NEW YORK, NY.- Sometimes Maya Rudolph will watch a movie and marvel at how miserable an actor looks. Theyre covered in fake blood and broken glass, and theyre crying the whole time, she said. I dont know how people do that for work! That looks so hard and stressful.
And how do you get all of that glass off your skin? her friend and former colleague Kristen Wiig said.
Listen, Rudolph said, glass seems tough.
This was on an afternoon in late March, and Wiig and Rudolph, who specialize in lighter, glass-free fare, were perched high over New York in the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel with a zillion-dollar view rooftops, rivers, the Statue of Liberty in the distance. They were dressed in natural fabrics and neutrals, a far and elegant cry from the demented spandex and polyester they so often wore during their years on Saturday Night Live.
Acquaintances since their early days in the comedy scene (they met at a bridal shower hosted by Melissa McCarthy), they were both members of the famed comedy troupe the Groundlings before they found their separate ways up the 30 Rock elevator to SNL. And they have wound in and out of each others lives and careers ever since: as co-stars in Bridesmaids (Wiig was also a writer of the movie); popping back into SNL together; jointly presenting an Oscar. Now they are both leading Apple TV+ shows, each a comedy of wealth and status.
In Palm Royale, which premiered on March 20, Wiig stars as Maxine, a frenzied social climber in 1960s Palm Beach. In Loot, which returns for its second season on Wednesday, Rudolph plays Molly, a divorcée with a multibillion dollar settlement.
During a brisk chat, they discussed laughter, likability and what Bridesmaids taught the world. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
How did you each end up at SNL?
KRISTEN WIIG Both of us through the Groundlings at different times. I started at SNL in 2005.
MAYA RUDOLPH I know, because thats when I had Pearl [Rudolphs first child]. I remember seeing you, and I was like, Whos that? My thought was, I want to go have fun with her! I said the words, I want to go back and play with her.
During your SNL years, were there particular kinds of characters that you gravitated toward?
RUDOLPH I always wanted to be the wife or the girlfriend, but I never was. I was the wacky neighbor.
Maybe Im thinking of your impressions, but I remember you playing high-status types, the Beyoncés, the Oprahs. And Kristen, I recall you playing a lot of lunatic outsiders.
WIIG Yeah. I dont know what that says about me, but it was fun to play the person you dont really want at the dinner party, the person you stare at.
What made you decide to leave?
RUDOLPH I thought motherhood was me leaving, and then I couldnt leave. I would watch the show from home and my friends were on it, and I would be very upset. I felt like I died and was watching my life. I wasnt ready to leave when I left. I kind of left twice, I said goodbye, and I was like, Oh, Im back for one more.
WIIG I knew when it was time to leave. That place thrives on you not totally knowing your place. I always said the moment I feel totally comfortable, heres the moment I have to go.
Once you left, did you have any anxiety about what your career would look like after?
RUDOLPH It was less about what it was going to look like and more about, this was all Ive ever wanted. So now what? But I was always going to be an actor that did everything. I was surprised when people said, like, Wow, I didnt know you wanted to do drama. I was like, Oh, you didnt know I was human and experienced human emotions?
WIIG I wouldnt say I worried. Thats not because there was any confidence there. I just went day by day. Because so much of your career, what youre asked to do, is out of your hands. So it was like, I cant freak out about this. I have no control.
RUDOLPH Were you still at SNL when we did Bridesmaids?
WIIG Yeah, that was my sixth year.
Remember the discourse around that movie? Remember people seeming so surprised that women were funny?
RUDOLPH Wasnt that delightful?
WIIG Some people even went so far as to say that it worked because we were women acting like men, but we werent acting like men. Women swear, women get drunk.
RUDOLPH Do you think we taught people that women can poop?
WIIG I hope so.
So how did these Apple TV+ series happen?
WIIG Palm Royale came to me initially through Laura Dern, who had been creating it for years. She said, Do you want to look at this thing?
How do you refuse Laura Dern?
WIIG and RUDOLPH (simultaneously) You dont.
RUDOLPH Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, theyd developed a show for me and Fred Armisen called Forever. We really liked working together, but we only did that for one season. Then they came to me with this idea, a woman who just became divorced from a billionaire.
Tell me about Molly.
RUDOLPH I never knew what kind of lady she was before. She was probably a nice girl, maybe from the Bay Area. She met her husband in college and he developed this crazy business and became a billionaire, and she never really asked herself who she wanted to be and what kind of life she wanted. So shes just learning to answer those questions. But I like her. I try to make her out of touch in a fun way. Molly has to have a little heart. She needs to be nice to people.
WIIG Because the audience has to be on her side. And root for her.
RUDOLPH I hate being a [expletive], character-wise. I just cant do it. Unless its funny. Mollys always striving to do the right thing. I like that the show has a moral conscience.
Maxine has neither wealth nor status.
WIIG She doesnt, and she doesnt know who she is. Maxine is not from money. She has striven to be in high society since she was a kid. You can tell shes not an evil person, but her want is her main goal. We both play characters that on paper are like, No, thank you. But you need to have the audience like you. Otherwise theyre not going to care about the show. Thats something we both learned with even comedic stuff. It can be joke, joke, joke, but unless you care about the person, its not going to be funny.
RUDOLPH At SNL, early on, I wrote a character based on my friends really annoying girlfriend, and I just found it painful to do. I realized, Oh, I actually have to be invested.
How far can you go and still maintain that likability?
RUDOLPH Its hard. I have to go big. I always have to be reminded that there could be levels.
WIIG But youre so good at subtle, even sad.
RUDOLPH Hey, thanks! I know that I have that in myself, but its nice when people see those levels of emotion. Something small, something quiet.
These are ensemble-driven series, but how does it feel to be first on the call sheet?
WIIG Honestly, that number is just a number. Because Im in a show with Carol Burnett.
RUDOLPH I have younger people in my cast. I forget that Im like the tribe elder. I feel like, Oh, honey, no, its just me. It still surprises me that Ive been doing this for a while. I dont love that so many young people dont get pop culture references that are integral to my being. I find that strange.
WIIG Yeah, I made a Threes Company joke the other day.
Are there more opportunities now for women over 35, beyond just playing the mom with the laundry basket?
RUDOLPH I dont know, because I never fell into that category. Nobody ever saw me as that. I mean, I have a laundry basket at home.
WIIG And you carry it so well. As far as roles, on paper there are more, because there are so many streamers. But the ratio is still off. I will always believe that there arent enough roles for women who are older. Id like to say its changing, but I dont think its where it should be.
RUDOLPH Oh yeah, I dont believe itll ever be where it should be. But I definitely dont feel stifled.
Will you work together again?
WIIG God, I hope so.
RUDOLPH Its such a luxury. Its the most fun. And its the thing that you cant fabricate. The chemistry between people that are friends, that make each other laugh its an indefinable, yummy thing.
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times.