Will Forte on AllMovie

A graduate -- like Will Ferrell, Kathy Griffin, and many others -- of the famed Groundlings comedy troupe in Southern California, comic-turned-actor/screenwriter Will Forte segued from that stage ensemble into a series of small-screen producing assignments, on such sitcoms as 3rd Rock From the Sun and That '70s Show. Forte only began to gain national attention, however, when he signed on as one of the regular cast members of Saturday Night Live in 2002. Within the framework of that series, the comic parlayed his versatile all-American winsomeness into a host of diverse characterizations including President George W. Bush, The Falconer, Senator Zell Miller, and Tim Calhoun. Meanwhile, he also authored scripts for Late Night with David Letterman on the side and penned a feature script, for the comic vehicle The Brothers Solomon (2007), in which he also starred opposite Will Arnett. In that picture, the men played John and Dean Solomon, two socially hopeless brothers desperate to find a woman to have their baby, to fulfill their dying father's last wish. At about the same time, Forte also joined scripters Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and others by contributing to the screenplay of the teen sex comedy Parental Guidance Suggested (2007). As an actor, Forte's resumé also includes roles in such comic romps as Beerfest (2006) and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. In 2008 he had a small part in Tina Fey's Baby Mama, and the next year he appeared in the Broken Lizard vehicle The Slammin' Salmon. In 2010 he wrote and starred in a big-screen adaptation of his recurring SNL character MacGruber, but the film met a chilly box office reception. In 2012 he had a part in the jukebox musical Rock of Ages.