“I came out from California, so I had the hotel press my pants, and they put this old-man crease down the front of ’em,” says Will Forte, iron in hand. “So I’m trying to take 20 years off my pants by ironing out the crease.”
Perhaps the Ritz-Carlton’s staff was thrown off by the former “Saturday Night Live” star’s old-fashioned real name: Orville Willis Forte IV.
Today Forte’s staying at the fancy hotel while in New York to promote his latest movie, “Nebraska.” An Alexander Payne-directed dramedy, opening Friday and already expected to be an Oscar contender, the film marks a total departure from anything the comedian’s done before, in that he plays the straight man. Bruce Dern co-stars as an elderly gent who heads from Montana to Nebraska with the intention of claiming a million-dollar prize he’s convinced he’s won. Forte plays his son, David, who delicately supports his father in his mission despite knowing better.
At a recent screening, Forte joked, “I am not really your go-to guy for drama. In fact, I’ve been doing comedy for my whole career, and I’m not your go-to guy for that.”
“I don’t even know if I would say I joked about it!” he tells The Post. “I think most people were very surprised when they heard I got the part. I don’t think I’m being hard on myself. It’s just the reality of it — it was a very strange choice from the outside.”
Born in Northern California, Forte studied history at UCLA. After deciding to pursue a career in comedy, he joined the Groundlings and dabbled in writing for TV shows like “3rd Rock From the Son” and “Late Show With David Letterman.” In 2002, Forte clawed his way into the American conscience as a breakout star on “SNL” with memorable weirdo characters, such as the MacGyver-parodying MacGruber and clueless ’80s sportscaster Greg Stink.
Three years ago, he returned to LA and left the show behind.
“It just felt like it was time to go,” says Forte, who is single. “It certainly wasn’t because I thought I had a movie career in front of me.”
His first move was the big-screen moment for MacGruber, which coincided with his exit. He’s since popped up in TV shows (“30 Rock,” “Parks and Recreation”) and big-screen comedies (“Rock of Ages,” “That’s My Boy”). But “Nebraska” will be his most visible role in years.
Forte, 43, says he wasn’t looking for a dramatic change of pace — he simply fell in love with the part.
“You’d have to be crazy not to want to be a part of this beautiful story,” says Forte. “It’s a much more realistic type of acting and much closer to who I am as a person . . . this made me feel so much more vulnerable than anything I’ve ever done, just because you feel like you were giving away your secrets.”
Forte says he approached the serious role by drawing from his own personal experiences.
“My grandfather on my mother’s side was a man of very few words,” he recalls. “I kind of knew what the relationship was like — being with somebody you love so much but who can frustrate you at times.”
Dern, the oddball film legend who’s garnering awards buzz for his heartbreaking turn, proved just as inspiring to Forte.
“He has the most fascinating stories,” says Forte. “His life story is just amazing — hearing all about Alfred Hitchcock and Elia Kazan. It’s such a testament to what a wonderful actor he is, because he is such a talkative person, and so vibrant and full of life.”
Next, Forte will return to his roots with the comedies “Trouble Dolls” and “Squirrels to the Nuts,” opposite Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, in 2014. Right now, though, he’s focused on the task in front of him.
“I kind of got sidetracked, so the iron’s just burning away on the ironing board, and the pants are sitting there just waiting,” he says with a laugh. “Just screaming to me, ‘Get this old-man crease out of me!’ ”