Rachel Sennott Channels Her Chill Side in ‘Saturday Night’
It has been a long time coming, but Rachel Sennott is finally having her moment.
The multi-hyphenate started her career journey as a freshman in college, when she was brought to an open-mic night by a guy she was dating at the time. She developed a passion for comedy that would change her life.
The comedian rose through the ranks in the alt-comedy scene with funny tweets and skits, but it wasn’t until Sennott switched social media for Hollywood that she achieved critical acclaim with her breakthrough role in the 2020 comedy Shiva Baby.
It has been a whirlwind ever since with star-turn performances in Bodies Bodies Bodies and Bottoms, which elevated her career to mainstream success with the help of Ayo Edebiri.
With her unique charisma, distinct charm and impeccable comedic timing, Sennott has carved out a space for herself in the comedy scene. The actor shows no sign of slowing down as she recently received the exciting news that HBO has green-lit her comedy series, which is currently in the works.
Next, the multi-hyphenate will step back in time to 1975 to the first episode of the cultural institution known as Saturday Night Live.
In Saturday Night, in theaters October 11, Sennott portrays Rosie Shuster — the critically acclaimed comedy writer and ex-wife of Lorne Michaels. Sennott sat down with PAPER to discuss the new film, Hollywood friendships and her upcoming HBO comedy series.
What excited you about the role and stepping back in time to the first episode of SNL?
The script is so good! When I read it — you assume that the making of anything is hectic and intense, but really stepping into the past, it feels crazy that this thing that is such a cultural institution almost didn’t happen.
Especially getting to portray Rosie [Shuster], who is so smart. She deserves more recognition, and hopefully, the movie will give her this, for being a part of the creation of SNL. Writers are underappreciated and underrecognized, and I think she’s so cool, smart and funny, and I hope audiences will fall in love with her like I did.
By playing Rosie Shuster, it must have been gratifying to shine a spotlight on this huge figure in the history of SNL, who often goes under the radar.
I’m an actor, but I’m also a writer, and when you’re a writer you get the joy of seeing the thing you did come to life, and that’s the reward, but people don’t always know who wrote it.
She was ahead of her time and so smart. All the women of SNL in that period were the beginning of so many generations of women in comedy, and to get to be part of that was really special.
What did you get from your conversations with Rosie?
I’m a type-A, uptight, stressed and panicked person. I talked to her over the phone and asked, “Were you freaking out?” And she said, “No, we knew it was a big deal but it was fine.”
I was so blown away. It felt like she was calm like the eye of the storm and anything that anyone threw at her she could take it and pivot or figure it out. That’s such an amazing character to get to slip into, because usually I’m having a panic attack, I’m freaking out and crying. To get to play someone who is so calm and confident was a switch-up from what I’ve done before.
Did you feel that calmness in your performance?
Yeah! I feel like it changed who I was on set. I’d say to the grips, “Hey boys, how’s it going?” She gave me this confidence that I sometimes don’t have in my real life.
Did you carry this newfound confidence into future performances or did it leave with the character?
The next thing I did was filming my pilot for HBO. I carried a little bit of her confidence with me as a writer because it’s vulnerable to write something — especially on your own and if it’s personal to you.
SNL was born out of the counterculture movement of the late ’60s and early ‘70s. Do you think shows like this can still be made in today’s society?
We can always use some revolution or a new take on comedy and art. We are always ready for that.
As you were playing Lorne Michaels’ ex-wife, I read that you met him and tried to get him to fall in love with you?
I would have already been intimidated to meet him, I’m in the middle of doing the movie, playing Rosie, his ex-wife. I was like, “I’m her, what do you think?” He was great to talk to. He’s so smart and he was talking about how everyone had their own narrative of the first episode, so it was cool to hear that.
What was it like to work alongside Willem Dafoe?
He was amazing. He is so funny. I have actually done a movie with Willem before, it was a small role in Finally Dawn that was set in Rome. He was cracking me up on set by saying, “We will always have Rome.” He is such a talented actor but he loves to goof around and always doing dances.
If you were hosting SNL, who would be your dream music guest?
It would be so fun to host with Charli xcx or Troye Sivan, musicians who I’m friends with and I love their work.
Would that make you feel more comfortable? Hosting SNL as a comedian would be a career highlight?
It’s huge. No matter what, I would be nervous, but I would be just excited to be there. It’s going to be scary no matter what.
I love the ‘70s fashion and hairstyles in the movie.
Everyone on the movie had such attention to detail. Down to the necklace and the bra, this is exactly what she would wear. I also thought she’d have red toenails, you never see them.
With the costume, we wanted to play with masculinity and femininity. I have this sick little vest, but I have this feminine blouse, and then pants that are like an office man’s, but then I had sexy heels and my red toe. Also, the hair was fabulous. It took forever but it was totally worth it. To lean into the curl and have my hair bounce everywhere, I loved it.
Bodies Bodies Bodies came out two years ago. Is it surreal to see how far everyone in the cast has gone in that short space of time?
I feel so lucky, I really got to make amazing friends with people early on in my career. In Shiva Baby, I met Molly [Gordon], in Bodies Bodies Bodies, I met Amandla [Stenberg], Chase [Siu Wonders], Maria [Bakalova] and Mhya’la. I already knew Ayo [Edebiri] from school but then we got to do Bottoms together.
I have this amazing group and everyone is busy and working, which is amazing. But also it’s hard because I’m like, “Where are these bitches at? Please hang out with me!” Everyone is always jet-setting and doing their things.
A camaraderie like that must be so special in Hollywood.
It’s great, because you have people that you know will have your back because we did something together and we decided that we are going to have each other’s backs no matter what.
You’ve been working on your own HBO comedy series. What has this process been like?
It’s been so exciting and a little bit scary! This is the first thing that I’ve written on my own and it’s really personal to me and when you’re doing something on your own there’s nowhere to hide. You can’t say, “That wasn’t my thing, that was her experience.” It’s very personal but it’s been so rewarding.
Photos courtesy of TIFF and Sony Pictures Entertainment
It has been a long time coming, but Rachel Sennott is finally having her moment. The multi-hyphenate started her career journey as a freshman in college, when she was brought to an open-mic night by a guy she was dating at the time. She developed a passion for comedy that would change her life. The…