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.”