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Fun
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:05 You started out in opera basically.
00:07 What inspired that?
00:09 A dare.
00:10 Really?
00:11 A dare, yeah. I was at a performing arts school,
00:14 and it was a new girl who came to school and was bragging,
00:20 speaking about this performing arts school she went to,
00:25 called Interlochen in Michigan.
00:28 I'm competitive.
00:30 I grew up playing sports.
00:32 It's in my nature, and I was like, "Well,
00:34 I want to go if it's that amazing I want to go."
00:37 Then I got there to find out,
00:39 whoops, it's classical music.
00:42 In time, I began to fall in love with it.
00:45 [MUSIC]
00:51 I heard you got stuck with babysitting duty this year.
00:53 How'd you manage that?
00:55 I don't know. I suppose I failed someone who
00:58 richly deserved it.
01:00 The Osgood kid?
01:02 Yeah, he was a real asshole.
01:04 Rich and popular combination around here.
01:07 It's a plague. You'll be here too?
01:11 I'll buy my lonesome.
01:13 My little sister Peggy and her husband invited me to go visit them at Roxbury,
01:18 but I feel like it's too soon.
01:20 Like Curtis will think that I'm abandoning him.
01:23 This is the last place that my baby and I were together,
01:28 not including the bus station.
01:31 Well, I look forward to your fine cooking.
01:35 Oh, no, no, don't do that.
01:37 All we've got is whatever's in that walk-in.
01:39 No new deliveries till January.
01:42 Welcome to the actor's side.
01:45 Oh my gosh, I cannot even begin to talk about all the acclaim,
01:51 and awards, and everything for her current performance in The Holdovers,
01:56 and so many other things you've done.
01:58 Welcome to the actor's side, Devine Joy Randolph.
02:01 Thank you so much for having me.
02:03 And Devine, I have to tell you something here.
02:06 I went through a list in Wikipedia.
02:08 They list all the things of what you've won so far this year.
02:12 Okay, St. Louis film critics, Toronto film critics, Utah film critics,
02:16 Washington, D.C., Astra Awards, Atlanta film critics,
02:19 Boston, Chicago film critics, Golden Globes, Critics' Choice,
02:23 Dallas-Fort Worth, Georgia, Greater Western, New York,
02:26 Iowa, Kansas City, Vegas, London, L.A., all film critics,
02:30 Michigan, National Board of Review, New York film critics,
02:33 North Carolina film critics, North Texas, Philadelphia, Phoenix.
02:38 Is this an incredible list?
02:40 It is pretty wild, yeah.
02:43 Man, I don't think I've ever seen that kind of across the country.
02:50 Oh, really?
02:51 I didn't even know there were all these groups.
02:53 [laughter]
02:56 Every year it seems like there's more, but how does this feel?
02:58 I mean, the response to this performance?
03:02 It's intense.
03:04 It's overwhelming.
03:08 And yet I am so grateful that it is penetrating so many people,
03:16 because I think that's the marker.
03:18 And I mean this across the board with all parties involved with holdovers.
03:23 I think that's a marker of impactful work, intelligent work, soulful work.
03:33 And that's something that in my own little corner of the world,
03:38 in every role that I do, I try to embody and imbue into these roles,
03:43 into these characters.
03:45 And along my journey, I think I've had the great fortune of individuals
03:52 on sets, on projects that are like-minded.
03:56 But in all actuality, I would have to be honest in saying,
04:00 this is the first time we're across the board, producers even,
04:07 crew, director, DP, top to literal bottom PAs,
04:14 where everyone was on the same page.
04:17 And you can tell on screen, because first of all, just the three of you
04:22 make such an unusual and great family.
04:25 It is a family story.
04:27 And then it sounds like what you're saying,
04:29 it was a family story completely by those making it.
04:32 Yeah, and that everyone truly--
04:35 there was a buzz of excitement.
04:37 There was a deep burning desire to bring one's best.
04:42 And that like iron sharpening iron, we all relied on one another
04:50 to bring one's skill and gifts to the table.
04:56 And I don't know, maybe people don't know that,
04:58 like from the outside looking in.
05:01 But you would know it doesn't always happen.
05:07 Even as magical and fortunate a gig like this is, being an actor,
05:13 it can feel mundane.
05:14 It can feel nine to five.
05:16 So when you have these kind of projects where not only you
05:21 have this certain level of passion and excitement,
05:23 but everyone else, it's a big deal.
05:27 So good.
05:28 And what about Mary?
05:29 I mean, this is a universal character.
05:32 I think people respond to her beyond the norm
05:35 when they're looking at something.
05:37 She's fictional, but it feels so real.
05:41 Yes.
05:42 And I try to do that with all my roles of creating a sensory--
05:49 I don't want to say overload, but like a true 4D experience
05:54 for people through truth and through details.
05:59 So that people feel, as you are saying, this deep unknowing--
06:05 it's that idea.
06:06 I want people to be like, I know this woman.
06:10 Who is this?
06:12 Because the beauty is that humanity is universal.
06:17 We all have a Mary in our life.
06:19 We all have a Paul and an Angus in our life.
06:22 And so I just really wanted to focus on-- especially being
06:26 that she's one of the few females in this cast--
06:28 to bring about this energy, this essence of this woman,
06:32 so that I don't care what you look like, what you're into,
06:36 you can connect.
06:37 And you not only see a bit of this in someone that you know,
06:42 but my deepest hope is that you can connect and grow and heal
06:47 or feel seen in your own life, no matter what you look like.
06:51 Which is great, which is the wonderful thing about movies,
06:53 that movies can do.
06:54 You write movies that you're in.
06:57 And this one is certainly that.
07:00 Did you do any special kind of research
07:02 to beyond the script, which is a terrific script?
07:05 It's a terrific script.
07:07 Thank God.
07:08 Thank God.
07:10 I think a lot of times--
07:12 and it was actually during the pandemic.
07:14 I started my hand at writing early, early.
07:20 And I say that because I'm trained in acting.
07:23 So I'm a huge champion of training, formal,
07:28 not on the job, whatever.
07:30 So I would never dare be like, I'm a writer.
07:32 But so often we're given scripts that's just enough for it
07:40 to get greenlit by said studio.
07:42 Or hoping that with the casting of said actors,
07:46 or the hiring of said director, or DP, or editor,
07:49 we can make it be something.
07:53 And it's quite unique when it already starts off so strong.
07:57 You have Alexander Payne at the helm here.
08:01 Interestingly, it's the first script, one of two,
08:03 that he didn't write himself.
08:05 But he came up with the idea and the whole thing,
08:08 and just had a vision for it, I think.
08:11 A very clear one.
08:13 And he has a great, unique quality
08:16 of being so clear and specific, and at the same time,
08:20 not pushing too much, and giving you your space.
08:24 And trusting you.
08:25 Trusting.
08:25 You've got to--
08:26 Trusting you.
08:27 And you've got to have the trust in reverse, too, I think.
08:30 Yes, I think there is this unspoken agreement, or truce,
08:36 of I'm going to do right by you.
08:40 Please do right by me.
08:41 Exactly.
08:42 Yeah.
08:43 And this, by far.
08:45 What I loved-- many things about your performance.
08:48 What I loved were the times when you weren't saying anything.
08:51 And that camera.
08:52 And he knows just what to do with the camera there.
08:55 And it's on you.
08:55 And everything you need to know about that moment is there.
08:58 You really are skilled at acting with your face.
09:02 Which is the essence of screen acting to me.
09:04 It's all in the eyes and everything.
09:07 I think it's slowing down.
09:11 This may sound silly, but making sure to breathe.
09:15 Aspiration, inspiration.
09:18 It's powerful.
09:20 A much stronger tool than I think we know.
09:24 And then thinking the thoughts.
09:29 Just the idea of thinking.
09:32 It transfers more than you expect.
09:37 Way.
09:37 And then being vulnerable and courageous enough
09:41 to allow it to land on you for the viewer to receive.
09:45 And that sometimes takes courage.
09:48 Because it's so naked.
09:51 And you're working with--
09:52 basically, there's more people in it, obviously.
09:55 But it's three people that we're watching constantly.
09:59 A first time actor is never--
10:01 on film, he's never made a movie before, Dominic.
10:05 And then wonderful Paul Giamatti.
10:08 And the three of you are clearly working together.
10:11 I don't know if you had any time to rehearse or develop this.
10:14 We did.
10:14 We had three weeks.
10:16 That's a long time now.
10:19 I never get the luxury of that kind of time.
10:23 Yeah.
10:25 And so we got to work on the script
10:28 and basically do text analysis and read through it.
10:32 And scene by scene, we would stop after reading a scene.
10:39 And we would ask ourselves questions.
10:42 And Alexander would ask us, do you
10:47 think they would say that?
10:49 Does that feel authentic?
10:52 Should we add something else?
10:55 And so because I've gotten this question asked of me
10:59 before, this idea of whether we've improv'd at all or not.
11:04 And I always say yes and no, because within that three
11:07 weeks, we had that time to prep the material.
11:13 And if we wanted to come up with something
11:16 that we thought could be another good option,
11:18 that was the time to do so.
11:19 And then what was nice about it is that we did it together.
11:23 So it wasn't like, oh, my stuff and then your stuff over there.
11:26 We all figured out and came up with this 2.0, if you will,
11:34 together, collectively.
11:35 And then that was what then stayed.
11:38 And we essentially then filmed that.
11:39 So improv, I guess, in way of coming up with it in advance
11:44 before we started filming.
11:46 And then not improv is that in that we stuck to what we then
11:52 ultimately came up with.
11:53 I'm always curious.
11:54 When I first met you, I had to ask you this question
11:56 because I was so curious.
11:57 I asked you about the cigarette smoking.
11:59 Because I was wondering, do you smoke?
12:03 Or did you have to learn that to make it natural for her?
12:09 It was one of her--
12:10 listen, I think one of the fun things about acting
12:13 is when you see all the differences that you
12:16 have from that character.
12:18 And how if you choose to--
12:21 and it really is up to you.
12:23 I mean, the directors can request.
12:25 But really choose up to you a choice for you to decide,
12:30 how deep do you want to dig?
12:32 And I knew that I wanted to dig very deep.
12:35 Otherwise, it wasn't worth it because on the paper,
12:38 I could read how quiet and naked and bare this script was
12:44 and the set and the world was.
12:46 And almost like a magnifying glass,
12:48 it would expose anything that didn't ring true.
12:53 And so there were essential things
12:56 that I knew maybe in another movie, in another version,
13:01 they would be like, oh, no, that's fine.
13:03 But I knew I needed it for that.
13:05 And so yeah, I don't smoke at all.
13:09 And I just-- it's really more so the physicality.
13:16 I mean, yes, the dragging of the cigarette.
13:21 But it's truly the physicality.
13:23 What gives it away is how--
13:26 the degree of, I say, addiction the person has
13:30 is all shown in their body by how they
13:34 hold and drag the cigarette.
13:38 Yes.
13:39 Yeah, and so for her, I imagine the addiction
13:44 was rather deep due to the time period that
13:46 was very commonplace to be heavy, heavy, heavy smokers.
13:52 We know more now.
13:53 But then it was almost like they encouraged it or it was cool.
13:56 Yeah, because this is set in 1970.
13:58 Sure.
13:59 Sure.
14:00 And then due to her grief, that was one of her vices.
14:06 So I really wanted it to be an appendage of hers,
14:14 whether from her hand, literally an additional finger,
14:18 or literally, without being too distracting,
14:20 a dangling from her mouth.
14:22 It's so a part of her every day, her every five minutes,
14:27 that it's second nature to her.
14:31 So I had to become comfortable, very comfortable with it.
14:35 Alexander told me, cast you, basically had seen you
14:38 in "Dolemite is My Name."
14:40 And he knew, looking at that movie, that--
14:45 Yeah, so special.
14:47 Yeah, right?
14:48 I mean, now, Lady Reed is a wildly different character.
14:52 Yeah.
14:53 That's not what he says.
14:54 I'm always so fascinated.
14:56 But I also think that's the beautiful thing, right?
14:59 I always say, I create and then I give it to the world
15:03 to receive and see what they need to see.
15:05 But yeah, I see what you mean.
15:07 So the naked eye, I always was like, oh, that's interesting.
15:10 But it means a lot that someone of that caliber
15:15 would even take the time to see my work, resonate with it,
15:21 connect with it, and to see it through,
15:25 to see me be cast in a role.
15:27 Oh, he's a major film fan.
15:29 I mean, he's always talking about,
15:31 whenever I'm around him, movies that he's seen.
15:34 I mean, he's seen more movies than anybody.
15:36 So you know, and he loved that movie.
15:39 And isn't that great?
15:41 It's also fate sometimes, too.
15:42 Yes.
15:43 Yes.
15:44 I think so.
15:44 And I think it's a lesson in always bring your best,
15:49 because you never know who's watching.
15:51 And nothing is a waste.
15:53 Even sometimes if you think like, oh, I'm
15:55 just in this silly whatever, you never know
15:58 whether it can inspire, heal someone, get you the next job.
16:03 You really never know.
16:04 Well, that was such a great movie.
16:05 First of all, "Dolemite."
16:06 Oh, thank you.
16:07 You know my god, Rudy Ray Moore.
16:09 I had a blast.
16:11 And Eddie Murphy, you know, has really never been
16:13 better than he was in that.
16:14 I thought it was fantastic.
16:15 I hope he does more stuff like that, because he's truly--
16:19 yes, you know him as a comedic genius.
16:24 But the soul of that man and his capacity of storytelling
16:30 and showing of empathy and emotion
16:34 outside of the expected comedic route is profound.
16:39 And it's deep.
16:40 I would do another movie of that kind of--
16:43 I don't know if you would call "Dolemite" a dramedy,
16:46 but where there's equal heart and groundedness
16:48 as well as the comedy.
16:50 I would do 1,000 more of those kind of movies with him.
16:54 He is so amazing and so impactful
17:00 with very little effort.
17:04 I was surprised to see that you started out to be an opera
17:09 singer in classical music.
17:11 I mean, it's a very impressive training, background, schools.
17:16 You went to Yale drama.
17:17 You went to British American Academy.
17:20 Oh, yeah, at Oxford.
17:21 Yeah.
17:22 Temple University.
17:23 But you started out in opera, basically.
17:27 What inspired that?
17:29 "Adair."
17:30 Really?
17:30 "Adair," yeah.
17:31 It was a performing arts school.
17:34 And it was a new girl who came to school
17:36 and was bragging, speaking about this performing arts school
17:43 she went to called Interlochen in Michigan.
17:48 I'm competitive.
17:49 I grew up playing sports.
17:51 It's in my nature.
17:52 And I was like, well, I want to go
17:54 if it's that amazing I want to go.
17:56 And then I got there to find out, whoops,
17:59 it's classical music.
18:01 And I had never been truly, really exposed to that before.
18:07 And in time, I began to fall in love with it.
18:11 It just felt like a nuanced way of expressing
18:18 my art, which at that time was music.
18:21 And you have the voice for opera.
18:24 Yeah, I didn't know.
18:25 That really requires training, though.
18:26 Yeah, I didn't know.
18:27 I'll never forget.
18:28 I was in a voice lesson.
18:31 My teacher was classically based.
18:33 And I just wanted to be like, I don't know,
18:35 just a regular recording artist, like pop music or whatever, R&B.
18:40 And she kept pushing it.
18:43 And I was like, nah, it's not my thing.
18:45 I remember one day she was like, well,
18:46 what do you think it sounds like?
18:48 And I was like, what do you mean?
18:49 And she's like, well, just do an imitation of what you think
18:53 an opera singer sounds like.
18:55 And I did.
18:56 And then she was like, well, you have a natural gift for it.
19:01 Wow.
19:04 Which is interesting, this idea of mimicking something.
19:10 Sometimes I suffer from imposter syndrome
19:13 because I didn't ever grow up being like--
19:17 my sister did.
19:18 My sister at four knew she wanted
19:20 to be involved with medicine and helping children.
19:24 And I never knew exactly what I wanted to do growing up.
19:29 And so clearly, the universe, God,
19:32 or whatever your higher powers that you believe in,
19:35 has definitely taken the wheel and stirred me into-- well,
19:38 steered, stir--
19:39 into certain directions.
19:42 And so because of it, especially now of this as a career
19:46 and gig to gig, I'm really just hands off.
19:50 And I just try to focus on the types of stories
19:54 I want to tell, the types of themes and messages
20:00 that I want to convey.
20:02 And I find that it comes to me.
20:03 I say that because everything on my resume
20:07 is nothing that I've sought after.
20:09 Really?
20:11 When Deadline posts, oh, it's the blah, blah, blah show,
20:15 and it's going to have this and this.
20:17 There's been several times in my career where I've
20:19 called my agent or manager and been like, hey,
20:22 I want to get seen for this.
20:24 Never.
20:26 I've never booked it.
20:27 Really?
20:28 Not once.
20:29 And so early in my career, I was like, OK, I hear you.
20:33 I hear you.
20:34 I'm hands off.
20:36 And I'm grateful because it allows the right things
20:42 to come to me.
20:44 Was Ota May one of those in Ghosts when you got that--
20:47 you got a Tony nomination--
20:48 They tricked me.
20:50 On Broadway?
20:50 I was a nanny.
20:52 Oh.
20:53 And I loved my job as a nanny.
20:55 Had a great family.
20:57 The kids were great.
21:00 I was taking them to the med and going to baseball.
21:03 All of it.
21:04 I had a quintessential nanny New York experience.
21:10 I was having a blast.
21:12 And my agents were like, we need you
21:14 more available for auditioning.
21:16 The nanny job was obviously the survival job.
21:19 And so they said, hey, there's this new musical
21:24 that we want you to audition for.
21:25 I was like, I don't want to do any musicals.
21:29 And they were like, it's an understudy role.
21:33 The understudy for the understudy.
21:35 A swing.
21:36 You'll never go on.
21:38 OK, great.
21:40 I auditioned.
21:43 And then a day later, they were like, you booked it.
21:47 And I was like, OK, great.
21:49 So can I still nanny?
21:52 And they were like, no, you booked the role.
21:55 And I was like, the role?
21:56 What do you mean?
21:58 So I booked the role.
21:59 Wow.
22:00 And so again, the will being direct, I wasn't even--
22:07 You were trying to be the second understudy.
22:10 Yeah, I'm very purposeful and driven.
22:13 It's not that, but it's just a sense of how
22:16 it actually comes into play.
22:18 Yeah.
22:20 Very early on.
22:21 That's crazy.
22:21 That was my first gig.
22:22 Very early on, I've surrendered to it.
22:27 And this is why I think sometimes the imposter syndrome
22:31 creeps in, because of the lack of control.
22:33 But I find that the work then is much more informed.
22:41 Because I want to do right by it,
22:43 because I feel as though it's a gift that's been given to me.
22:46 Well, it's definitely a gift.
22:48 There's no question.
22:49 And now, believe me, after this, you're
22:52 going to yet another step where you're
22:54 going to be inundated with all kinds of roles.
22:58 Thank you.
22:59 There's no question about this.
23:01 Thank you.
23:02 It's amazing.
23:03 And you're also in--
23:04 I should tell people, check out Rustin,
23:07 because that's number one, a terrific movie
23:09 with the great, great, great.
23:10 He was here, Coleman Domingo.
23:12 He's quite special.
23:13 And you got to play Mahalia Jackson, which
23:17 I find interesting, because Daniel Brooks, who
23:19 is nominated in the same Oscar category as you are,
23:23 also played Mahalia in a television movie.
23:26 Yeah, absolutely.
23:29 Yeah, that lady is such a powerhouse.
23:33 It has such an amazing story, Mahalia,
23:35 the things that she's had to endure.
23:39 And yeah, that was another one.
23:43 That was like a character, a person, who I've always--
23:48 was very near and dear to me, someone
23:51 who my grandmother was obsessed with.
23:54 If you could be a fangirl for Mahalia,
23:57 that was my grandmother.
23:59 And so I always like, oh, she's passed now,
24:03 but I feel like she would love if I
24:07 would have the opportunity to.
24:08 So it was always like something quietly
24:11 tucked in the back of my mind.
24:14 So I was floored when I got the call from George.
24:17 And he was like, I think you would be perfect, George B.
24:19 Wolf.
24:20 I think you'd be perfect for her.
24:21 And this is what I want to do.
24:22 And I was like, who told you?
24:25 How did you know that?
24:27 So again, it's one of these moments where you just--
24:30 you surrender to the moment.
24:31 Yeah, and everything works out in the end, I think.
24:36 I was so excited.
24:37 It's like it was supposed to.
24:38 You know, the way it's supposed to.
24:41 This has definitely worked out the way it's supposed to.
24:43 Thank you for saying that.
24:44 People keep discovering this movie.
24:49 It's been playing for weeks.
24:51 And I think it's on POVD or whatever they call it.
24:55 But they've brought it back into theaters now.
24:57 And now it's back in the theaters with all--
24:58 it's up for Best Picture and everything else
25:00 and all these nominations.
25:01 And when I said all the things you had won,
25:03 I should also mention, oh, you're nominated for an Oscar.
25:07 You're nominated for a SAG Award.
25:09 You're nominated for a British Academy Award.
25:12 I mean, so many things.
25:16 It's exciting.
25:17 You've been on what I call the circuit here
25:20 when a movie comes out.
25:21 Oh, yes.
25:22 Is that a lot of work?
25:24 That's like a whole other job, isn't it?
25:26 It's a full-time job.
25:28 It's a full-time, five-month, beautiful job.
25:31 It's like you didn't sign up for that.
25:34 Well, you do.
25:34 You do in a way.
25:35 You hope you can sign up for that, right?
25:38 And I think what was interesting is that--
25:40 I'll never forget-- Strike ended November 8.
25:43 And Holdovers went to screen November 10.
25:48 So literally, I was in my garage going through.
25:52 I was starting to get rid of clothes, purge my closet.
25:56 And I got the call.
25:58 And I was like, oh, OK, wow.
26:00 Strike is over within 20 minutes.
26:04 OK, so this is what we're doing.
26:05 And we're sending you the schedule.
26:06 And later this week, you're going to New York.
26:09 Immediately.
26:10 That's amazing.
26:11 Yeah.
26:12 Because I was sort of living the life before the strike ended.
26:16 And Holdovers was opening.
26:18 And Alexander Payne was doing all the work.
26:21 Yeah, we were very fortunate that he was able to carry that.
26:25 He carried it until, thank God, the strike.
26:27 For months.
26:27 He did it for months.
26:28 I know.
26:29 He was--
26:29 The entire-- well, yeah.
26:31 That would have been, what, like from June all the way
26:35 to November?
26:36 Yeah, you know, and Telluride Film Festival,
26:39 Toronto, and different places.
26:41 And I was so happy when the actress--
26:43 I talked to Paul Giamatti about that, too.
26:46 And he said, the phone just started ringing off the hook.
26:48 As I'm saying, literally 20 minutes after the announcement,
26:51 the phone was off the hook and has been off the hook since.
26:54 It's amazing.
26:54 And now you're going to, among other things, the SAG Awards.
26:57 Thank God they have that.
26:59 And it's going to be fun.
27:00 It's all fun from now on.
27:02 It's enjoyable, yeah.
27:04 Yeah, and what do you have coming up?
27:05 You've got a couple of action pictures, I think.
27:07 Yeah, I have.
27:08 So I did an international spy movie
27:12 with the director Joe Carnahan, who to me
27:17 is one of the OG action directors,
27:21 with Kerry Washington and Omar Sy.
27:23 So I was super excited for that.
27:25 And then right before the strike,
27:28 I did a rom-com action movie with Rebel Wilson.
27:33 Oh, God.
27:34 Yeah.
27:35 It's like if Bride Hard--
27:39 it was called Bride Hard, so it's like if Bridesmaids
27:42 and Die Hard--
27:43 Emerged?
27:44 OK, that sounds like fun.
27:46 It's quite fun.
27:48 So much to look forward to.
27:50 And if you haven't seen the holdovers yet,
27:53 what are you doing?
27:54 Come on.
27:56 Devine Joy Randolph, thank you so much for joining us.
27:58 Thank you so much.
27:59 I really appreciate it.
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