‘SNL’ is still her baby

June 15, 2009 in Features

Michael Cidoni Associated Press

Maya Rudolph is pregnant again, both in real life and on the big screen in “Away We Go.”

But don’t think for a minute that a film career or a second baby would keep her away from “Saturday Night Live.”

Rudolph has returned for occasional guest shots after leaving the show in 2007 following a seven-year run.

“I talk to Lorne (Michaels) a lot, and he knows where my heart is,” she says. “And he knows he’s got a real hold on me. …

“I always tell him, ‘I’m an addict. I’m an “SNL” addict.’ And I will use again. Oh, I will.”

Rudolph has experience playing a pregnant character onscreen. In her first standout feature-film performance, she was an expectant radio-show stage manager in Robert Altman’s 2006 film “A Prairie Home Companion.”

But she wasn’t expected to be expecting: After accepting the role, Rudolph became pregnant with her first child with director Paul Thomas Anderson.

“I remember (Altman) told me, `You’re going to be playing Molly, the stage manager,”’ Rudolph said. “And I said, ’So, how do you feel about her being pregnant?’

“And he said, `I think that would be great.’ And I said, `Well, that’s great, because I’m pregnant.’ And he said, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful. Did you do that for me?’ ”

“Away We Go” (which hasn’t yet reached Spokane) marks the 36-year-old’s first major feature-film lead, as half of a couple (with John Krasinski of “The Office”) on the road in search of a place to call home.

“I laughed so hard at the way this depicted this crazy time, when you’re expecting a baby, and all the weirdos that come into your life, and opinions,” Rudolph says.

“So, I was happy to put on the belly – the big ol’ belly.”

The birthday bunch

Actor Jim Belushi is 55. Actress Julie Hagerty (“Airplane”) is 54. Actress Helen Hunt is 46. Actress Courteney Cox is 45. Rapper-actor Ice Cube is 40. Actress Leah Remini (“King of Queens”) is 39. Actor Neil Patrick Harris is 36.