Maya Rudolph and Jodi Mancuso talked to Variety about their collaboration on this year’s Beyonce sketch on SNL. You can read the full interview in our press library.
When Maya Rudolph stepped back into Studio 8H to host NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in March, expectations were extremely high. Not only is she a beloved former cast member, she has been portraying Vice President Kamala Harris (and won her first Emmy for the effort last year). There is a lot about her rich history with the show that makes returning an enjoyable experience for Rudolph, but perhaps nothing is more important than her shorthand with hair department head Jodi Mancuso.
“We’ve known each other for 20 years, so I’ve had that head in wigs for 20 years,” Mancuso says.
(They know each other so well, Mancuso was the inspiration for the “Bronx Beat” sketch.)
Rudolph laughs that Mancuso knowing “how big my head is” saves time when they are collaborating. Due to the “up-to-the-minute” nature of the late-night sketch show, department heads don’t see the sketches until Wednesday, Rudolph notes, which is just three days before they have to be live on-air in brand-new (or recurring but refreshed) characters. And “there’s no camera test,” she continues. “The first time people are throwing those wigs on are usually dress rehearsal on Saturday morning — if that.”
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