Will was born on October 23, 1966 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to WASP parents Marilyn (Blythe Danner) and George (Sydney Pollack); he has two brothers, Paul and Sam. Will came out in 1985, during college, when — after being accused of living in denial by Jack McFarland, who refused to take it back — he found himself attracted to a poster of Kevin Bacon (he saw this as a sign that his relationship with Grace masked his true sexuality).

After graduating from Columbia University and NYU School of Law, he worked for a big-time law firm on track to make partner but decided to quit and start his own practice. This fell through in the show's second season, and he began working for Doucette & Stein, a firm that he worked for until the end of the seventh season. His next job was working for the mysterious Malcolm (Alec Baldwin), but that came to an end when Malcolm revealed that he was an FBI agent. In the eighth season, Will took a job at the Coalition of Justice, a business providing legal support for people who cannot afford it, though he ultimately returned to Doucette & Stein, having taken back his old job after being offered a partnership by his new boss at the firm, played by Lily Tomlin.

Will is usually the straight man of the show, being the most calm and down to earth in contrast to Grace's many neurotic tendencies, Jack's camp behavior and Karen's drunken snobbery. He also has a dry sense of humor, often making jokes about the other three characters.