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Maya Rudolph talks about returning to 'Saturday Night Live' to play US Vice President Kamala Harris

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Feb 12, 2021, 05:28 PM IST
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Photograph:(Twitter)

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America chose Kamala Harris as its next vice president in November's elections but Saturday Night Live makers had Maya Rudolf in their minds to play her months before the election.

America chose Kamala Harris as its next vice president in November's elections but Saturday Night Live makers had Maya Rudolf in their minds to play her months before the election. "More and more, there are some people that our audience casts," the show's creator and executive producer told EW during an interview.

"When Sarah Palin had that [first] debate," he recalls, "I got two or three emails — because this was a period of emails — 'It's Tina Fey!" She was Tina Fey. I was walking out of my building on the way to the studio on that Monday and my doorman said, 'Mr. Michaels, Tina Fey. It's like a no brainer.' And then I heard it three or four more times that day. So when I got sent a couple of memes of Maya, I just realised."

Rudolph was flattered by the offer. "Yeah, I smelled it coming," she laughs. "And I remember when Tina smelled it coming for Sarah Palin. It's funny. It was almost like a red herring early on, when I wasn't on the show anymore and Rachel Dolezal was in the news and everyone was talking about it I was like, 'I'm going to get the call.' It felt like that, but much more rewarding. "

Despite her entire life and family residing in Los Angeles, Maya persisted and travelled to and fro amid the pandemic.

"A huge element of working at SNL is the political portion of it," she says. "But it's rare to be involved in a presidential campaign... I think knowing that there was a candidate that I resembled so much was so cool in and of itself. And then icing on the cake is just simply getting to do it on the show, a place that I feel so at home in, and that I love. But also it's just the charge of this time and being able to have any sort of voice in the story. I also just felt really lucky that we figured out a way to have fun with her early on and make her a joyful character."