |minutes=49 |language=en}} Jimmy Kimmel: "Is Reb your full name?" Reb Forte: "My full name of Orville Willis Forte III. He's Orville Willis Forte IV."</ref> was born in [[Alameda, California]], on June 17, 1970.<ref name="sfexaminer">{{cite news |title=Will Forte gets 'Extra Ordinary,' Dan Scanlon moves 'Onward' |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/will-forte-gets-extra-ordinary-dan-scanlon-moves-onward/article_9dba7b4c-1e06-5648-8983-c65ddfcb5d91.html |access-date=November 28, 2023 |work=[[The San Francisco Examiner]] |date=February 27, 2020 |quote=...Forte, who was born in Alameda...}}</ref> The son of artist and former schoolteacher Patricia<ref name="vf"/> and financial broker Orville Willis "Reb" Forte III.<ref name="millionaire"/><ref name="people/8646635"/> He grew up in [[Moraga, California|Moraga]] before moving to [[Lafayette, California|Lafayette]] at age 13.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pereira |first1=Alyssa |title=SNL alum Will Forte on growing up in Lafayette: 'I feel like I was my best self in high school' |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/SNL-will-forte-Lafayette-acalanes-last-man-13776217.php |access-date=March 9, 2020 |work=[[The San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=April 18, 2019}}</ref> He went by "Billy" in his early years until he was teased at school for it also being a girl's name. At that point he decided he would from then on be known as "Will".<ref name="diablo"/> Forte described himself as having been a "really happy little boy" whose parents were "wonderful" and created a "very loving environment".<ref name="wtf">{{cite video |people=[[Marc Maron|Maron, Marc]] (Interviewer); Forte, Will (Interviewee) |date=January 9, 2014 |title=Episode 460 - Will Forte |url=http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_460_-_will_forte |format=mp3 |medium=Podcast |access-date=May 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111071028/http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_460_-_will_forte |archive-date=January 11, 2014}}</ref> He 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]]''.<ref name="vulture"/> He often pulled pranks on his parents,<ref name="vulture"/> and would record himself performing imaginary radio shows. He did not aim to be a comedian, but initially wanted to become a [[American football|football]] player.<ref name="wtf"/>

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]] in Lafayette where he graduated in 1988. He was voted "Best Personality" by his graduating class and served as freshman class president.<ref name="diablo"/><ref name="youtube/flqQzCsP1Y4">
*David Nadelberg, ''[https://getmortified.com/watch/sessions/ The Mortified Sessions]'' (2011-2012), TV interview (Dec 13, 2011), [[Sundance TV|Sundance Channel]]
*{{cite web |title=The Mortified Sessions |url=http://www.sundance.tv/series/the-mortified-sessions |website=SundanceTV |access-date=1 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331064506/http://www.sundance.tv/series/the-mortified-sessions |archive-date=31 March 2015}}
*{{cite web |author1=The Mortified Sessions |title=Another Day at the Forte House - Will Forte |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flqQzCsP1Y4&list=PLEE318045674419E7 |website=[[SundanceTV]] |access-date=1 May 2025 |language=|via=[[youtube]] |date=13 December 2011 |quote=Cross-dressing in his sister's clothes was no big deal growing up.}}</ref> He had no ambitions for a television or film career, though his mother noticed a "creative streak" in him. After high school, he attended the [[University of California, Los Angeles]], where he was a member of the [[Lambda Chi Alpha]] fraternity and completed a degree in history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bruinslca.com/?page_id=43|title=Alumni|publisher=Lambda Chi Alpha at UCLA|access-date=September 2, 2013}}</ref> Forte wanted to become a financial broker like his father at [[Smith Barney Shearson]], but felt "miserable" there.<ref name="diablo"/> He co-wrote a feature-length script while there,<ref name="wtf"/> and later said that he discovered he loved writing "more than anything [he] had ever done in [his] life".<ref name="diablo"/> He had been encouraged to attempt comedy during his years at university, and he decided to change his career path to do so.<ref name="beast"/>