Saturday Night Live found gold in the early-to-mid-'00s thanks to the potent combination of stars Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and Maya Rudolph. Though the four actresses have worked together in various ways since, their real reunion comes this weekend in Sisters, a comedy that allows their ridiculous antics to fly freely once more. For Rudolph, who plays the buttoned up high school nemesis of Fey's character, the film was a welcome opportunity to mix business with pleasure. Rudolph left SNL in 2007 and has appeared in various TV shows and movie projects, including husband Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice. But all her success, the actress prefers projects like Sisters, which not only reunite her with the people she likes best, but also allow her to wear massive, hideous belts. We spoke with Rudolph about making movies with Fey and Poehler, aging, and why she's okay wearing mom jeans now.

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Did you have to audition for Sisters?

Um, if they did make me audition for it, that would make me really mad! They just said, 'Hey, come be in our movie.' Truly, that's exactly what happened.

Did they have the role already in mind for you?

I knew that Paula [Pell] was writing it and Tina and Amy were doing it, but I hadn't read anything yet. I just got a message from Tina saying, 'Hey, would you please come be in our movie? You will play a lady named Brinda.' And I could not be there faster. The name said everything. I knew exactly what that meant in Paula-speak. It took me two seconds to realize I was going to be a nightmare.

Do you like playing a nightmare of a person?

I certainly had never been the arch-nemesis before. We were just making her as goofy as possible. I knew I was in good hands, so that's when it's fun. To play against Tina and try to figure out how awful I could go. To figure out how far you can go with it is actually really fun.

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Watching the movie I wondered how often you guys couldn't stop from laughing on set.

There was so much breaking. It was actually impossible not to. We know everybody's buttons too, so we know what's going to make the other person laugh. You're trying to make it as funny as possible. It is really true that, with this particular group, we all come from an improv background that's genuinely collective. Improv is a group sport, and everybody is trying to make it the best possible thing that they can, so we're all adding to it in our own way. It's a pile of joke upon joke upon joke.

What is it, specifically, that makes working with old friends so great?

It's the best possible thing. It's the thing I love the most. For me, one of the hardest things about leaving Saturday Night Live was not being with those people and not being in a creative environment. They're my favorite people. They know me inside and out, and I know them inside and out. We have something that has lasted for as long as we've known each other. It's so rare to have someone know your voice and you know theirs. It was a collaborative environment, and we all have this really unique thing that I have nowhere else in the world. It's almost like when you hear about twins having their own language—we just understand each other.

On Her 'SNL' Sisterhood: "It's almost like when you hear about twins having their own language—we just understand each other."

Will you be there when Tina and Amy host SNL this weekend?

Oh, of course. I have to be there for that. It will be wonderful.

Rudolph in Universal Pictures

Do you still keep up with SNL?

Sometimes. But I don't stay up and watch it anymore. I don't see it when it airs anymore. I'm usually asleep. But for many years it was hard for me to not know what was going on on the show, though eventually I got a little more removed. Because it was everything to me and so I couldn't not know what was going on. And, when I left, a lot of my friends were still there; now that the cast is turning over and there's a lot of new people there, it helps heal those wounds. I love it there so much. It's hard not to be there. It's always going to be part of my life unlike any other job.

Is SNL more exciting to be part of during an election cycle?

It's certainly an exciting time [because] you can't believe the people who walk through the doors. The last time I was there and there was an election going on someone said, 'Do you want to play Obama?' I was like 'I don't think it's a good idea.' And then he came in and we got to talking and we got to do a sketch together. That's insane. It's an insane time. And everybody's paying attention to it.

They really wanted you to play Barack Obama?

They did. We tried. It sucked. It was horrible. Even Obama himself said so. I had this little Brooks Brothers suit on and they gave me a very short wig. I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was him looking handsome and very tall. I looked like a little boy. I said, 'Well, what do you think?' and he just said, 'I don't wear a three-button suit.' There's just some people you can't play.

Rudolph with John Leguizamo in Universal Pictures

Are you looking for something specific from the roles you take on now?

Not born out of talking about this movie specifically, but I genuinely want to work with friends more than anything. It's my favorite thing to do in the world. Those are the things that I've enjoyed more than life itself. I'm lucky enough to come from a community where people are always asking each other to do their stuff, and I feel like I could be content only doing friends' movies. I just want to make sure that I'm happy working, because if I'm not then I would feel like a terrible mother and I should be home with my children.

"I just want to make sure that I'm happy working, because if I'm not then I would feel like a terrible mother and I should be home with my children."

Did making Sisters get you to think about how far you've personally come since high school?

It did. The sweet thing about this movie is that it's looking at it from the perspective of adulthood and dealing with present-day issues that involve us all once we've graduated to adulthood. That, in comparison to high school, it's really like, 'Oh my God, I'm getting older.' It does make you think. I love that they used all of our original high school-era photos in it. It's sweet to see everybody when they were little people.

Does getting older scare you?

The unknown factor, sure. But it's also like, 'Ugh, that used to be so much easier! Why didn't I appreciate that more?' We did [SNL skit] "Mom Jeans" and we thought it was hilarious that we padded our stomachs. And we all look like that now. That's what we look like! It's so fucked up.

Wait, do you wear mom jeans for real now?

I do enjoy a high-waisted jean now because it literally keeps in all my mom parts. I still have the look of a lady who's had four children so a high-waisted jean is my best friend now, no joke. But it's also become hip so I'm seeing these beautiful, skinny millenials wearing mom jeans. I always thought they were ugly and they didn't have a sense of style, but now I'm like, 'High-waisted? Yes please! Let's tuck it all in!'

Emily Zemler Emily Zemler is a freelance writer based in London.

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