Maya Rudolph Says She Overexerted Herself With Natasha Lyonne Production Company: ‘I Like Working, but I Don’t Like Killing Myself’

Maya Rudolph is prioritizing “quality over quantity” after feeling burnt out from the demands of her production company, Animal Pictures. Explaining why she took a step away from the Natasha Lyonne- and Danielle Renfrew Behrens-cofounded venture, she said, “I like working, but I don’t like killing myself.”

In a Town & Country interview published Wednesday, the “Loot” star and executive producer said that she first founded Animal, named after Lyonne’s “animalistic ambition,” because she wanted to be a “creative doula” for younger creators to incubate and make their own contributions to film and TV. Calling herself an “elder statesman,” she explained that she wanted to “use that power for good.”

But turns out, that self-designated role took a lot of work, and five years in, she began hitting her limit last October.

“More and more I was starting to feel like there weren’t enough hours in the day,” Rudolph said. “It takes a lot to create a show, and it’s great to be able to create it, but then to actually show up and be on the set every day, it’s, ‘All right, then I don’t have time for this, this, and this.'”

“I like working,” she continued, “but I don’t like killing myself. I used to not have a choice, and so I did it, because that’s what you did. You exhausted yourself. You ended up in bed, comatose, because you left it all on the dance floor or whatever. But when you’re taking care of children, that’s not really an option.”

Lyonne and Rudolph said in a joint statement at the time of their separation that Animal would remain under Lyonne’s name while Rudolph would continue to produce more selectively on her own — again, “quality over quantity.”

“Moving forward, Natasha will operate under the name Animal Pictures while Maya will produce independently,” they said in a statement obtained by TheWrap. “We will continue to support each other and remain committed to the various projects we’ve developed together and have in the pipeline. We are excited for each other and what the future holds.”

Animal Pictures produces Rudolph-led series “Loot” on Apple TV+, the Lyonne-led “Russian Doll” on Peacock and “Russian Doll” on Netflix, and other projects including “Crush,” “Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine,” “Sirens” and upcoming film “His Three Daughters,” Azazel Jacob’s indie drama starring Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon.

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