Will Forte is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for his eight-year tenure on Saturday Night Live and creating the sitcom The Last Man on Earth. His career path wasn’t straightforward—he worked briefly as a financial broker before switching to comedy in his late twenties.
Born Orville Willis Forte IV on June 17, 1970, in Alameda County, California, he built his career through writing, improvisation, and character work rather than stand-up comedy. At 55 years old, he continues working steadily across television, film, and voice acting projects.
Early Life and Background
He was born to Patricia Stivers, an artist and former schoolteacher, and Orville Willis Forte III, a financial broker. He has an older sister named Michelle. The family lived in Moraga before moving to Lafayette, California, when he was thirteen.
He attended Acalanes High School in Lafayette, where he played varsity football and swam competitively. He served as freshman class president and was voted “Best Personality” by his graduating class in 1988.
His mother noticed a creative streak in him growing up, though he had no particular ambitions for television or film during his teenage years. Comedy interested him, but he didn’t consider it as a career path at that stage.
Education and Early Career Shift
After high school, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and earned a degree in history. Following graduation, he worked briefly at his father’s firm, Smith Barney Shearson, training to become a financial broker.
According to interviews, he felt miserable in that work environment. During this period, he co-wrote a feature-length script with a friend. He later stated that he discovered he loved writing more than anything he had done previously in his life.
Friends had encouraged him to try comedy during his undergraduate years. He eventually decided to leave the financial industry and pursue comedy professionally, a decision that required walking away from stability and family expectations.
The Groundlings and Writing Work
He began taking classes at The Groundlings in Los Angeles while tutoring children to support himself financially. The Groundlings is an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school that has trained numerous successful comedians including Lisa Kudrow, Phil Hartman, and Kristen Wiig.
He tried stand-up comedy three times, mostly at open mic nights, before deciding it wasn’t the right format for him. He quit stand-up after being accepted into The Groundlings Main Company, which meant he could perform regularly in sketch comedy.
He performed with the Main Company alongside Cheryl Hines, Jim Rash, and Maya Rudolph. During this period, he also began getting writing work on television projects.
His early writing credits included The Jenny McCarthy Show in 1997 and The Army Show. He later wrote for successful sitcoms including 3rd Rock from the Sun and That ’70s Show, which provided steady income and taught him how professional television writing rooms operate.
Saturday Night Live Years
While performing with The Groundlings in 2001, he was spotted by Lorne Michaels, the creator and producer of Saturday Night Live. He auditioned for the show in 2002, performing multiple original characters including Tim Calhoun and a prison guard, plus impressions of singer Michael McDonald.
He joined Saturday Night Live in 2002 at age 31, which was older than most cast members when they start. He remained with the show for eight seasons until 2010, becoming one of the longer-tenured cast members.
His most recognized recurring character was MacGruber, a parody of MacGyver who gets distracted by personal issues while trying to disarm bombs. The sketches always ended with the bomb exploding. The character became popular enough to spawn a 2010 film adaptation and a 2021 limited series on Peacock.
He left SNL before the show’s thirty-sixth season in 2010. He later described the following year as emotionally difficult, feeling devastated that he would no longer be part of the program. He assumed his opportunity for a film career might be limited and thought he might return primarily to writing.
Film and Television Work
After leaving SNL, he appeared in supporting roles in several films including Rock of Ages, That’s My Boy, and The Watch. Most of these were not commercial successes. His most successful film during this period was Grown Ups 2, where he made a cameo appearance.
In August 2012, he was cast in Alexander Payne’s film Nebraska, beating out higher-profile actors including Casey Affleck and Paul Rudd. The drama, shot in black and white, featured him as David Grant, a man driving his elderly father across Nebraska to claim a sweepstakes prize.
The film premiered at Cannes in 2013. His performance received critical acclaim and won him the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor. The role demonstrated his dramatic acting abilities beyond comedy.
From 2015 to 2018, he created, starred in, and executive produced The Last Man on Earth on Fox. The post-apocalyptic comedy followed Phil Miller, who believes he’s the last surviving human after a virus wipes out humanity.
For the series, he received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations—two for acting and one for writing. The show ran four seasons before Fox canceled it, ending on an unresolved cliffhanger.
Voice Acting Career
He has provided extensive voice work for animated projects. His voice acting credits include the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs films from 2009 to 2013, The Lego Movie films from 2014 to 2019, and Scoob! in 2020.
He currently voices Wolf Tobin in the animated sitcom The Great North, which began airing in 2021. He also has voice work in Disney and Pixar’s animated series Win or Lose, which premiered on Disney+ in early 2025.
Voice acting provides consistent work and allows him to take on multiple projects simultaneously without the time commitment required for live-action filming.
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Personal Life
In 2015, Will Forte briefly dated actress January Jones, his co-star from The Last Man on Earth. They separated after approximately five months.
In 2018, he met Olivia Modling at a party. They became engaged in 2019. Olivia does not work in the entertainment industry.
They welcomed their first daughter, Zoe Douglas Forte, in February 2021. They married in July 2021 in a small ceremony. In an interview with PEOPLE, he explained that the wedding was originally planned for later but circumstances led them to hold it sooner with minimal planning.
They have since had a second daughter named Cecilia. He has spoken in interviews about enjoying fatherhood and how it has changed his perspective on work and life.
Career Income and Financial Stability
Professional details about income and net worth should be understood as estimates rather than confirmed figures. His career spans over 25 years across multiple formats including television writing, acting, voice work, and film.
His income comes from various sources including his SNL salary during his eight-year tenure, film roles, his work creating and starring in The Last Man on Earth, and ongoing voice acting projects. Voice acting for major animated films and series provides steady income.
Industry sources suggest his career has provided financial stability, though exact figures are not publicly disclosed. His long career across multiple formats reflects consistent employment in competitive entertainment fields.
Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Orville Willis Forte IV |
| Date of Birth | June 17, 1970 |
| Birthplace | Alameda County, California |
| Education | UCLA (History degree) |
| Known For | Saturday Night Live, MacGruber, The Last Man on Earth, Nebraska |
| Years Active | 1997–Present |
| Spouse | Olivia Modling (married July 2021) |
| Children | Two daughters: Zoe (b. 2021) and Cecilia |
| Notable Awards | National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Nebraska, 2013) |
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