WASHINGTON — It’s been a wild ride from the lowbrow “SNL” to the highbrow “Nebraska.”
But actor Will Forte continues to prove he isn’t confined to any one forte.
His latest project is the FOX post-apocalyptic comedy “The Last Man on Earth,” which he created. Not only did Forte write the pilot; he also stars as the leading man, Phil Miller, whose namesake is an homage to executive producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“The Lego Movie”).
Set in Tucson, Arizona, in the year 2020, Phil was once an average family man who hated his job at the bank, but is now humanity’s last, best hope after a deadly virus has wiped out the world’s population.
“He tries to make the best of it alone, he gives up, and as he’s about to drive into a rock, he discovers another human being,” MacGruber tells WTOP. “They just don’t get along, but they still just decide for the betterment of mankind and for all the people who came before us, let’s repopulate. But she won’t do that unless they’re married.”
That woman, Carol, is played by the daring comic Kristen Schaal (“The Daily Show”), who has worked with Forte several times on previous TV comedies.
“There was no casting process for Kristen’s character. I’ve always loved her,” Forte says. “I got to do a tiny part in ‘Flight of the Conchords,’ and that was kind of how I first got to know her. And then after that, I did a little thing on ‘Bob’s Burgers’ and got to hang out with her, and then we both did ’30 Rock’ together. So I’ve admired her work for a long time.”
As the plot would have it, their characters are just starting to get along when the talented and gorgeous January Jones (Betty Draper from “Mad Men”) shows up on the scene.
“I got to be on ‘SNL’ when she hosted, and so I got to know her a little bit there,” Forte says.
Speaking of “SNL,” Forte has fond memories of his “MacGyver” spoof sketch “MacGruber” — perhaps fonder than the general public.
“People don’t really give a crap. No respect, I tell ya,” Forte jokes. “It sounds crazy to say, but that’s one of things I’m most proud of, is that movie ‘MacGruber.’ It’s a horrifyingly disgusting movie that my grandparents unfortunately were still alive to see.”
Not all of Forte’s work has been so lowbrow. In 2013, he joined fellow “SNL” alum Bob Odenkirk in the highbrow comedy “Nebraska,” a black-and-white indie flick nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Alexander Payne) and Best Actor (Bruce Dern).
As Forte and Odenkirk hold down prime-time slots on back-to-back nights — “The Last Man on Earth” at 9 p.m. Sundays on FOX, “Better Call Saul” at 10 p.m. Mondays on AMC — television is finding solid ratings with the “SNL Boys from Nebraska.” Call them the “Comedy Cornhuskers.”
“I just remember Bob and I would reality-check each other all the time and just go, ‘What are we doing in this movie? How did this happen?’ It was such a different experience for both of us,” Forte says. “It was the experience of a lifetime. I got to hang out for two solid months in a car with Bruce Dern and just got to hear every story he had. He’s the best storyteller of all time.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_MTRKedJ5U
After “Nebraska” with Payne, Forte has gotten to work with other acclaimed filmmakers. He recently starred in “She’s Funny That Way,” written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich about a married Broadway director who falls for a prostitute-turned-actress and helps advance her career.
“He is the coolest guy of all time,” Forte says of Bogdanovich. “The cast of that was insane.”
The “insane” cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Rhys Ifans, Cybill Shepherd, Jennifer Esposito and Quentin Tarantino.
“God I miss them. You’re making me miss people!’ Forte jokes with WTOP. “You’re making me realize just how this ‘Last Man on Earth’ experience, which has been a delight, [has] also just been so much work and I’ve lost touch with so many people. I’ve gotta get my life back on track.”
