Will Forte Talks 'Oblivious' Role in New Audible Sci-Fi Comedy Series 'MiddleSpace' (Exclusive)

SNL alum Will Forte is well-known for playing quirky and hilarious characters and his role in the new Audible Original series MiddleSpace: The Rebels Attack, And Then The Other Side Attacks As Well is no exception. In the narrative comedy podcast, Forte plays Starship Captain George Cottonhammer, the unassuming leader of a military spacecraft. During an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Forte shared some insight into captain Cottonhammer, saying that the "oblivious" character was very "fun" to play.

"This is a guy who just kind of lives in his own world, obviously, doesn't really realize what he's saying a lot of the time," Forte offered. "I like to think he doesn't realize what he's saying because he's just so oblivious so much of the time." He added that Cottonhammer was a "very fun character" to voice because "he can then every once in a while be a little fragile. But for the most part, he just goes through life kind of oblivious." 

Part of the draw with Cottonhammer, Forte says, is getting to play a character so wildly different from who he is in real life. "As somebody who goes through life on the other side of the spectrum," Forte said, adding it's "really fun" to "have words coming out of your mouth that are things that you would never ever say in your normal life, which, I guess, you get to do a lot as an actor, but this is a very extreme version of that."

MiddleSpace was created by Paul Lieberstein, who most will know best as Toby in The Office. As a self-proclaimed "huge Office fan," Forte was eager to jump at the chance of working with Lieberstein, who he calls "the funniest dude around." During the pandemic shutdown, Forte and his wife watched "a ton of The Office" and when he got the MiddleSpace script he immediately thought "I've got to read this because I'm sure it's awesome." Sure enough, it was, and Forte was very ready to hop on board. "It's one of the funniest things I've ever read," he said, then recalling that he said to himself, "Oh, I have to do this."

In addition to Forte, MiddleSpace also features a number of other great actors and comedians such as fellow SNL alum Cheri Oteri, Wyatt Cenac, Clark Duke, Gillian Jacobs, Rainn Wilson, Fortune Feimster, and current SNL cast member Alex Moffat. Additionally, the series is narrated by incomparable John Malkovich. All 16 episodes of season 1 are now available on Audible.