Will Forte - Saturday Night Live

Forte first auditioned for Saturday Night Live in 2001, but turned down the initial offer to write and produce That '70s Show. He re-auditioned in 2002 and was hired as featured player and writer.

He was upgraded to full cast member the next season and the last cast member rehired after his third season (the show’s cast was considered bloated and there were major cuts made during the hiatus).

Forte took over the role of then-president George W. Bush following the departure of Will Ferrell, a season with Chris Parnell in the role, and a brief half-season of Darrell Hammond playing the part. Forte featured as a number of recurring characters over the years, including his Groundlings character Tim Calhoun, The Falconer, MacGruber, Mr. Dillon in the Gilly sketches, Greg Stink, and as one of the characters in the Song Memories sketches. Forte was often featured as a guest at the Weekend Update desk. He had several recurring Update characters, such as Tim Calhoun; He often appeared in musical bits on Weekend Update, such as one of The Kelly Brothers, Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, and a member of reverse Bon Jovi band, Jon Bovi.

Forte was one of the writers and stars of the first "SNL Digital Short" Lettuce. Many of his absurdist sketches were aired late in the show. Although he played them, Forte felt impersonations were not his strong suit (with the exception of musical impressions), one of the reasons Jason Sudeikis took over the role of George W. Bush.

Forte extended his seven-year contract an additional year. On August 26, 2010, Forte announced that he would be leaving SNL after eight years on the show (2002–2010) to focus on other projects. Forte stated in an interview his primary reason for leaving was to be close to family. Since leaving, Forte has stated he left on good terms with executive producer Lorne Michaels. On April 2, 2011 & May 12, 2012, he made a guest appearance on the show, reprising his role of Greg Stink.