did somebody say my name hey it's me
Beyonce yeah say Queen Bey that is
Beyonce well technically that's Maya
Rudolph doing one of her signature
Saturday Night Live impersonations SNL
put Maya on the map and introduced us
all to her comic genius but she always
knew she was meant to make people laugh
and oh yes she has delivered from
bridesmaids to that Oscars cameo to
dozens of movies and TV shows including
one now called forever the Amazon Show
shows a couple's long-term relationship
full of twists and turns featuring
someone who's had a long-term friendship
with Rudolph her co-star from her SNL
days Fred Armisen Willy talked about all
of that and a lot more with Maya for a
Sunday sit down in the famed home of SNL
studio 8h Judy what is that show coming
together it's been 11 years since Maya
Rudolph spent long days and sleepless
nights in the legendary studio eating
feels like home this is also another
smell enjoy for seven seasons Rudolph
lived and breathed
chaotic grind that is I feel like I can
do anything now because it's really like
comedy army training and Rudolph trained
with the best of them her comedy platoon
included Tina Fey Amy Poehler Jimmy
Fallon Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen
most careers here kick off with the
notorious SNL audition we do some
celebrity impressions but Rudolph
skipped that step I had a manager at the
time who just said you know what you
shouldn't go these this isn't a good
time I listened and I said okay I'll
wait for the next one like what was I
thinking
but somehow some divine fate I sent a
tape of my sketches and then I got a
call saying Lauren wants to meet you and
so I came and I I met him up there and
his 9th floor office it was a Friday
night he always keeps the popcorn on the
table right so it's just started like
eating popcorn which is not smart to do
when you're nervous those kernels get
caught back here not it's not a smooth
move
I remember Lauren asking why do you
think you should work here and I said
because I love wearing wigs this is the
dumbest weirdest answer she was sure she
blew it but Rudolph and her passion for
wigs made an impression in May of 2000
the 27 year old was invited for a
three-week trial on the show it's like
going to school with three weeks left
and you don't know where to sit in the
cafeteria and I remember Chris Parnell
was probably one of the only people I
knew here and I said what are we doing
he said we just write nice of till when
it was like 6 7 8 morning
it wasn't long before Rudolph was a full
cast member
known for her impressions of big-name
celebrities no is there a favorite SNL
character for you Beaupre was just a
liberating joy it's my it was the most
exquisite fun to like give things away
and have people's heads blow
when I play Beyonce I might as well be
in drag like I'm I don't feel like a
woman compared to the woman that Beyonce
is I'm such a mess I'm only wearing this
off screen
Rudolph shares for children with film
director Paul Thomas Anderson whose
credits include Boogie Nights and there
will be blood Anderson's brief guest
writing gig at SNL led to a chance
encounter during Rudolph's first visit
to the set they watch the future father
of author of my children walk past me
that was a whole other level Rudolph had
her sights set on Studio 8h from the
time she was a little girl I was amazed
how far back your desire to be on the
show when ya I thank my parents for
being young and hip and watching the
show because I crawled into their bed
and I remember seeing Roseanne
rosannadanna on the Update desk and
thinking like most people are so cool
Rudolph grew up in show business her
childhood split between Los Angeles and
life on tour with her parents her dad
Richard Rudolph is a musician and music
producer her mother was soul singer
Minnie Riperton
is it true what people have said that
loving you was sung as a lullaby to you
and your brother when you were little my
dad always says I was kind of a loud
baby so I think they were just working
on the music and my mom would sing it as
a lullaby just put my name in there when
she started going on the road I was a
baby and my brother was four and she
didn't like it and she called my dad and
said you have to come on the road with
me so he started playing guitar in the
band so we were just all on the road
together
just two weeks before Maya's seventh
birthday her mother died of breast
cancer at thirty-one years old what was
it like growing up as a kid without your
mom around you're always aware that
people know like oh that's that girl
whose mom sang that song
I mean combine that with being like the
only mixed kid in your class and having
really really intensely large hair it's
a lot
Rudolph coped with humor I didn't want
to be sad it was too scary to go to and
so I just
Wacka Wacka in the late 1990s after a
brief stint in a band called the rentals
Rudolph joined the famed comedy troupe
The Groundlings in Los Angeles there she
formed friendships that would define her
career at SNL and beyond
Megan hi I told you I let my children
watch bridesmaids yeah a couple days ago
how'd that go there was some muting and
fast-forwarding that happened yeah
but they loved your scene at the bridal
shop happening
you couldn't have imagined what it was
gonna do when you made that movie with
your friends no and I remember while we
were making it saying this is so fun we
were all very Groundlings connected we
had all the same friends and and then
obviously we bonded here it was one of
those funny rare things where we liked
what we were doing and we kept saying I
hope other people think it's funny we
think it's funny for her latest project
the Amazon series forever
Rudolph teams up with another of our
fellow SNL alum Fred Armisen
we wanted to play a married couple or
any sort of couple I used to say Fred
with my comedy husband there's a lot we
can't say about the show not that I want
to say but we're not going to say it how
do you describe it then to people who
were thinking about checking it out it's
the story about a relationship remember
the time we were here how he saw almost
butterflies they go on the same vacation
every year and they kind of do the same
thing every year and then stuff happens
and then stuff happens forever seems an
appropriate word for the relationships
that started in this room you've done
pretty well for someone who was choking
on popcorn 20 years ago and that save
often mourn and I have laughed about it
then once you're a part of his life here
it's it's nice you know to know that you
still have a home somewhere you can
catch forever on Amazon right now and to
hear Maya talk more about that infamous
bridal shop scene from bridesmaids oh
yes check out our web extras at
today.com slash Sunday and don't forget
to subscribe to the sunday sit-down
podcast to hear the entire unedited
interview with Maya you can find it on
Apple podcasts or wherever you get your
podcasts
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