Da’Vine Joy Randolph insists winning an Oscar won’t “change” her.
The 37-year-old actress capped off a hugely successful awards season when she scooped the Best Supporting Acress prize for The Holdovers at the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 10 and while she hopes to “make a legacy” and create work that “matters” to people, she doesn’t see her victory affecting who she is deep down.
Asked the difference between her now and before her Oscar win, she said, “There isn’t one. There’s a trophy in my house now, but I’m not different. You can’t come from Philadelphia and be changed; they won’t let you. This will be who I am.
“The roles will get better, the money will improve, the lines will get better. I hope to make a legacy and leave an imprint with this career. I hope my work will matter, and it will be something that people of all shapes, sizes, colours, creeds and genders can connect to.
“But me, and the soul of me, won’t change.”
The recognition means Rabdolph feels “seen” and she is looking forward to embracing the opportunities that come her way.
She said: “I feel grateful. I feel seen. I feel loved. I feel respected. I feel like the time and work that I’ve put in matters. I feel excited for the future.
“Growing up as somebody who didn’t have much, imagine when you get a lot: It’s exciting. To have access and to be a woman of colour is a very big deal.”
The Academy Awards started late due to anti-war demonstrations outside the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, where the ceremony was taking place, and Da’Vine got stuck in traffic.
But even though her category was due to be the first announced, the ‘Rustin’ actress wasn’t too worried and found being stuck in her car calmed her down.
“I mean, listen, that’s serious business. But it was what I needed to be like, life is real,” she explained.
“While we were in that traffic jam, we were seeing homeless people seeking shelter.
“It was very interesting that I was in a very privileged situation, and yet the world still turns. It was chaotic, but it was good chaos. It actually calmed me down.”
