Orville Willis Forte IV (/fɔːrˈteɪ/, born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, voice artist, comedian, impressionist, writer and producer. His work includes being a cast member on Saturday Night Live and the creator and star of the sitcom The Last Man on Earth. After obtaining a history degree at the University of California, Los Angeles and becoming a financial broker like his father, Forte changed his career path to comedy and took classes with the improvisational comedy group The Groundlings in Los Angeles. 　　He soon found he favored writing best, and he worked as a writer on That '70s Show before he auditioned for Saturday Night Live (SNL). He joined SNL in 2002, spending eight years as a cast member on the show, where he performed offbeat sketches. His most famous role on the show led to a feature film adaption, MacGruber (2010), that preceded his departure from the program. Forte took various roles in comedy films, before starring in the drama film Nebraska (2013). Forte created, writes and stars in his own television sitcom, The Last Man on Earth, which premiered on Fox in 2015. He was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, for acting and writing for the series. 　　Orville Willis Forte IV was born in Alameda County, California. His father, Orville Willis Forte III, is a financial broker, and his mother, Patricia C. (née Stivers), is an artist and former schoolteacher.He was raised in Moraga, before moving to Lafayette. He went by Billy in his early years until he was teased at school for it also being a girl's name, at which point he decided he would from there on be known as Will. 　　Forte describes himself as a "really happy kid", whose parents were "wonderful" and created a "very loving environment." He was interested in comedy from a young age, growing up idolizing comedians, Peter Sellers, David Letterman, Steve Martin and the sketch-comedy television series Saturday Night Live. He often pranked his parents,and would record himself performing imaginary radio shows. He did not aim to be a comedian, however, and he initially wanted to become a football player. 　　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, from which he graduated in 1988. He was voted "Best Personality" by his graduating class and served as class president. He had no ambitions for a television or film career, though his mother noticed a "creative streak" in him. Following high school, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and completed a degree in history. Planning to follow his father, he became a financial broker at Smith Barney Shearson in Beverly Hills, but felt "miserable" during his time there. He started writing while he was at Shearson, and he co-wrote a feature-length script. On the subject of writing, Forte remarked, "I discovered that I loved it more than anything I had ever done in my life." He had been encouraged to attempt comedy during his years at university, and he decided to change his career to become a writer-performer.