Will Forte Commits to the Bit

Summary

Pablo Torre Finds Out: "Will Forte Commits to the Bit"

Release Date: May 8, 2025

In this engaging episode of "Pablo Torre Finds Out," host Pablo Torre sits down with the multifaceted comedian and actor Will Forte to explore the nuances of his career, iconic roles, and personal anecdotes from behind the scenes. This in-depth conversation sheds light on Will's journey through the American comedy landscape, his creative processes, and the personal relationships that have shaped his path.

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1. Introduction to Will Forte’s Comedy Legacy

Pablo Torre opens the discussion by highlighting Will Forte's significant contributions to American comedy, particularly his creation of some of the most idiosyncratic and beloved characters in recent history. He emphasizes Fortes's pivotal role in shaping shows like "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) and his beloved film "MacGruber."

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2. Auditioning for SNL and Landing the Role

The conversation delves into Will Forte's initial apprehensions and eventual success in joining SNL. Will recounts his audition experience and the impact it had on his career trajectory.

Will Forte [05:00]: "I was just terrified of it. I don't want to go. That sounds so scary."

Will shares how his unique audition pieces left a lasting impression on SNL's creator, Lorne Michaels, underscoring his innate comedic talent.

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3. Portraying President George W. Bush on SNL

A significant portion of the episode focuses on Will’s tenure portraying President George W. Bush. He discusses the challenges and personal growth that came with embodying such a high-profile figure.

Will Forte [14:25]: "I don't agree that I was the right person for that, but I, you know, it was..."

Will reflects on taking over the role from Will Ferrell, expressing both admiration and the pressure of meeting expectations.

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4. Creating and Developing MacGruber

Will Forte provides an inside look into the creation of "MacGruber," a satirical take on the classic action hero archetype inspired by MacGyver. He discusses the creative process, from sketch inception to the feature film adaptation.

Will Forte [23:35]: "We wrote this whole sketch... So we just get into this insane fight."

Despite the film's initial box office struggles, Will speaks passionately about its cult following and the personal fulfillment it brought him as a creator.

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5. Personal Anecdotes and On-Set Stories

The duo shares humorous and candid stories from Will’s career, including memorable pranks and on-set dynamics that highlight his playful nature and deep bonds with colleagues.

Will Forte [19:18]: "He just deadpan, just came in. You could tell there was some... I have two daughters, and they're gonna, you know, at some point listen to this and go, like..."

One standout story involves Will recounting a celery scene from "MacGruber," showcasing the lengths he and his co-stars went to for comedic effect, even amidst personal challenges like Maya Rudolph's pregnancy.

Will Forte [35:30]: "So. And here I'm, you know, just having... it's very painful... we just have to keep doing it."

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6. Reflections on Val Kilmer and Personal Relationships

A poignant segment of the episode is dedicated to Will's friendship with the late Val Kilmer. He shares heartfelt memories and the profound impact Val had on his life, both personally and professionally.

Will Forte [46:23]: "I just see a little light coming out. Not from the lights, but either it would be coming from one of two things."

Will describes their time living together, Val's quirky habits like dressing as Mark Twain, and the deep camaraderie they shared, highlighting the emotional loss felt by Val's passing.

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7. Future Projects and Creative Aspirations

Looking forward, Will Forte discusses his willingness to revisit beloved projects like "MacGruber" and his aspirations for future creative endeavors. He expresses cautious optimism about potential sequels and the evolving landscape of comedy.

Will Forte [51:08]: "I would love to do another MacGruber if somebody would give us a chance."

Will emphasizes the importance of creative authenticity over broad commercial appeal, staying true to his comedic sensibilities.

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8. Closing Thoughts and Reflections

Pablo Torre wraps up the episode by expressing deep appreciation for Will Forte's dedication and impact on comedy. The conversation concludes on a note of mutual respect and admiration, celebrating Will's contributions to the entertainment industry.

Pablo Torre [51:27]: "I have a feeling that someone out there might be insane enough to reflect upon... the level of commitment that it takes to make something truly special."

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Conclusion

This episode of "Pablo Torre Finds Out" offers a comprehensive and intimate glimpse into Will Forte's world, blending professional milestones with personal stories. Through engaging dialogue and memorable anecdotes, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of what drives Will's comedic genius and his enduring legacy in American comedy.

Transcript

[Pablo Torre]

Welcome to Pablo Torre finds Out. I am Pablo Torre. Today's episode is brought to you by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours. And today we're gonna find out what this sound is.

[Will Forte]

I suck for my face pain. I suck for my face paint. Face pain.

[Pablo Torre]

Right after this ad.

[Will Forte]

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[Pablo Torre]

Yo, how you doing, dude?

[Will Forte]

Just wash my hands. Good to see you. How you doing?

[Pablo Torre]

I like you. Thank you for doing this on short notice too.

[Will Forte]

Sorry it's so last minute.

[Pablo Torre]

No, this is. This is ideal. Were you coming from other stops on your press tour?

[Will Forte]

We started a couple weeks ago.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Will Forte]

And did a big junket. And then we last week did the premiere and I did a Kimmel. And when we were working on this, we were doing it in like Beacon, New York. So when I saw you, that was why I only came down for a half hour because I came straight from work and had to go back.

[Pablo Torre]

I was gonna say when I saw you, it was at Sedegas birthday. This would have been the fall. Yeah, it was karaoke. You appeared out of the mists of upstate New York and people were like, we don't know why Will is even able to be here right now.

[Will Forte]

I surprised him. Yeah. I was up, up there in New York and we finished at like 10. So I just got in the car and I think I got there at 11:30 and I said, I. Or maybe even midnight. I said, I can only stay for a half hour. And I did. I stayed and did a karaoke song.

[Pablo Torre]

You very memorably duetted with Jason. Some Luther Vandross.

[Will Forte]

Always and forever. Right then a kind of recent one that is one of our anchors now is shallow.

[Pablo Torre]

Which you've done. I know. On stage at his charity.

[Will Forte]

I always get to do the Gaga part. So, like trying to hit that. Oh, man, I have shredded so many people's eardrums from trying to hit that note. I mean, my version of hitting it is just like bunting the ball.

[Pablo Torre]

The word that comes through that I heard at karaoke and that you were just describing when it comes to blowing out your vocal cords, there's this through line of what I dare say is commitment, like, you commit to this man.

[Will Forte]

Thank you.

[Pablo Torre]

But what I have been realizing, what I've been finding out, talking to people that know you so much better than I, of course, know you, is that this is part of your myth and reality, it turns out, is that, like, you're a myth. Genuinely, the stuff I've been hearing about it, it all feels almost too absurd to be your life. But this is, this is the case.

[Will Forte]

Well, I'm looking forward to, to diving in there.

[Pablo Torre]

So what I need you to know at the top here is that Will Forte is responsible for some of the most idiosyncratically bizarre characters in the history of American comedy. And he is also responsible for my favorite comedy of all time, which starred Val Kilmer and Kristen Wiig, and also isn't even really about the SNL sketch that inspired it. And so I will finally get to talk to Will about all of that in just a bit here. But you should also be aware that I have been doing a bit of reporting on Will because first of all, I'd never met him outside of that half hour karaoke when he briefly left the set of his excellent new Netflix show with Tina Fey called the Four Seasons. And so what I did was just start asking Hollywood people why specifically. They all clearly love working with him as he made his way from the Groundlings, where he was improvising, and then Letterman where he was a writer, and then that 70s show and Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock and Conan and the Last man on Earth and also a serious critically acclaimed film like Nebraska. And at some point in this research, mutual friend of ptfo, Mike Schur, who wrote for SNL in the Office before creating Parks and Rec and many other TV shows, told me something eye opening. Mike told me that out of all of the SNL auditions he has ever seen, all of which happened to occur in front of the show's creator, Lorne Michaels, nobody has ever made him laugh harder than Will Forte.

[Will Forte]

My SNL audition, I was writing at the 70s show at the time and was loved writing at that show. It was we had just gotten picked up for two years, which is unheard of. I had been on a series of shows that had gone gotten canceled after 13 episodes. So this was the first time that I felt real job security. So when I did this Groundling show, there was a hiatus period in between seasons and I did a Groundling show. Lauren came and he Asked, I think, four of us to come out and audition. And I was like, I can't. I can't do it. I'm under contract for 70s show. I think I was just. Well, I know I was just terrified of it. Like, I don't want to go. That sounds so scary. Anyway, eventually he talked me into going. The people at 70 show were super cool about it. So I went over, did the audition, which was Tim Calhoun, which I did on the show a little bit. I am Tim Calhoun, and I am running for the office of President of America. I did a Speed Reader, which I also did on the show. Done. Poor Jesus. And I did a couple impersonations. Michael McDonald and Martin Sheen, both of them, very bad impersonations. And then this thing, it was the Gold man, which was something that I did at the Groundlings for. It was something that was very dirty.

[Pablo Torre]

This is an NC17 show when it needs to be. For the record here. So.

[Will Forte]

So this is a guy, one of those guys you've seen people on the streets who are, you know, dressed in all gold or all silver. Well, this one was all gold. And he doesn't move. And then you put something in the jar, and then do, you know, a couple moves, and then, you know, freeze again until somebody puts more money in. So my thing was, this guy gets his money stolen. Somebody takes all the money out, but they're not putting money in, so he can't move, and he has to wait until somebody else puts money in. And then he, like, goes tries to find. Find out where the person is, and. And they're long gone. So he's up there, and then a bunch of people crowd around him, like, why is the sounds so sad?

[Pablo Torre]

What is the turn at which this becomes a thing?

[Will Forte]

Okay, I'll sing it for you if you would like.

[Pablo Torre]

I would love to find out what the Gold man song looks like.

[Will Forte]

I'm gonna just shut up and sing it. Okay. Just because I'm a man made of gold doesn't mean I'm made out of money. But the calling I found is to give people pleasure Their incredibly precise robotic movement. That's why I come out to the streets to help me make ends meet and I work real hard to fill up that jar but then a bad apple ruins the barrel heart of gold 24 karat but through all the pain I grin and I bear it Heart of gold and living a golden dream and any way you slice it we're all on the same team Come on, everybody. And then everybody gathers around heart of gold 24 karat. But through all the pain I grin and I bear it heart of gold? But it don't make me no saint? Cause I got a little secret? I suck for my face pain. Come on, everybody sing it with me. Hard oak. I suck for my face pain I suck for my face pain, Face pain I suck for my face pain I suck that for my face pain Face pain, Face pain, Face pain and face pain Face pain, Face pain, face pain, Face pain, face pain, Face paint, face paint together it lasts in a heavenly union and it just. Kids going out and, you know, then it's just all. And face paints. And I remember getting to. That's how I ended the thing. And I walked up to Lauren and I didn't know what to say. So I said, sorry for all the. And then I got the job.

[Pablo Torre]

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[Will Forte]

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[Pablo Torre]

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[Will Forte]

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[Pablo Torre]

One of the single most important and glamorous jobs you could have in comedy is to be the guy who plays the sitting President of the United States on Saturday Night Live. And back in 2004, as you may recall, our sitting president about to start his second consecutive term was an athlete named George W. Bush.

[Will Forte]

We must stop the terror.

[Pablo Torre]

I call upon all nations to do.

[Will Forte]

Everything they can to stop these terrorists. Kill us. Thank you. Now Watch this drive.

[Pablo Torre]

Which you may not recall, however, is that the cast member Lorne Michaels assigned to Portray W in 2004, was the self described non impressionist who joined the show in 2002 and is also sitting with me in studio here today. And this turned out to be a deliberate turning point in Will Forte's life in a typically atypical way. So you, you, you're already sort of like disclaiming your other impressions, but just to give people the recap on, like, you taking the mantle of W. Just like, man, talk about like a backup quarterback stepping into a job vacated by who in this case, well, it was.

[Will Forte]

Vacated by Will Ferrell, finally, to Saddam Hussein.

[Pablo Torre]

I have just one more thing to say. Live from. No, wait, two more things to say.

[Will Forte]

One of the people I still consider to be, you know, he's, if not the funniest person alive, he's in the top three, tied for funniest person alive. There's nobody funnier than him.

[Pablo Torre]

With one of the most iconic political impressions of all time.

[Will Forte]

It's like this went beyond a political impression for me. But you, like, I get it. Like, it's. You have to have somebody doing George Bush on snl.

[Pablo Torre]

He's the president. We gotta get someone to do this.

[Will Forte]

I don't agree that I was the right person for that, but I, you know, it was. My God, I think it was my second year when they, when they came and. And asked me to do it. And so A, I'm terrified. It's not my strong suit. Any impersonation. I've since found out that I can do a Kermit the Frog, and I think that's it.

[Pablo Torre]

Can we hear Kermit the Frog?

[Will Forte]

Kermit the Frog here. But everybody can do a Kermit the Frog. I mean, a pretty good version of it.

[Pablo Torre]

Now you're George W. Bush, by contrast. Do you have that even in you? That muscle that can activate what yours was?

[Will Forte]

I just remembered the first time I did it. I think it was just saying it was hard. But I also wanted Osama to know something. Listen, I'm ready anytime. Your turf or mine? I'll be waiting. Texas style.

[Pablo Torre]

I know that Sudeikis ended up taking W. No. Or who got it.

[Will Forte]

Yes. Lauren came. Yeah.

[Pablo Torre]

What's that like to be taken to call for the reliever when you're on the mound doing W. I think Lauren.

[Will Forte]

Knew that I didn't like doing it. I think it was best for the show. Sudeikis, he's just really good at those things. And if you wear a uniform and regularly carry a gun. We need you in Iraq. Whether you're a New Jersey state trooper or Alan Iverson. How does he talk about.

[Pablo Torre]

Basically, it was entirely through the lens of, like, when he took over W from you, it allowed you to be the, like, staggeringly original person that you actually are, as opposed to this vessel. For other stuff, I will say, I.

[Will Forte]

Do think that was a big part of it, because in the early going, when I was given this Bush assignment, I would usually be in these cold opens as Bush, and then basically it's like, oh, Forte's taken care of. He's got his bush. And it's like, no, I don't. I don't want to be doing that. I'll do it if I have to, but. But it's nothing like the stuff that I do.

[Pablo Torre]

I was sucking for face paint before.

[Will Forte]

Yeah, it's just, like, weird, absurd stuff I like. And. And. And because of the Bush stuff, I very rarely got a chance to try those things out. So once. Once, like, I was free of the Bush. Bush thing, which was. I remembered hearing that, and. And it was like, 99%. Yes. Oh, I can't. I. I'm free. I'm free. And then 1% of, like, oh, he didn't like me.

[Pablo Torre]

Right.

[Will Forte]

You know, you. You can't help but know that, like, oh, that means I wasn't doing great, But. But it was way more the other side of it, like, oh, I'm. I'm finally free. And. And then, yeah, a little bit at a time, got to. Got to start doing the kind of stuff that I like to do now. You must fly away from these woods and bring back something. A possum, a squirrel, anything to keep us alive. So be gone, my friend. Bring us life.

[Pablo Torre]

Bring us life. What is also clear to me as I assess the scouting report here is that, you know, I don't know what a prank, as defined, necessarily entails, but, you know, I may or may not have heard stories about you, I don't know, throwing omelets out windows.

[Will Forte]

Yes. It was a. We used to go to this place called. Geez, what is it? It was a real. The Pump.

[Pablo Torre]

I've. I've. Been to the Pump.

[Will Forte]

You have?

[Pablo Torre]

I have.

[Will Forte]

Is it still around?

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Will Forte]

Oh, way to go.

[Pablo Torre]

Pump the Pump. Energy food. Yeah, that's right.

[Will Forte]

So Eric Sloven, he had ordered this meal for, like, late night. And I came in, and I forget why, but I had a $20 bill out, and he took the $20 bill and went to his window and said. And threw my $20 bill down, which was really funny. So he's watching it. He's like, ha, ha. And it's fluttering down. I don't remember. I'm sure that I deserved for that $20bill to go down there, even just for just being kind of annoying walking into the room. And so he's watching the thing flutter down. And while he's doing that, I had grabbed his meal and just dropped it out. And it kind of. He had to realize, like, oh, that's my freaking omelette that's going down. No. So the way it's always told is that I just callously threw out his omelet.

[Pablo Torre]

This was like ultimate Frisbee to omelet.

[Will Forte]

This was me evening the score.

[Pablo Torre]

This was justice.

[Will Forte]

Guilty as charged. Yeah. With. Yes, it was justice.

[Pablo Torre]

Thank you. What. What form of justice is being served when it comes to how you decorated a certain keyboard?

[Will Forte]

That's also slowman. So that pro. Like, that makes. And that was way before all this stuff. So I. I did. I don't do a lot of manscaping, so I have a pretty full jungle in my nether regions. And so at some point, I just, like, took a bunch. I cut off a bunch of my. My pubic hair, and I sprinkled it all over his keyboard just to bug him for a little surprise when he came back in the room. And he. He. Sloven is amazing. So he just. He just deadpan, just came in. You could tell there was some. A little curbed anger. He was holding it in check. And he just undid his keyboard and came over and brought it over to my keyboard, and then undid that. And then, you know, we had a keyboard swap. Look, I don't stand by this stuff. It's not. It was stuff we did. I look back now, and I'm like, oh, I have two daughters, and they're gonna, you know, at some point listen to this and go, like, listen to.

[Pablo Torre]

The sports adjacent podcast and be like, so why was. Why was our dad being deposed for pubes?

[Will Forte]

Why did our dad get kicked out of the country?

[Pablo Torre]

I do wanna get to when I'm. When I'm talking about how you were as a writer and the deliberateness, like, you care about details, and you have an internal logic to why the thing you wrote is that way. And so just being the guy who has a point of view that feels like it's fully formed, did that. Did you walk in with, like, I have this sensibility, and I want to make sure it is protected as it makes its way through the operating room of snl.

[Will Forte]

Yeah. Yeah, I. I did. I think everybody has their lane. I'd rather have less people like it more than more people liking it. But, like, yeah, I like that. I'd rather people go, like, I love that. But, like, one out of every 10 people. So, yeah, I got. If I'm being charitable to myself, say, like, I love that. You know, as opposed to, like, you know, six people saying, like, yeah, he's good. He's fine. But that.

[Pablo Torre]

But that is, I think, how I feel when I rewatch you and Peyton Manning doing a locker room motivational, you know, talk sketch.

[Will Forte]

Look, Coach, it's no use, all right? We suck. And I know for a fact that we can't win this game. And I'd much rather head home, bake some snickerdoodles with a few of my bros, and then practice French kissing with my French kissing puppy it. So, all in favor of getting the F out of here, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Nay. That was. That's my favorite one I ever got to do. So we wrote this whole sketch. The dance wasn't even part of it at the very last minute. All credit to John Lutz, because we're about to turn this in. And he's like, yeah, at the table read tomorrow, maybe dance during the. During the music. Like, are we just gonna sit there? And it's like, do a little dance or something? So I'm like, oh, okay. It was like. It's so crazy to think back now. Cause that's whole thing. I mean, Peyton is so funny in that and says so much funny stuff.

[Pablo Torre]

But, like, without that dance, I mean, truly, as a person rewatching it, I'm like, they started with the dance. Cause the whole payoff is the dance, right? Whoa, Cougars.

[Will Forte]

Can you feel it? Holy. I am feeling it, Coach. You would think, but it's. That's. That's that place. It's such a collaborative place. The potato chip sketch, if you ever saw. Have you seen that one?

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, so. But explain it, please.

[Will Forte]

This was a sketch that me and John Solomon wrote. This was one of those examples I was going to say about one that kind of just flowed out. John Solomon was writing with somebody. So it's getting later and later, and soon it's 6 in the morning, 6:30 in the morning. And at, like, 7 in the morning, he's like, all right, what do you want to do? And I had had this little idea that I had recorded into my phone that was just like. I think I just Said like, don't dig my potato chip. I don't want to dig my potato chip. And so he's like, oh, that's really stupid. So basically, it's really hard to describe the sketch. It's basically that voice of that guy right there is. Works at NASA. And I thank you, sir, for your interest in outer space. So how long have you wanted to be an astronaut? And Jason Sudeikis comes in. The best way to describe him is like a Colonel Sanders looking guy with the voice of Foghorn Leghorn. Sir. I will be waiting here patiently in the deepest of anticipation. And he's interviewing to be an astronaut. And it's just the most bonkers sketch. And I leave the room, I warn him not to touch my potato chips. He eats a potato chip. I come back in, I catch him, and we just get into this insane fight. I did not come here to have my reputation assassinated. Then you shouldn't have taken that potato chip. You don't take people's potential jail. But I did nothing of the sort. That is between you and your God. Now get the hell out of here. I'm not going nowhere until I'm an astronaut. We just basically did stream of consciousness writing. Like, you know, we knew immediately when we're like. We're like, okay, what should we do? Interior, NASA. And it's like. And John's like, yeah. Logical.

[Pablo Torre]

Pro baller. Lonzo ball for buzzballs ready to go. Cocktails take 12.

[Will Forte]

Buzzballs just dropped their biggest blue balls.

[Pablo Torre]

The script says, Biggie's blue balls. Lonzo take 13.

[Will Forte]

Blue balls just dropped their biggest buzz balls. Ugh.

[Pablo Torre]

Let's try a vocal exercise.

[Will Forte]

Buzz balls, Biggies. Blue balls. Buzz balls. Biggies. Blue balls. Big balls just dropped. Get blue balls. This season with bu. You responsibly. Buzz balls. Available in spirit, wine and malt. 15% ALCO BS LLC, Carrollton, Texas.

[Pablo Torre]

Your philosophy, by the way, that you articulated before of. I would rather have this be the favorite thing for a minority of people as opposed to the broad appeal that can sink the level of your creative sort of sensibility and ambition. It does take us to MacGruber quite organically.

[Will Forte]

Yeah. I mean, that does my.

[Pablo Torre]

My theory of this movie, which I consider, like, truly like my. When people ask me, and I'm on the record again saying, like, what's your favorite comedy? I say MacGruber unapologetically.

[Will Forte]

Thank you.

[Pablo Torre]

The sketch was originally a parody satire of MacGyver.

[Will Forte]

Yeah.

[Pablo Torre]

And the scene ends. And MacGruber, again, if I may just summarize him as A character is a terrible person who is a terrible teammate and the bomb explodes, killing everybody.

[Will Forte]

I feel like you've gone down some kind of alt right misinformation rabbit hole. You're all wrong about that. Karen, My information is 100 non insane. You ever heard of QAnon?

[Pablo Torre]

You know, there are movies like this and they're called cult classics. Which is again like a pejorative wrapped inside of a compliment. But it is like it's wet hot American summer. It's this stuff that wasn't commercially viable or successful, I should say that got an afterlife because through an authentic human to human virality, it became this test of like, are we sharing this very specific wavelength?

[Will Forte]

That's a really cool way to put it. When we did MacGruber, it was the exact movie we wanted to make. I mean, little things here and there. If the budget was bigger, we could have done a couple things that we didn't get a chance to do. Then you know, we get it exactly the way we want it. We're so excited about it, so proud of it. And then it just the bed so hard. And it was really tough. It's hard not for your brain not to go like, oh, I agree with the movie going public who hates, you know, didn't go to see this. You know, they gotta know more than we do. Yeah, exactly. So it's hard not to like but.

[Pablo Torre]

Just, just to give a sense will of like how in real time you experienced it. Like, you know, you have a movie coming out, your family's proud of you, I presume. But like truly like were they ready for what?

[Will Forte]

This was my mom and we just talked about this the other day. Lost friends who she, you know, she's like being a good mom and saying Willie's movie comes out and she, she lost some friends who. Who just couldn't be friends with her anymore. By the way, I think that that was a good paring down process because.

[Pablo Torre]

Whoever is gonna like again, do we share this wavelength?

[Will Forte]

Yeah, but more than that, just like my mom had nothing to do with that. She was just being a good mom. That's right. Supporting her son.

[Pablo Torre]

So at every turn of this podcast, I wanted it to. Family has nothing to do with the contents of what we're describing, but the reason why it's something that I love so much is because it has so little to do with whatever like logline it originally was. How would you describe what it is actually?

[Will Forte]

Because just a full on love letter to all the 80s action movies that John and Yorma and I and everybody of our era grew up watching, you know, Uncommon Valor, Roadhouse. I know so many movies went in because they all share this one. So we're just like, we're just having fun doing our versions of the movies that we love to see. And we're like. And at the heart of it is this dip.

[Pablo Torre]

But what Sudeikis described it as, as we were like talking through. Like. How would you describe MacGruber to someone who hasn't seen it? He's like, well, it's kind of like if the Jerk was an action movie. So like Steve Martin's the Jerk.

[Will Forte]

I mean the Jerk is I think my all time comedy movie favorite and maybe all time Jaws is up there. I love Jaws, Rage of the Lost Ark. But, but, but that's a real compliment.

[Pablo Torre]

But, but like the commitment of Steve Martin in the Jerk to be always this guy.

[Will Forte]

Yeah.

[Pablo Torre]

So too are you as MacGruber at. I mean, look, throat ripping as a love language.

[Will Forte]

Awesome. Got another throat rip in. Cool. Might go for the turkey. The turkey? Yeah, it's a bowling term for when you get three strikes in a row.

[Pablo Torre]

You know, for those not familiar, like. Yes. There's the action stuff. There is just an incredible amount of you ripping people's throats out of their bodies.

[Will Forte]

That was really disgusting. We'll get used to it because that's my main move. Besides, he would have done the exact same thing to me if he had the chance. No, he wouldn't have. He would have shot you.

[Pablo Torre]

And then as I like survey, like now I'm just doing the exercise of like, what, what was the point of no return for Will's mom's friend? And I'm like, was it the celery?

[Will Forte]

What are you doing? Making a little distraction. By the way, the celery scene. My mom came that day to watch us film. So she, the night before she called up and said she was there with two friends. And these weren't the two friends that she lost. She was there the night before. And she said, so honey, we're gonna come to the set in the morning and then we're gonna go to Santa Fe. And I said, well, let me pitch this. Why don't you go to Santa Fe in the morning and then come to the set when you get back? Because I knew that this frickin celery scene was up. And she's like, let me check with, with Barbara and Marcia. So, so she, she calls, calls them and she says, no, we're going to come in the morning. So I'm like, all right, you know, I think I warned her, but. But anyway, anyway, so that we're doing this celery scene, which, for those who have not seen the movie, is basically, I'm creating a distraction to try to let Ryan Philippe's character take out these snipers. And so what I chose is a distraction is dancing around naked with a piece of celery in my butt. When you use the old celery trick, you're gonna want to go with the thick end. Seems counterintuitive. But if you go thin in first, just slides right out. You're wasting your time. I'm never, ever gonna do that. So she just watched me take after take, you know, dancing around with celery in my pocket.

[Pablo Torre]

How many takes roughly, would you say, Barbara?

[Will Forte]

I mean, you gotta do this angle, and then you got closer and closer. So it was. Yeah, I'm probably out there for, you know, two hours doing it. I would guess something like that. So anyway, at a certain point, I just. I remember looking over and my mom. My mom's just the most supportive person. My dad, too. My whole family, very lucky. But my mom was there just smiling. You know, I can't really. You know, she might have even waved. And then I just saw her two friends right behind her, kind of horrified.

[Pablo Torre]

But the sex scene. Sex scenes, yes. Romance, 80s music soaring like sincere into a series of sounds that I assume you already had mastered earlier in your life before you unveiled them in this way.

[Will Forte]

All three of us, John and Gorman. I all kind of enjoy the, you know, doing stuff for a little longer than people feel comfortable with. And so it was. The editing process was like, that was all three of us. I think I wanted it, you know, double the length it was. And then. And, you know, I like the idea of the.

[Pablo Torre]

For the Snyder cut of this. The Forte cut.

[Will Forte]

It's like, man, I think it. What. What ended up turning into what we. We finally agreed on on that length. And. And. But. But, yeah. And then the. So Kristen. Oh, man. God bless her. You know, she's. It was very hot. It was a summer in New Mexico. I'm a sweater again. We know I'm not really a sweater unless I get active in moving around. And then I just can't stop sweating. So she. If you look. I mean, there's so much stuff that we cut around that was just like somebody's pouring a bucket of water on her.

[Pablo Torre]

The second one with Maya Rudolph. So just the timeline of this, because I was trying to, again, do my research as a. As a responsible Rigorous journalist. Wasn't she pregnant at the time? Maya?

[Will Forte]

She was eight months pregnant.

[Pablo Torre]

She.

[Will Forte]

For those who haven't seen the movie, this is. I'm. I'm feeling really guilty. I've just had sex with Vicky, who was Casey, Maya Rudolph's character's best friend.

[Pablo Torre]

Yes.

[Will Forte]

But Casey was dead, so I went to the. I go to the cemetery to apologize to Casey's gravestone, and she shows up in ghost form. And then my apology to her turns romantic and we start having sex. So. And then it just pushes to me, like, fully naked, and she's sitting on this headstone with no back support or anything, and she's eight months pregnant. So, like, I have, like, a little thing covering my genitals, but I'm completely naked besides that. And I'm just like, you know, just having.

[Pablo Torre]

I can't stress enough how vigorous the approach you have here is.

[Will Forte]

I mean, she's a total pro, and we've known each other forever, so she was. It didn't feel like that was, like, emotionally uncomfortable for either of us, but physically, basically anything's uncomfortable when you're eight months pregnant. And this position she was in, I think, was very uncomfortable. And here I'm, you know, like, then. Then, like, it's. So anyway, they would have a stand in who would come in every once in a while for the shots we could get away with to, like, you know, to give this poor woman a rest. And then we had to do it so that you can see Brandon Trost, our cinematographer, his dad comes by. He's like a person picking up trash in the park for some reason at 2 in the morning. And his point of view then is me just having sex with the air. And so Jorma for that one, I remember. So I'm having sex and this thing, it's because of where I'm at every thrust. The only way my body stops is by knocking right at this level of my shins into this. This gravestone. So it's very painful. And it's going on for, you know, a minute. And then I'm like, you know, they. It's from behind, so I'm like, all right, you guys, how we doing? We get. It's very painful, you know, trying not to move my mouth. And they just keep going. Soon I just hear them laughing because they were just. They had gotten it so long before, but they just wanted to make me keep doing it.

[Pablo Torre]

Commitment, commitment. Just as a matter of now doing the accounting of. Of. Of the family members involved. Have you met the child Maya birthed?

[Will Forte]

Oh yeah, yeah.

[Pablo Torre]

Is, are, is he or she aware of what, how close in contact she were?

[Will Forte]

It's very funny because it's like, you know, she must be like 16 now. And I do, I haven't seen her in a while, but I did do something for, I think it was at some point I saw Maya and, and her and like, it's just kind of almost inappropriate to bring it up because at the time she was probably 12. So we, you know, trying to, it's kind of funny to us like, oh, this is the one who was in. It's like you can't really say, yeah, this, this was, yeah, I was like, you know, you know, you heard what I, how I just explained it. That's not something you tell to like this probably was now that you think about it, seven years ago or something. And so she would have been nine or something.

[Pablo Torre]

Oh my God.

[Will Forte]

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[Pablo Torre]

But when it comes to the Hollywood people who love spending time with Will Forte and you can see yet more A listers who fit that description in the four seasons which came out just last week on Netflix. The collaborator everybody told me to ask about is Val Kilmer. Val Kilmer died at age 65 from pneumonia just last month after career playing Iceman in Top Gun and Batman in Batman Forever and Jim Morrison in the Doors and also, yes, MacGruber's arch nemesis in a parentally polarizing adaptation of a Gross SNL sketch that happened to Gross less than $10 million worldwide. And so I really wanted to talk about Val Kilmer with Will Forte, but I also wasn't sure how Will would feel. Can we talk about the now late great Val Kilmer? Yeah, I mean, just to go from the beginning though, like Val Kilmer convincing him to do every he's in this movie. If you've never seen it, just know that he is a star of the movie. You've now heard described as one of the great all time names, by the way.

[Will Forte]

Oh yeah, yeah. It doesn't matter. There's still enough ammonium nitrate left in that warhead to blow up the White House. It's Congress combined. Right again. Of course it's going to be off. Hard to fly it without the guidance system. That's another one that's like.

[Pablo Torre]

No, I will say. I will say very, very confidently that Dieter Von K is just the only name that character could have ever been named.

[Will Forte]

I remember how blown away we were. And then for him to be a part of it. And then you go through the whole experience and you just get to know the guy, and then soon it's like, oh, this is just my buddy Val. Like, it's so weird that then you just forget because he's such a part of your life that, like, then when I, you know, when he sadly passed away, you see all these things and you're like, oh, that's right. This guy who's my buddy is like. Like, what a. What a. Just an amazing career he had. But you just forget about it. But I remember there was a point where he stayed with me for a while. Yes.

[Pablo Torre]

This was another thing that I did not appreciate until he passed. Because then the stories started circulating that you and Val Kilmer, for some real period of time, lived together. He moved in with you more specifically, right?

[Will Forte]

Yeah. So he was selling his place in New Mexico, and he was trying to find a new place. He was living in a place in Malibu, but having a dispute with his landlord. So he was trying to find a new place in Malibu, and he had had a party, and he invited me and my girlfriend at the time, and so we were over there and he said, hey, I'm getting a new place. Can I stay with you for a couple days? I think he said for a couple days. However he phrased it made me think that it was going to be a couple days until I can lock down this new place. And I said, yeah, of course. Great. So this was a Saturday, and Monday he shows up, and then, like that afternoon, his assistant came with carrying two, just enormous duffel bags filled with books. And then I was like, oh, this is not. This is a bad sign. I mean, not a bad sign because it's a different sign.

[Pablo Torre]

He's here for the longer haul.

[Will Forte]

I don't think two days is what it's going to be because it just turned into this amazing, delightful thing that I look back on with so much joy. Like, he's so many fun stories, but, man, I just will never forget the stuff that he was just a. It was a delight to get to have that experience with him. And there was one day, I will say that just as I was saying earlier, like, oh, he just becomes Val and becomes your buddy. There was this day where we were sitting around the dining room table and he started listening to these Doors songs through his speakers. And. And I was a big Doors fan growing up, so we both started singing these songs together. And then it kind of dawned on me as we're going through, like, just remembering that Doors movie and how special that was. And I was at UCLA at the time, and I think they were looking for extras, and I was going to Alaska for the summer or something, so I couldn't. I couldn't do it. But I just remembering, like, oh, my God, this is this guy that I idolized growing up. And one of the reasons I did was for this role. He's sitting right there and I'm getting to sing this with him. And this is a guy who I'm buddies with now. You know, it was just like. It kind of sunk in, just how, How. How special an experiences it is and just how funny life is and. And like, you know, a lot of. Lot of. A lot of messages. Take a moment to smell the roses type stuff. But, yeah, he was a special. A special, unique. There is nobody like that guy.

[Pablo Torre]

Often, it seems, based on, again, the reporting I have. I have become aware of, often dressed as Mark Twain.

[Will Forte]

Yeah, he was getting together his Mark Twain show. So he was watching. A lot of times I'd come back and all the lights in the house would be off, and he would just be in his little guest bedroom, and the door was cracked a little bit, and I'd just see a little light coming out. Not from the lights, but either it would be coming from one of two things. One, he'd be reading a book and he'd have, like, a little miner's lamp. Exactly, yes. And he would use that to read. And so that was one way. The other way was he was going through a big 30 rock kick. He loved the show 30 Rock. So he. He watched that a bunch. And so I would just see him, you know, with a little tablet or whatever. Whatever. It was a DVD player probably at the time. So I, having been a part of 30 Rock, they asked me to do one of the DVD commentaries and I said, you know what? Val Kilmer is living with me right now, and he loves the show. Would you ever want us to do it together? And they're like, of course. So anyway, I just tell him, you know, meet me at this place, and freaking Val shows Up dressed as Mark Twain. He's just been, like, walking around the streets of the third Street Promenade as Mark Twain. And it was just like, that kind of stuff. You just never knew what was going to happen. He was fearless and fun, and he had this way of communicating. He would be like, mock serious, but you. But also so silly at the same time. It was just real, real. A real loss.

[Pablo Torre]

I'm still mad that you guys didn't do the Amazing Race.

[Will Forte]

Oh, yeah. That was for people who don't know that we. I used to watch the Amazing Race back then. So he comes in, he's like, what are you doing? This reality TV stuff is going to rot your brain. You got to turn this off. And I'm like, I think you might like this if you gave it a chance. So check it out. So he's like, all right. He kind of begrudgingly sits down on the couch and got very into it, to the point that at the end of the episode, he's like, we gotta do the Amazing Race. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, let's do it. And then. And then we both called our reps the next day, and it was a resounding no from all of them. They're like, no, you crazy. So anyway, when he passed, I called my agent back, and I was kind of reminding him, like, yeah, at some point, we were gonna go on that Amazing Race together. That's. You know, And. And he's like. He was like, oh, that'd be awesome. It's too bad you didn't do that. I'm like, what? You're the dude who told us not to do. But I do look back now, and, you know, sometimes you just gotta just do it. Because that's one I think we should have done. My God.

[Pablo Torre]

My God.

[Will Forte]

Look, I am. As I said before, you go through these junkets, and you think back on your past, and it's like, I'm the luckiest guy on the earth. I got to. You go into comedy, going to the ground lengths. It's like, I just want to be on snl. That's what I want. And then I. Letterman wasn't even a part of it. And then all of a sudden, my two dreams would be, write at Letterman, be at snl. I got to write at Letterman. Then I got to be on SNL for eight years. And when I left SNL, MacGruber bombed at the box office. I was not like this. I wasn't leaving, like, oh, this guy's a sure thing to get any job ever again. Like, I was aware that that might have been the last acting job I had. And then just somehow it's like blessing after blessing with Nebraska came out of nowhere. And then getting. And that led to Last man on Earth. You know, looking back, I would have never seen myself, you know, being 15 years after leaving SNL, being on a. On a podcast. Well, podcast didn't really exist, but like to talk about a project I'm in currently with Tina Fey and Steve Carell and Colman Domingo.

[Pablo Torre]

While the guy across from the desk is about to ask, clearly this means now, following the rhythm of your career, that you're going to make MacGruber 2. You're going to make another MacGruber.

[Will Forte]

Look, I. It's that MacGruber family is. It is a family, and they're all people that I love. So, dear would love to do another MacGruber if somebody would give us a chance. I would doubt that anybody would, but.

[Pablo Torre]

I would jump at it after this podcast will forte. I have a feeling that someone out there might be insane enough to reflect upon. Yeah. The level of commitment that it takes to make something truly special.

[Will Forte]

Man, you brought it full circle. Thank you. Thank you. This was. Thank you for all the kind words. That's really, really. It makes me feel good.

[Pablo Torre]

I am grateful that. Yeah. That the people we know in common, they. They. They feel the way that I feel, it turns out about. Yeah. Getting to hang out with you. So thanks.

[Will Forte]

Thank you.

[Pablo Torre]

This has been Pablo Torre Finds Out a Meadowlark Media production, and I'll talk to you next time.