With reporting by Josh Horowitz

As the saying goes, it takes one to know one. And considering that Will Forte sports a great big bushy beard in his new Fox show, "Last Man on Earth," he certainly knows about beards.

"I've always been a mustache person," Forte told MTV News. However, "Last Man" was an exception to the actor's previous facial hair fashions. It "seemed appropriate to go full beard" for the role of Phil Miller, who is, as the show's title implies, the last man on the Earth. He's given up and sees no point in shaving, Forte said. At least "until it gets to the point where it gets hard to eat."

And, yes, before you ask, that's Forte's actual beard growth.

"It would have been easier production-wise to do a fake beard, but you can't do that. You can tell," he said. "This beard, I didn't know I had it in me. It came out of nowhere. It was not a hit with everyone in my personal wife. My niece and nephew were terrified."

With Forte's passionate beard-pinions and expertise in mind, we decided to gather intel on famous movie beards in recent history, from Jared Leto's recently departed adornment (RIP) to Mel Gibson's full beard growth.

The conclusion: if you're handsome enough, you can do whatever you want with your facial hair. Seriously.

"Leave the beards to the people who need them," Forte said.