We all remember the billboard. That spray-painted, desperate "ALIVE IN TUCSON" scrawled across a desert highway. When The Last Man on Earth premiered back in 2015, people thought they were getting a standard "guy alone in the world" comedy. Maybe a few jokes about wearing Tom Brady’s jersey or bathing in a pool full of margarita mix. But the last man on earth actor, Will Forte, had something much weirder and more uncomfortable up his sleeve.
Forte didn't just play Phil Miller. He inhabited a version of humanity that most of us are too scared to admit exists—the selfish, petty, and deeply insecure side of a person who suddenly has no one left to impress.
Most actors would’ve played Phil as a lovable loser. Forte? He went for the throat. He made Phil (or "Tandy," as we’d eventually call him) a borderline sociopath. Honestly, it was a gutsy move that almost backfired because the audience actually started to hate him. But that was the point.
Why Will Forte Was the Only Person Who Could Be Phil Miller
If you’ve followed Will Forte since his Saturday Night Live days, you know he has this specific "thing." It’s a mix of intense commitment and absolute mania. Whether he's playing MacGruber or a guy who accidentally kills his brother in a spacecraft (poor Jason Sudeikis), Forte stays in the bit until it’s almost painful to watch.
He didn't just act in the show; he created it.
Initially, he wasn't even supposed to be the lead. He developed the idea with Phil Lord and Chris Miller—the geniuses behind The LEGO Movie—with the plan to sell it to a cable network and let someone else deal with the acting. But then Fox bought it, and suddenly the last man on earth actor was the guy who wrote the pilot.
The Burden of Being the Lead
Writing and starring in a show about the apocalypse is brutal. Forte has mentioned in interviews that the workload was basically a "mind and body shutdown." He was making calls on wall colors and font styles for the credits while trying to memorize lines for a guy who spent ten minutes talking to a bunch of sports balls named Terence and Diego.
It’s that "overthinker" energy that made the character work. You can see it in his eyes when Phil is trying to lie to Carol (the incredible Kristen Schaal) or when he's trying to get rid of Todd (Mel Rodriguez). It’s not just comedy; it’s a study in how isolation breaks the human brain.
The Cast That Kept Him Sane (and Insane)
You can't talk about the last man on earth actor without looking at the people who had to react to his nonsense. The chemistry between Forte and Kristen Schaal was the secret sauce of the series. While Phil was a chaotic mess, Schaal’s Carol Pilbasian was a beacon of rigid, grammar-obsessed morality.
The cast grew in ways that defied sitcom logic:
- January Jones as Melissa: She played the "cool girl" archetype but eventually spiraled into her own dark, fascinating places.
- Mary Steenburgen as Gail: A world-class actress playing an accordion-playing, wine-chugging former surgeon.
- Cleopatra Coleman as Erica: The grounded perspective who often looked at Phil with the same "what is wrong with you?" face the audience had.
- Boris Kodjoe: The other Phil Miller. This was a masterstroke in writing. Introducing a guy who was taller, stronger, and more competent than our lead was the ultimate ego-bruiser for Tandy.
Guests Who Vanished Too Soon
The show became famous for its blink-and-you-miss-it guest stars. Think about Jon Hamm getting shot within seconds of appearing. Or Kristen Wiig as the paranoid socialite Pamela. These weren't just cameos; they were reminders that in this world, life is cheap and the end is always around the corner.
The Viral Beard and the OCD of Comedy
One of the most iconic things about the last man on earth actor during the show’s run was that beard. It wasn't a prop. Forte actually grew that massive, bird-nest-looking thing. He said it was "dumb-looking," and he loved it for exactly that reason.
When he finally shaved half of his head and half of his beard for a storyline, he didn't use a wig. He walked around in real life with half a face of hair. That is the kind of commitment we’re talking about here.
Forte has been very open about his OCD tendencies in real life. He once told a story about listening to the same song in his SNL office for an entire year just to see if he could. That same obsessive energy is what allowed him to play a character who would spend weeks building a "toilet pool" or collecting every famous painting in the world just to let them rot in a Tucson mansion.
What Really Happened to the Show?
It’s been years since the Fox cancellation, and honestly, it still stings. The show ended on the ultimate cliffhanger: the group being surrounded by a massive underground society.
We never got Season 5.
Forte eventually revealed the plan: the "undergrounders" were actually survivors who had been hiding to avoid the virus. Since Phil and his group were asymptomatic carriers, they would have accidentally ended up killing the people they just found. It would have been the darkest, most "Last Man" ending possible.
Life After the Apocalypse: Where is Will Forte Now?
Since hanging up the "Alive in Tucson" signs, Forte hasn't slowed down. He married Olivia Modling in 2021 (they actually met in 2018, right as the show was ending) and they have two daughters now.
In terms of work, he’s stayed busy:
- MacGruber Returns: He finally got the MacGruber TV series made, which was a dream project for him.
- Voice Acting: He’s become the go-to guy for animation, from The Willoughbys to playing Shaggy in Scoob!.
- Dramatic Turns: If you haven't seen him in Nebraska, go watch it. It proves he isn't just a guy who screams and wears a dress for a laugh; he has real, quiet depth.
- Current Projects: Heading into 2026, he’s involved in Coyote vs. Acme and continues to produce weird, offbeat comedy that doesn't fit into a neat little box.
The Real Legacy of the Last Man on Earth Actor
Will Forte changed the way we look at "unlikable" protagonists. He proved that you can have a lead character who does terrible things, as long as the show doesn't pretend those things are okay. Phil Miller was a mess, but he was our mess.
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If you’re looking to dive back into his work or if you're a new fan wondering where to start, skip the clips and watch the pilot episode, "Alive in Tucson." It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling with almost no dialogue.
The best way to appreciate what Forte did is to look at his career as one big, weird experiment. He’s the guy who will do the joke that makes everyone uncomfortable, and then he’ll do it for ten more minutes until it’s funny again. That’s the true spirit of the last man on earth actor.
To really see the evolution of his style, check out his guest spots on 30 Rock as Paul L'astnamé. It’s the perfect bridge between his SNL characters and the tragicomedy of Phil Miller. If you're looking for more post-apocalyptic vibes, his voice work in Sweet Tooth carries that same weight of a world left behind. Keep an eye on his upcoming 2026 releases; they usually drop on streaming platforms without much fanfare but always end up being the most talked-about thing in comedy circles.