As tears streamed down Da'Vine Joy Randolph's face, she gave a powerful speech about winning her first Oscar and realizing she's good enough as an actor.
“I've always wanted to be different, and now I know I should be myself,” said the actress, who plays Mary Lamb in Alexander Payne's The Holdovers, on Sunday. Randolph, who won the award for Best Supporting Actress, said. She concluded with a heartfelt shout-out to the women who have helped her throughout her career and to her publicist.
“I pray to God,” she continued. “You'll be doing this multiple times.”
Randolph played a cafeteria manager at a New England boarding school dealing with grief and loss. She continued to sweep her awards season, previously winning at other shows such as the Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA, and Golden Globe Awards.
“I don't think I should have done this for my career,” Randolph said. Although Mr. Randolph is a trained opera singer, he did not have dreams of becoming an actor from an early age. Her mother convinced her to take her acting classes.
“My mother said to me, 'Go across that street and go to that drama club.' There's something for you there,” she said, and thanked her for doing so. '' Randolph recalled. “Thank you to everyone who has stepped into my path, guided me, and guided me. I am so grateful to you all, beautiful.”
Randolph further spoke backstage about the importance of a person's color in order to successfully play any role.
“My pursuit of authenticity and quality allows for the existence of a new set of standards that can tell a universal story with black and brown bodies,” she said. “It can be accepted and enjoyed by the masses. It's not just black television or black movies for black people.”
Randolph first started crying as she sat in her seat as Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o took the stage to pay tribute to the “Holdovers” actor. Ms. Nyong'o wore her grandmother's glasses in her movie, and she spoke about her great performance as Ms. Randolph.
“It’s such an honor to see the world through her eyes and yours,” Nyong’o said.
In addition to her grandmother's glasses, Randolph said she also used other accessories in the film as a “love letter to black women.”
“I knew this would be a difficult role. It would require a lot of vulnerability from me,” she said. “I knew[my grandmother]was the person in my life who would bring me back to my center. But it was so many other women. I did a lot of research and decided on hairstyles, I added a little subliminal message in terms of details and accessories. Beyond the glasses, I included all the women who made an impression on me, paying homage to the women of The Jeffersons.”
Randolph was nominated for a Tony Award in 2012 for “Ghost the Musical,” and his film credits include “Dolmite Is My Name” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” On the small screen, she appeared in “Empire” and “Only Murders in the Building.”
Randolph beat out Emily Blunt for “Oppenheimer,” Daniel Brooks for “The Color Purple,” America Ferrera for “Barbie” and Jodie Foster for “Nyad.”
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