She's been acting since 2013, but it’s clear that 2024 is Da'Vine Joy Randolph’s year.
After starring in two critically acclaimed films last year: Rustin and The Holdovers, Da'Vine Joy Randolph has been cleaning up during the 2024 awards season.
First came her Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in January, and last night she won in the same category at the 2024 EE BAFTAs. Plus, she’s also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, although we won’t know if she wins until 10 March.
In The Holdovers, Da’Vine plays Mary Lamb, a Barton cafeteria manager and bereaved mother who stays behind to helped Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) look after five kids left on campus during the holidays.
Speaking about the character of Mary as she collected her BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, a visibly emotional Da’Vine said, ‘Mary is a character that's so much bigger than me.’
‘There are countless Marys throughout history who haven't been able to wear a beautiful gown, and this is a reminder of how her story has rippled through the world.’
Da’Vine has long been open about her battle with Hollywood’s sad obsession with white, skinny actresses in the past saying, ‘People on screen don't traditionally look like me. I've had to fight to play fully-realised characters with complexities.'
Speaking later in the BAFTA Winners' Room, Da'Vine added, 'I think at the end of the day you have to know who you are and know what you want and what you stand up for. And when choosing the roles, make sure that there are things that you feel connected to and believe in and that you're working with other creatives that also believe and support the same thing as you. At the end of the day we just want to tell stories beyond race.
'If you know what you want [winning] doesn't even matter. It's almost as if it's a mission statement or a form of activism. The idea of me being on a screen and what I represent matters a lot. So that in and of itself is the win.'
She continued, 'Acting is a way of communicating and connecting with people, for healing, for understanding.'
Daisy Hall is a News and Entertainment writer on Grazia, specialising in TV and film meaning that you can count on Daisy for the latest (and best) recommendations.