‘I’m Never Gonna Live This One Down:’ Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Recalls The Time She Couldn’t Stop Laughing At Maya Rudolph While Shooting Loot
While Sofia is one of the more serious characters on Loot, the actress behind her, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, loves having a good laugh. Plus, it’s probably impossible not to crack up from time to time when you are working with a comedy legend like Maya Rudolph. Now, with Season 2 of Loot premiering on the 2024 TV schedule, Rodriguez has opened up to CinemaBlend about working so closely with the SNL icon, and she shared a moment that she said she’d never live down.
One of the reasons why I think Loot is one of Apple TV+’s best shows comes down to the ensemble and their remarkable chemistry. For example, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Maya Rudolph balance each other out so well with Rodriguez playing the level-headed Sofia while Rudolph portrays the more spontaneous and chaotic Molly. Their dynamic is hilarious, and throughout Seasons 1 and 2 we see the two characters become friends. While Sofia keeps a straight face most of the time on screen, for the actress who plays her that wasn’t the case all the time, as she told CinemaBlend:
Oh my god, there are a lot of moments that me and Maya have shared, but I'm never gonna live this one down. I think this kind of incorporates all of us. We were on set, and there was a moment where Molly had to witness a ship going into the air. And Maya as the character of Molly, she did a wonderful thing that Maya does, and we cracked up.
While Rodriguez didn’t mention exactly what Rudolph did, it’s easy to imagine. As part of one of SNL’s best single-season casts and as an SNL alum who has starred in great films, like Bridesmaids, we are all well aware of Maya Rudolph’s big, loud and physical comedic style. She brings that all to Loot too.
So, when the Pose star had to try and keep it together during one of Rudolph’s big comedic moments, it proved to be impossible. Continuing to break down the scene where she couldn’t stop laughing, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez told me:
And I couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't help it. And I turned to Stephanie Styles, and she is bawling tears. And I'm like, ‘What's going on?’ And she just couldn't help herself either. Her mascara was pointing down her face. And all I could remember her doing was like pointing and laughing so hard while it was dripping down.
That honestly sounds like so much fun! I can also see why the American Horror Story actress said she won’t live it down. Based on her story, it sounds like the cast, specifically her and Stephanie Styles, who plays Ainsley, could not keep it together. What this might have meant was it took forever to get the scene done, and make-up likely had to come in and reset everyone’s looks. Overall though, that day on set sounded like a blast, and the Sofia actress made that very clear, as she said:
That was one of my favorite moments. And like I said, there are many but, Maya knows how to just really make it happen almost every single day.
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Maya does know how to “really make it happen,” and she’s been doing it for decades, so it makes sense that Rodriguez was so excited about sharing this hilarious on-set moment.
However, while the Sofia actress admitted that she couldn’t stop laughing while Rudolph was performing, the Bridesmaids vet is no stranger to breaking either. In fact, recently, she told a story about the time she and Jimmy Fallon “lost it” during one of Will Ferrell’s last days on Saturday Night Live. So, even comedy legends aren’t immune to the giggles.
All-in-all this story from Michaela Jaé Rodriguez illustrates the lovely comradery the Loot cast shares. To see the moment she’s talking about, and to witness her lovely on-screen friendship with Maya Rudolph, you can stream Loot with an Apple TV+ subscription, then make sure to catch new episodes of the comedy every Wednesday.
