Editing Will Forte (section)

==Career==
[[File:Will Forte 2011 Shankbone.JPG|thumb|180px|left|Forte at the 2011 [[Tribeca Festival]] in Manhattan, New York]]
Forte began taking classes at [[The Groundlings]] in [[Los Angeles]], an [[Improvisational theatre|improvisational]] and [[sketch comedy]] troupe and school, while tutoring children to make ends meet. His first successful foray into comedy was ''101 Things to Definitely Not Do If You Want to Get a Chick'', a [[comic book]] he produced about incompetent men.<ref name="vulture"/> The comics landed him his first professional job writing for ''[[The Jenny McCarthy Show (1997)|The Jenny McCarthy Show]]'', a short-lived [[variety show]] starring [[Jenny McCarthy]]. Shortly thereafter, he was asked to submit a packet to the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' and was told Letterman responded favorably to animation.<ref name="vulture"/> After only nine months at ''Letterman'', he was "let go" from the job. He recalled his stint on the program as unpleasant, noting that he did not have enough experience in writing.<ref name="huff"/> "What an honor to work at that show but I don't think I was fully mentally prepared. [...] I always wonder what it would be like if I'd had a couple more years of experience before going there."<ref name="fast">{{cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3045421/how-being-terrified-helped-last-man-on-earth-will-forte-kill-on-snl-sitcoms-and-films|title=How Being Terrified Helped ''Last Man on Earth'' Will Forte Kill on ''SNL'', Sitcoms, and Films|first=Joe |last=Berkowitz|work=[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]]|date=May 1, 2015|access-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref>

Forte left New York and returned to Los Angeles, where he began performing with the Groundlings' Main Company, with [[Cheryl Hines]], [[Jim Rash]], and [[Maya Rudolph]].<ref name="wtf" /> He tried [[stand-up comedy]] three times, mostly at open mic nights, but quit after being voted into the Main Company.<ref name="wtf" /> He joined the writing teams of two failed sitcoms, including ''[[The Army Show]]'' and ''[[Action (TV series)|Action]]''. Forte got jobs writing for ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'' and ''[[That '70s Show]]''. He loved writing and had mostly given up on acting, aside from acting with the Groundlings.<ref name="wtf"/> While performing with the troupe in 2001, he was spotted by [[Lorne Michaels]], the creator of ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Forte felt his confidence was higher than usual, as ''That '70s Show'' had been picked up for two more years.<ref name="wtf"/> He was invited to audition for ''SNL'', which he regarded as unexpected.<ref name="huff"/>

At his audition for ''SNL'', he performed multiple original characters, including [[Tim Calhoun]], a speed reader, a prison guard, in addition to impressions of singer [[Michael McDonald (singer)|Michael McDonald]] and actor [[Martin Sheen]].<ref name="wtf"/> His 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.<ref name="huff"/> He felt his time to shine as a performer was already over, as he was in his thirties when he auditioned.<ref name="diablo">{{cite news|url=http://www.diablomag.com/April-2010/Will-Power/index.php?cparticle=3&siarticle=2#artanc|title=Will Power|date=March 19, 2010|first=Peter|last=Crooks|access-date=May 5, 2015|work=Diablo}}</ref> To his surprise, he was offered a chance to be on the show, but declined, opting instead for the financial stability of his work at ''That '70s Show''.<ref name="vulture2">{{cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/05/will-forte-last-man-on-earth.html|title=Will Forte on Last Man on Earth's Second Season, Tabloid Fame, and His Fun Kind of OCD|first=Jada|last=Yuan|work=[[Vulture (blog)|Vulture]]|publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=May 1, 2015|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> He 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.<ref name="fast"/><ref name="grantland"/>

After [[Will Ferrell]] left ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' the following spring, Forte joined the cast, premiering at the beginning of the show's [[Saturday Night Live (season 28)|twenty-eighth season]] in the autumn. He was promoted to repertory player after his first year.<ref name="beast"/> His early years on the program were characterized by [[stage fright]] and an inability to properly interpret sketches that he did not write himself.<ref name="grantland"/> He had to "re-learn" how to perform after years as a writer, and later felt his natural tendency to "overthink" things improved his performance.<ref name="fast"/> He 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.<ref name="av2010">{{cite news|title=Will Forte|first=Sean|last=O'Neal|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=May 21, 2010|url=https://www.avclub.com/will-forte-1798220154|access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref> His only role was often Bush, leaving him no chance for more "absurd" pieces he favored. He was nearly fired from the program following his third season ([[Saturday Night Live (season 30)|2004–05]]), but after two three-week extensions to decide his fate, he was brought back.<ref name="grantland"/> Forte estimated it took five seasons for him to feel fully comfortable performing on the show.{{Sfn|Shales|Miller|2002|pp=576-577}} He made his film debut in ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (2004 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McCarthy|first1=Todd|authorlink=Todd McCarthy|title=Around the World in 80 Days|url=https://variety.com/2004/film/markets-festivals/around-the-world-in-80-days-4-1200532772/|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=November 13, 2017|date=June 15, 2004}}</ref>

{{Quote box
| quote = "I've always liked weirder stuff. My main thing on ''SNL'' was that I was never gonna change my sensibility to get on TV—I was just gonna write what I liked writing and hopefully have a hit on that show somewhere."
| source =—Forte on his tenure at ''SNL''<ref name="fast"/> 
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| bgcolor= transparent
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}}

His humor at ''SNL'' has been described as bizarre,<ref name="huff"/> and he became known for many "10-to-1" sketches{{emdash}}pieces that were considered odd, placed at the very end of the show. He was also well known for his characters [[Tim Calhoun]], [[Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 2009–2010#Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink|Greg Stink]], and [[Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches introduced 2002–2003#The Falconer|the Falconer]]. Forte's favorite sketch on the show was one in which he played a motivational coach alongside football star [[Peyton Manning]].<ref name="beast"/> He also co-starred with [[Andy Samberg]] in the first [[SNL Digital Short|''SNL'' Digital Short]], "Lettuce". He often spent long hours crafting his sketches for the program, missing deadlines, but his pieces were usually received warmly at [[table read]]s.<ref name="vulture2"/><ref name="grantland"/> During his time at the show, he co-starred in and wrote the 2007 film ''[[The Brothers Solomon]]''. The film was originally a pilot for [[Carsey-Werner Productions|Carsey-Werner]], and its creation was an extension of his agreement to terminate his contract to appear on ''SNL''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=4287|title=The Brothers Solomon - Production Notes|publisher=CinemaReview.com|access-date=September 2, 2013}}</ref>

Forte's best-known character on ''SNL'' was [[MacGruber]], a [[special operations]] agent who is tasked in each episode with deactivating a ticking bomb but becomes distracted by personal issues. The sketches were based on the television series ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]''. It was created by writer [[Jorma Taccone]], who relentlessly pitched the idea to Forte.<ref name="av2010"/> He was initially reluctant to commit to the sketch, deeming it too dumb, but accepted after persuasion from Taccone.<ref name="pop"/> The first sketch aired in January 2007, and led to multiple more segments in the following years. In 2009, the sketches were spun off into a series of commercials sponsored by [[Pepsi]] premiering during [[Super Bowl XLIII]] which featured the actor behind MacGyver, [[Richard Dean Anderson]], as MacGruber's father. The advertisements led the character and sketches to receive a wider level of popularity.<ref name="pop">{{cite news|url=https://www.popmatters.com/article/125842-snl-macgruber-star-will-forte-is-a-soldier-of-fortune/|title='SNL'/ 'MacGruber' star Will Forte is a soldier of fortune|date=May 19, 2010|first=Chuck|last=Barney|work=[[PopMatters]]|access-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref> After the success of the advertisements, creator [[Lorne Michaels]] approached Forte, Taccone, and writer John Solomon with the idea to produce a ''MacGruber'' film.<ref name="cb">{{cite news|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Interview-MacGruber-s-Will-Forte-And-Jorma-Taccone-18661.html|title=Interview: MacGruber's Will Forte And Jorma Taccone|date=May 19, 2010|first=Katey|last=Rich|work=CinemaBlend|access-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref>

Regarding his experiences on ''SNL'', Forte remarked, "Looking back, the experience is something I'll never forget. I still miss it, and I'll always miss it. That's my family."{{Sfn|Shales|Miller|2002|pp=576-577}} His celebrity impressions included [[George W. Bush]], [[Tom DeLay]], [[John Edwards]], [[Timothy Geithner]], [[Newt Gingrich]], [[Chad Lowe]], [[Zell Miller]], [[David Petraeus]], [[Harry Reid]], [[Brian Williams]], and [[Hu Jintao]].<ref name="snl-china">{{cite web|title=C-SPAN: Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Obama Press Conference|website=NBC|series=Saturday Night Live|date=November 21, 2009|url=http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/china-cold-open/n12611?snl=1|access-date=May 7, 2017}}</ref>

In the summer of 2009, ''[[MacGruber (film)|MacGruber]]'' was shot on a tight schedule for four weeks in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]].<ref name="pop"/><ref name="cs">{{cite news|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/65926-exclusive-will-forte-and-jorma-taccone-on-macgruber|title=Exclusive: Will Forte and Jorma Taccone on MacGruber!|date=May 19, 2010|first=Edward|last=Douglas|work=[[ComingSoon.net]]|access-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref> It was written while simultaneously producing the weekly episode of ''SNL'', and the show's [[Saturday Night Live#Production|production process]] left the trio deprived of sleep.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine|url=https://techland.time.com/2010/05/21/only-6-questions-left-macgruber-the-will-forte-interview/|title=Only 6 Questions Left MacGruber! The Will Forte Interview|date=May 21, 2010|author=Steven James Snyder |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref> Forte was positive regarding the film, saying, {{cquote|What you see with this movie is exactly what we wanted to do. It's the three of us having a bunch of fun writing it, then having fun making it with a bunch of our friends—old friends and new friends. I think that fun comes across when you watch it. It's rare that you get that kind of creative freedom.<ref name="av2010"/>}} The film was released in May 2010 and received mixed reviews.<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|macGruber|MacGruber}}</ref> It fared worse at the box office, where it failed to recoup its budget and was pulled from theaters after its third week.<ref name="parade">{{cite news |first=Tim |last=Hayne |url=http://www.parade.com/celebrity/2010/07/biggest-box-office-flops-2010.html |title=10 Biggest Box Office Flops of 2010 (So Far) |work=[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]] |date=July 19, 2010}}</ref> Forte found the failure tolerable, commenting, "When you make something that you're really proud of and it doesn't do well, you can live with it."<ref name="grantland"/> The film has since seen more of a positive reception and has been dubbed a [[cult classic]].<ref name="iw">{{cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/09/macgruber-director-jorma-taccone-to-helm-new-line-action-comedy-spy-guys-105765/|title='MacGruber' Director Jorma Taccone To Helm New Line Action-Comedy 'Spy Guys'|date=September 21, 2012|first=Charlie|last=Schmidlin|work=[[IndieWire]]|access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref><ref name="yh">{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/s/forte-says-macgruber-2-priority-no-1-behind-203145249.html|title=Will Forte Says 'MacGruber 2′ Is 'Priority No. 1′ Behind New Fox Show 'Last Man on Earth'|date=February 27, 2015|first=Tony|last=Maglio|publisher=[[Yahoo!]]|access-date=April 12, 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Will Forte, Chris Miller & Phil Lord by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|alt=Three men sit at a table at a convention.|right|Forte alongside [[Phil Lord and Christopher Miller]] at WonderCon 2015]]

Forte left ''Saturday Night Live'' shortly before the beginning of the show's [[Saturday Night Live (season 36)|thirty-sixth season]] in 2010. He felt it was the "right time to go", considering his eight-year tenure there, his expansion into film with ''MacGruber'', and his age. In addition, his sister had just had children and he wanted to move to the West Coast to be closer to them.<ref name="beast"/> He 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.<ref name="vulture"/> He assumed his shot at a film career was ruined,<ref name="grantland">{{cite news|url=http://grantland.com/features/will-forte-last-man-on-earth-macgruber/|title=Will Forte Can't Stop (and He Hopes That Doesn't Bother Anyone)|first=Steven|last=Hyden|website=[[Grantland.com]]|date=February 27, 2015|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> and he imagined that if acting did not work out, he would return to mostly writing.<ref name="vulture">{{cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/05/25-factoids-about-will-forte.html|title=25 Things You Learn About Will Forte From Hanging Out With Him |first=Jada|last=Yuan|work=[[Vulture (blog)|Vulture]]|publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=May 5, 2015|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> Afterwards he entered what he has called a "lost period"<ref name="huff"/> and had small supporting roles, such as ''[[Rock of Ages (2012 film)|Rock of Ages]]'', ''[[That's My Boy (2012 film)|That's My Boy]],'' and ''[[The Watch (2012 film)|The Watch]]'', none of which were successes.<ref name="huff"/> The only commercial successful film which he worked on was ''[[Grown Ups 2]]'', where he made a [[cameo appearance|cameo]] as a male cheerleader.<ref name="huff"/> He also took a role as [[List of 30 Rock characters#Paul L'astnamé (Mr. Jenna Maroney)|Paul L'astnamé]], the cross-dressing boyfriend of [[Jenna Maroney]] on the critically acclaimed sitcom ''[[30 Rock]]''.<ref name="huff"/>

Forte took his first dramatic role for the 2013 film ''[[Run & Jump]]''. Director [[Steph Green]] offered him the part, and Forte imagined it a "fun thing to try", though he noted that she had more confidence in him than he had himself.<ref name="beast">{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/25/will-forte-from-snl-to-star-of-run-and-jump-and-nebraska.html|title=Will Forte: From 'SNL' to Star of 'Run and Jump' and 'Nebraska'|date=April 25, 2013|first=Marlow|last=Stern|newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]]|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> Later, he sent an audition tape to [[Alexander Payne]] for a role in his next film, ''[[Nebraska (film)|Nebraska]]''.<ref name="beast"/> He 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.<ref name="huff">{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/will-forte-nebraska_n_4377764|first=Mike|last=Ryan|date=December 5, 2013|title=With 'Nebraska,' Will Forte Leaves MacGruber Behind|access-date=April 13, 2022|work=[[Huffington Post]]}}</ref> He felt scared initially, but followed [[Bruce Dern]]'s acting advice to "look for the truth" in each scene—in other words, "In every scene, you're just trying to play it as honestly and as real as you can."<ref name="fast"/>

Forte began working on ''[[The Last Man on Earth (TV series)|The Last Man on Earth]]'', a sitcom, with longtime collaborators [[Phil Lord and Christopher Miller]] in 2013. Though it was the duo's idea, Forte attached himself to the concept, crafting a [[Film treatment|treatment]] over a weekend. The series was [[Pitch (filmmaking)|pitched]] around [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] to positive responses and was picked up in 2014 by [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]].<ref name="nyt1">{{cite web|title=Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Maintaining Mystery in 'The Last Man on Earth'|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/arts/television/review-foxs-the-last-man-on-earth-stars-will-forte.html|first=Mekado|last=Murphy|date=March 1, 2015|access-date=March 1, 2015}}</ref> Forte served as the series' creator, a writer, the lead role, and showrunner for the first season. He felt odd being in charge of its writing team (composed of longtime friends), and awkward at delegating tasks, so much so that he would end up doing the work himself.<ref name="fast"/> Being a showrunner "truly was an amount of work I never knew existed," he said, which involved him working a "minimum of 12 hours" daily.<ref name="vulture1">{{cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/03/will-forte-the-last-man-on-earth.html|title=Will Forte on His Unusual New Sitcom, The Last Man on Earth|first=Corban|last=Goble|work=[[Vulture (blog)|Vulture]]|publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=March 2, 2015|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> The series premiered in 2015 to positive responses,<ref>{{cite web|title=''The Last Man on Earth'' Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-last-man-on-earth|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=March 1, 2015}}</ref> and was renewed for three further seasons.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tvline.com/2015/04/08/last-man-on-earth-season-2-renewal|title=''Last Man on Earth'' Scores Super-Quick Season 2 Renewal at Fox|work=TVLine|first=Michael|last=Ausiello|date=April 8, 2015|access-date=April 8, 2015|archive-date=April 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410190054/http://tvline.com/2015/04/08/last-man-on-earth-season-2-renewal/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2016, Forte played Hulka, a low-level weed dealer, in the comedy ''[[Keanu (film)|Keanu]]'', starring [[Jordan Peele]] and [[Keegan-Michael Key]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kit|first1=Borys|title=Will Forte to Co-Star With Key and Peele in Comedy 'Keanu' (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/will-forte-star-key-peele-798567/|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=April 13, 2022|date=May 28, 2017}}</ref> In 2018, he played ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'' magazine co-founder [[Douglas Kenney]] in the [[Netflix]] biographical film ''[[A Futile and Stupid Gesture (film)|A Futile and Stupid Gesture]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kit|first1=Borys|title=Will Forte to Star as 'National Lampoon' Co-Founder in Netflix Movie (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/will-forte-star-as-national-875870/|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=April 13, 2016|date=March 16, 2016}}</ref> The film was directed by [[David Wain]] and features [[Domhnall Gleeson]] as co-founder [[Henry Beard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/04/domhnall-gleeson-national-lampoon-co-founder-netflix-film-a-futile-and-stupid-gesture-1201731814/|title=Domhnall Gleeson To Play National Lampoon Co-Founder In Netflix Film 'A Futile And Stupid Gesture'|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|date=April 4, 2016|access-date=June 22, 2016}}</ref> Forte voiced [[Shaggy Rogers]] in the ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'' film ''[[Scoob!]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/zac-efron-amanda-seyfried-scooby-doo-warner-bros-movie-casting-1202580895/|title=Warner Bros' Animated Scooby-Doo Finds Its Fred & Daphne In Zac Efron & Amanda Seyfried|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=March 22, 2019|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=March 22, 2019}}</ref> In 2021, Forte starred in ''[[Sweet Tooth (TV series)|Sweet Tooth]]'', reprised his role as MacGruber in a [[MacGruber (TV series)|TV series]] on [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]], and began voicing Wolf Tobin in the animated sitcom ''[[The Great North]]''. In 2022, it was announced that Forte had a leading role for Disney and Pixar's first animated television series ''[[Win or Lose (TV series)|Win or Lose]]''. It premiered on Disney+ in 2025.<ref name="ForteWoL">{{cite web|last=White|first=Peter|title=Will Forte To Star In 'Win Or Lose', Pixar's First Longform Series For Disney+|url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/will-forte-win-or-lose-pixar-1235113669/|date=September 9, 2022|access-date=September 10, 2022|website=[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]]}}</ref> He voiced an older version of the titular character in ''[[Scott Pilgrim Takes Off]]''. In 2024, Forte was announced in the main role of Martin in ''[[Sunny Nights]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-11 |title=Sunny Nights: Stan series starts production in Sydney {{!}} ScreenHub Australia - Film & Television Jobs, News, Reviews & Screen Industry Data |url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/news/sunny-nights-stan-series-starts-production-in-sydney-2646787/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=www.screenhub.com.au |language=en-AU}}</ref>