Inside Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s Wild Ride From Mount Airy to the Oscars

Mount Airy’s Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who is up for an Oscar this month for her work in the Holdovers / Photograph by Conrad Khalil Dupree

On March 10th, millions of people from around the world will tune in to watch the Academy Awards. And if all the buzz is correct, they’ll see Philly’s own Da’Vine Joy Randolph pick up her first Oscar for her inspired performance in The Holdovers.

Hi, this is Victor.
Hi, Victor. This is Da’Vine’s publicist. Listen, I know you asked for 45 minutes with Da’Vine, but she is really losing her voice. And she has to do Kimmel tonight, so can we get it done in 30?

I’ll make it work!
Thanks so much. Let me get Da’Vine for you. [two-minute pause] Okay, Victor. Da’Vine is on the line.

Hi, Da’Vine. I’m sorry to hear you’re losing your voice. You’re just doing too many interviews, I guess?
Yes! But I’m doing the best interviews. Only the best. The best interviews I can possibly ask for. So it’s a lot. But it’s a beautiful problem to have, my guy.

Well, I’m honored just to have you call me “my guy.” My kids will think I’m cool. Can you just clarify your name for me? I’ve heard some on TV call you Da-VINE, others Da-VEEN, and still others DAY-VEIN.
Who’s calling me Day-Vein? [coughs, then laughs] That’s awful. [coughs] We gotta stop that. I can’t have that. [laughs] It’s DAY. VINE. Day-Vine.

I don’t think I’ve ever met somebody with that name. What’s the background?
My parents told me it took them seven years to have me and that I was a divine joy. So, Da’Vine Joy!

Aw, that’s sweet. Before we move on, you have to remember that this is Philly Mag, with an emphasis on Philly, and my editor is always worried that you Hollywood types who leave Philly aren’t really Philly enough anymore.
Please, my guy. I never left y’all. My heart is still there. My family is still there. I’m the real deal. Home for the holidays and all that.

As a test, let me ask you this: Did you scream, cry or pass out at all during the second half of the most recent Eagles season?
Please. Don’t get me started. The mere subject gives me anxiety. I don’t know what goes on with us. If you’re a true fan — you know how it is. It’s love-hate, man. Very frustrating.

You sound like a bona fide Philadelphian to me.
Yeah, bro. Never left!

I know you grew up in Mount Airy and later went to Temple. Was Mount Airy a good place to be a kid?
It was. It really was. We used to play outside all … the … time. This was in the ’90s. There was this ice-cream truck that went around. The lady on it was Miss Joyce. She used to have really good water ice and cheese pretzels. But here’s the thing: She would come around at five o’clock. Before dinner! It was a parent’s worst nightmare. It’s five o’clock and you’re coming with ice cream and cheese pretzels?! So yeah, loved that truck. Loved Rita’s water ice. And I used to go to all the museums all the time. The Art Museum, the Please Touch Museum.

What do you miss most?
Just that great sense of community that Philly has.

Having spent some time in L.A., I can see how you might miss that about Philly. Your profile has skyrocketed over the past several months thanks to your work in The Holdovers with Paul Giamatti. Have you reached the point of fame where you can’t do your own grocery-shopping without being accosted by fans?
Yes, but at the same time, I think I will always stay grounded, stay human. I will always want to do my own grocery-shopping and those types of things. And fans coming up to you just comes with the territory, and you’re like, oh wow, people are seeing my stuff. It matters. I try to play characters that matter to people and make an impact on their lives. When people enjoy it and when people say they identify with the role you played, that’s the best part of the job by far.

Congrats, by the way, on the Golden Globe you won in January for The Holdovers.
Thanks so much.

Those of us at home feel like the Golden Globes look so awkward, like a bunch of stars sitting around big banquet tables. Is it awkward when you’re in the room itself?
No. It’s great. With all the food and conversation and the tables, it really is one of the more warm and inviting and personable award shows. I was seated with my Holdovers team, including Paul. And then during the commercial breaks, we walk around and go say hi to people at other tables.

Who were you most excited to say hello to?
Bradley Cooper, of course. Love him.

Director Alexander Payne and actors Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph on the set of The Holdovers / Photograph by Seacia Pavao, © 2024 Focus Features LLC

Who doesn’t? As you well know, the Oscars are on March 10th, and you’ve got some formidable competition for Best Supporting Actress: Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks in The Color Purple, America Ferrera in Barbie, and Jodie Foster in Nyad. But the Oscar buzz says you’re going to win. Have you seen all the films you’re up against?
No. I haven’t seen any of them yet, unfortunately. I’ve just been working and doing so much press and haven’t had the good fortune to sit down and watch the films.

You’ve been nominated for a bunch of awards over the past year, so you have some experience with speechwriting. How far in advance do you start working on a speech for an event like the Oscars?
I don’t work on speeches until literally the last hour before I head out the door. And I don’t even want to do that. My team encourages me to, just because of nerves and stuff. But I try to put it off as late as possible.

Were you a child actress?
No. Not at all. I wanted to be a singer, and I’m actually a classically trained opera singer. But then at Temple, I decided to switch to musical theater. And then it was on to Yale for my MFA. I’d like to do more singing, but acting takes up so much of my time. I do still take voice lessons.

I’m assuming you’ve seen Rosemary’s Baby.
No! I don’t watch horror movies. Never.

Okay, well, in Rosemary’s Baby, the husband is an aspiring Broadway actor and gets his big break due to the misfortune of another actor who gets injured. Well, to put it more bluntly — and spoiler alert here — the other actor goes blind because somebody puts a curse on him. Not to suggest there were any curses involved, but I heard your big break in theater was also the result of another actor’s unfortunate injury.
Sort of. I see where you’re going. So, I had signed on to be what I thought was the understudy for Oda Mae Brown in the Broadway musical version of Ghost, which was going to open in 2012. But it opened on the West End in London before Broadway.

The actress who was playing Oda Mae there injured herself, so they flew me out to do it. We weren’t going to start rehearsing on Broadway until January of 2012, and it was Thanksgiving weekend of 2011 when I got the call. So I went right from the West End to the Broadway version of Ghost.

In a role made famous by Whoopi Goldberg in the movie, of course — and, I should note, you were nominated for a Tony for Ghost on Broadway. But getting back to your more recent work, in The Holdovers, you play a school cafeteria manager who’s grieving the loss of her son. How did you prepare to play a role like that?
I really followed the five stages of grief. That’s what I used as my guide. I knew this character would be one some people would connect to, and maybe they would use it to heal or feel seen.

So I wanted to make sure I followed those stages and then just let the character go through the journey. I made the decision early on that this role was going to help people and that I needed to be brave enough to go through it all for the sake of those people.

Did playing a woman who runs a school cafeteria bring back awful memories of your childhood school cafeteria experience?
Nah, my guy. I went to private school! The food was delicious.

As you were making The Holdovers, did you feel that this movie was going to become such a big success? Did it have that kind of energy surrounding it?
No. Not at all. It’s an independent film, and it’s so difficult for independent films to make a splash, let alone make their money back. But what I did know was that this was a beautiful story, and I hoped people would find it. And it’s a real testament for us to be up there at the Oscars with the Barbies and the Oppenheimers and the Maestros of the world. It’s just the coolest.

Now that Holdovers fans are looking up some of your earlier work, they’re discovering that you were fantastic in Only Murders in the Building. And then there’s your stint on High Fidelity, which, for whatever reason, only lasted one season.
Yeah, it was the pandemic.

Got it. But give me one other project of yours that people really need to look up.
There are so many. I take my time and choose the right roles for me. But I’d have to say Dolemite Is My Name on Netflix. I play Lady Reed. She’s a real character, the confidant and right-hand woman to Eddie Murphy’s character.

Philly Mag’s fashion editor told me I needed to ask you about the process of figuring out what you’re wearing to the Oscars and who is designing.
I think about the story that I want to tell, what emotion I want to give, what I want to come across when people see that dress hit the red carpet. It’s really all about what you want that moment to be. Do you want vintage? Do you want it to be a fairy tale? There’s so much that goes into it.

You recently celebrated your 10th year in TV and movies. I’ve spoken with actors of color who lament being pigeonholed into certain types of roles early in their career but say that’s been changing for the better in more recent years. What’s your experience been?
Honestly, I never had that problem. This is why I went to school. I developed skill sets that allow me to portray whatever it is that I want to portray. Maybe I play a sweet little old lady one day, and maybe the next day, I’m going to be playing a rebellious biker. I like to go to extremes and show the diversity of work that I am capable of. And I set this very specific precedent very early on. I went into this with a lot of intention.

I’m sure there are many, but tell me one actor or director you’re dying to work with.
I’ll give you one who is both: Bradley Cooper.

Have there been actual discussions about this?
Absolutely.

But when I look at your IMDB page, I only see two future projects listed. One is something called Shadow Force. The other is a movie called Bride Hard. Now, I swear, I haven’t looked up either movie. But please, please, please tell me the latter is a sort of parody of Die Hard in which you play a bride with John McClane tendencies.
Excellent guess! Bridesmaid. But yes! We already shot it.

I can’t wait to see that one. Good luck at the Oscars, Da’Vine. Give us a “Yo, Philly” in your speech!
Thanks, Victor.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Published as “Oscars Bound” in the March 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.