Ron Funches says he’s grateful for rich friendship with ‘Loot’ costar Maya Rudolph

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — In “Loot,” actor Ron Funches’ character Howard helps his on-screen cousin Molly – played by legendary comedic actor and “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph – navigate her on-screen divorce. Off screen, Funches told CNN recently, it was he who leaned on Rudolph while they filmed the second season.

“She really is a great listener,” Funches said in an interview with CNN. “There are some things that I was going through shooting the second season; I was going through a separation and divorce.”

Despite the demands of production, Funches said Rudolph “would take the time to check in on me and listen to me and have these fireside chats with me when we were not shooting.”

“It really meant a lot to me and helped me get through that,” he said. “And those were times where I didn’t feel like I was going to make it through that season in one piece.”

He added: “To have her there and really support me and believe in me means a lot.”

Friendship was a key theme of the debut season and continues to be in Season 2, which streams Wednesday.

For those who need a refresher: In Season 1, Molly discovers her tech billionaire husband John Novak (Adam Scott) cheated on her. She leans on Howard and her friends and colleagues at the charity organization that she runs to help her navigate her newfound independence and figure out how to put the fortune she was awarded from the divorce to best use.

Molly, in Season 2, is tasked with living up to her Season 1 cliffhanger promise of giving away every last cent of her billions to the charitable causes that her charity, the Wells Foundation, supports. She also embarks on a wellness journey to aid her healing and continues to lean on Howard and her colleagues while swearing off diving into any new relationships.

In a recent interview about Season 2, Rudolph told CNN that one of the joys of the show “was figuring out how to create this person who may have been out of touch but has elements as a human being that are very grounded.”

Armed with the love and support of Howard and her colleagues – played by Nat Faxon, Joel Kim Booster, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Meagen Fay and Stephanie Styles – Molly learns the importance of chosen family.

Molly’s “Loot” journey was inspired by a potpourri of living billionaire women who also came into their fortunes after high-profile divorces, including Melinda French Gates and MacKenzie Scott, according to Rudolph.

But Rudolph makes it clear that Molly’s journey is her own.

“Just like any comedy, I think there’s so much going on in the world that we try to take ideas from and and hopefully bring to the conversation because it feels like the real world,” Rudolph said.

Season 2 of “Loot” is available now to stream on Apple TV.

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