What are the odds? Two guys with show-biz aspirations grow up less than 15 miles away from each other in the East Bay. They both go on to become “Saturday Night Live” standouts and now headline their own sitcoms on the Fox network.

And when television insiders gather to celebrate the 67th Emmy Awards Sunday night, Berkeley native

Andy Samberg and Lafayette’s

Will Forte will both have a piece of the spotlight — Samberg as a first-time host and Forte as a first-time nominee.

“I really do pinch myself all the time. It’s been a relentlessly incredible ride,” Samberg says. “It’s really exciting and inspiring to see not only both of us doing so well but everyone from our ‘SNL’ class.”

“It’s moments like this that you catch yourself and think, ‘Oh my God, this is crazy,’ ” says Forte. “I’m living my dream, and I’m getting to experience it with people like Andy, who are like family to me.”

On the day the Emmy nominations were announced, Forte and his mother were in France to attend the wedding of a former Acalanes High School classmate. As his pal was reciting his vows, Forte pulled out his phone to take some photos and noticed that it was filling up with text messages.

“I thought something really good or really bad just happened,” Forte recalled. “I watched the rest of the ceremony and then snuck off to see what was going on.”

What Forte saw were numerous texts congratulating him for being nominated as one of the top lead actors in a comedy for his work in “The Last Man on Earth” — a show he co-created. He also scored a nomination for best writing. Weeks later, he still struggles to put into words what the recognition means.

“It’s hard to describe,” he says. “I feel like an outsider in that world, so to be included gives you a really warm feeling. It’s like, ‘God, people really liked what we did.’ “

That said, Forte is considered an underdog in his acting category, which is expected to be ruled by

Jeffrey Tambor, another Bay Area native. Tambor, who was raised in San Francisco and graduated from San Francisco State, is a heavy favorite for his outstanding work in the Amazon dramedy “Transparent.”

Samberg, meanwhile, already has an Emmy under his belt for the 2006 “SNL” digital short “D– in a Box.” Now he takes another big career step as host of TV’s biggest bash.

He’s excited for the opportunity, even though he realizes that in some ways, it’s a thankless job because so many judgmental viewers on social media are just waiting to pounce.

“I think doing the show itself is really fun,” he says. “I’m just going to try and not look at the Internet for a week after I do it. It’s unwinnable in that way. I’ll stick to the rule I always do: If I think it’s funny, I’ll go for it.”

Follow Chuck Barney at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.chuckbarney.