Da'Vine Joy Randolph is one of the breakout stars of the season, earning significant acclaim over the past few months for her layered and moving performance in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.
The 37-year-old actress has been in the business for over a decade and is earning some of the best reviews of her career, especially after noted turns in Only Murders in the Building, The Idol, and 2019's Dolemite Is My Name.
Da'Vine sat down with Fair Play star Alden Ehrenreich for an episode of Variety's Actors on Actors to discuss their simultaneous rise in the industry and the performances that got them there.
Alden asked the star about her turn in the holiday comedy-drama, in which she plays the cafeteria administrator and cook Mary Lamb, who stays behind at the New England boarding school she works at during the holidays to grieve the loss of her son.
The actor questioned: "You played a chef in The Holdovers. Did you make any of the food?" and Da'Vine revealed that not only did she make the food, it was actually one of her non-negotiables.
"That was my deal breaker," she explained. "I had to do the cooking. I need to be working with my hands. Over the course of the entire movie, I make oatmeal, a soup, and I roasted a chicken.
© Getty Images"On days when we're eating in scenes, we didn’t have craft services. We really sat down and had dinner."
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Food is a key part of the movie, in which the characters played by Paul Giamatti and newcomer Dominic Sessa often congregate during mealtime with the rest of the supporting characters, and a pivotal scene also sees Paul's Professor Hunham stand up for Da'Vine's Mary after she's looked down upon by some of the more privileged students in the elite school.
© Getty ImagesThe film centers around the unlikely bond between Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) and Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) when bright but unruly Angus is forced to stay over at school during the holidays and the curmudgeonly and jaded Paul is assigned to look after the "holdovers."
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The acclaimed release has been considered a return to form for Alexander, and Da'Vine praised his ability in her Variety conversation. "From the first conversation with Alexander, I understood he was the type of director that wants to dig in."
© Getty ImagesShe even added: "He shipped me two big boxes of cigarettes with a note that said, 'Get to it!'"
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Da'Vine continued: "I asked for swatches of the fabric [for my costumes] because, given that Mary was this matriarch, I needed people to feel like they wanted to cozy up next to her.
© Getty Images"I needed the textiles to be that way, or the hair. As a woman of color, I always pay homage to my ancestors and elders – in the industry in particular – who have paved the way. It could be a hairstyle or a gesture that I lay in there. I always leave these little subliminal gems."
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