Credit: Youtube
By Sugandha Rawal
New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Maya Rudolph calls herself an "old bird" of showbiz and pays no heed to the ongoing flutter over Hollywood's gender issues. The American star, who has voiced the character of Matilda in "The Angry Birds Movie", feels the "majority of people in the arts don't care about gender equality", adding that she always had the freedom to pick her roles.
Rudolph started her career under the arclights in 1996 with a role in TV series "Chicago Hope" but rose to fame with her stint in "Saturday Night Live". The actress says that in the end, each and every actor is only responsible for what he or she opts for.
"I think the majority of people in the arts don't care about gender equality. Probably (they) all want the same things, but it doesn't change - you can only be responsible for what you can be responsible for and I guess I sort of live in a place where I never felt like I couldn't do anything. So, that never stopped me from anything," Rudolph told IANS in an email response.
The actress, with traces of Jamaican origins, added: "You know what, I'm an old bird -- I didn't mean to say that because I'm a bird in the movie -- but I'm an old bird and I've been around for a while and I've been doing comedy for a long time, and I get asked the same questions about women in comedy for a lot of stuff. So certainly I'm aware."
Rudolph left "Saturday Night Live" in 2007 and thereon appeared in various TV shows and movie projects, including husband Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice".
She has garnered fame for her acting and comic skills, as well as a musician. Some of her famous projects include films like "Grown Ups", "Bridesmaids", "Grown Ups 2" and "Sisters".
And soon, she will be heard as a bird named Matilda in "The Angry Birds Movie", releasing on May 27 in English, Hindi and Tamil. Taking the basic structure of Rovio Entertainment's eponymous mobile game, the movie brings the game's action to the big screen in a witty manner.
In the game, angry but cute little birds fight it out with pigs which have stolen their eggs. It vouches to takes the audience back in time, tracing the origin of the battle between the birds and pigs.
The film is supported by Jason Sudeikis as Red, Danny McBride as the volatile Bomb, Bill Hader as a pig, Josh Gad as Chuck, and Peter Dinklage as the Mighty Eagle. It will be distributed by Sony Pictures.
Talking about the character, she said: "Matilda is a bubbly lady who really tries hard to find the positive in the fairly difficult students she has to work with... Now reformed, and donning a zen, peaceful exterior, she uses her experience to help others by leading an anger management class.
"However, all of the birds will learn that Matilda still harbours an inner rage that will come out at the worst - or best - possible moment."
Your character in the film will express anger, but what makes her angry?
"Nothing," she said, adding: "I realise it (anger) probably comes from a place of justice and when things aren't fair; things don't feel right; or when I feel like people are selfish or they put you in a position where you have to do something compromising or people being horrible to each other or hurting."
The mother-of-four shared that "I think I do what all of us do: I think you either try to deal with your feelings or you explode and lose (your patience) and then you have to be a bigger person and say 'I'm sorry, I was wrong and I shouldn't have raised my voice'."
She added: "Those are the things I'm practising in my house all the time in terms of teaching my children."
(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)
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