After winning dozens of awards, including the Golden Globe, the Critics Choice, the BAFTA and the one awarded by the Screen Actors Guild, Da’Vine Joy Randolph only has to obtain the golden statuette for Best Supporting Actress this Sunday to crown a triumphant career. Without a doubt, her work in Alexander Payne’s Those Who Remain as a cook trying to recover from the death of her son has been simply irresistible to everyone who had to vote. While the 37-year-old Philadelphia native may seem like an unknown, Randolph has a career marked by success, in which she has not lacked preparation. She has a master’s degree from Yale University’s theater school, and was nominated for a Tony for her Broadway debut in the adaptation of “Ghost” in the role that won the Oscar for Whoopi Goldberg. She has since worked ceaselessly in film and television, where she was most recently seen in the award-winning Just Murders in the Building as Detective Donna Williams.
Were you familiar with Alexander Payne’s films when you asked him for this film?
Yes and no. Alexander Payne called me and described this beautiful character to me. Then he gave me the script, and explained to me what his ideas were and the potential he saw in Mary. To be honest, when our first meeting ended, since I had no idea who this man was, I asked him if he wanted me to watch any of his movies. After some insistence he recommended The Descendants to me. I asked him if that was George Clooney speeding down a hill in cholas, and he said yes. Then he mentioned Sideways to me, and I asked him if it was Paul Giamatti’s one with the wines, and he told me that it was that one. Only then did I realize who he was and that he had seen his movies.
Do you think having that attitude helped you get hired?
I don’t know, that’s how I’ve always been throughout my entire career. And it has never been intentional. The same thing happened to me in I am Dolomite. I did chemistry tests with other actors and I just ran into Eddie Murphy on my first day of filming. He has been the same on other occasions. Because I know I’m not in control, I just go with what comes my way.
The chemistry he has with Paul Giamatti and Dominic Sessa is extraordinary. Did you have time to rehearse and get to know each other before filming began?
We have three weeks to do a reading and extensive analysis of the script. People believe that we improvised everything and that was not the case. Something that Alexandre did that was very special to me is that although there was room to improvise, we did that in those first shared readings. Once we decided on the final version of the script, we followed it to the letter when filming. In that way, this experience was very different from the ones I had before. It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much time to rehearse.
How did working on real locations influence your acting?
It’s the best thing that could happen to me, especially filming in the summer. All of this is food for the actors, and in that I include clothing, how the character does their hair and if you have any props like a cigarette. All of this helped me create Mary working less than she imagined. I will never forget the noise the heating made when it turned on. Those kinds of things generated visceral sensations in me and it is something that I will never forget because it never happened to me in other films. If I went back to that set I would know exactly where the cups and spoons are, or where my character kept the magazines. It’s much harder to connect with the character when you know that everything you touch are props.
What was it like working with silences in the film?
Very interesting, because my feeling is that I participated in two films. One of them was a sound one, as if it had been Singin’ in the Rain, and on the other hand, it’s as if she had been an actress in a silent film. I don’t know if many people know that when she shoots, Alexander sits next to the camera and there are no monitors. He is the one who supervises everything. When we started filming, after a couple of scenes, I asked Paul if he ever gets up and continues filming from the video village, and he answered no, that he is always there, next to where it is filmed. . I got so used to him being like that that he needed his presence, because my impression was that we were in this together. The funny thing is that in those moments when there was no text, it was as if I were internally saying a monologue. Alexander shared everything with us. He often asked me if he wanted to see what he had just done, and we watched the takes together. No director does that.
There is a very powerful scene in which Mary does not say a word, and simply allows herself to be hugged by her sister. What was it like filming it?
It was beautiful, because in that scene you can see that she is trying to overcome what has happened to her. She tries to look ahead. She seeks to accept it. It’s funny but in many families, shortly after someone dies a baby arrives, and in that scene what you see is Mary trying to accept the new situation, which is a huge gesture and something that her sister understands very well. . I loved that the arrival of Christmas was very strong for her. Something she wasn’t ready for. I also like the different layers the story has. Angus wants to go to Boston, and Mary supports him, because she needs to go too. In her head, all those days that are portrayed in the movie, Mary is sometimes thinking that she has to go to Boston and other times that she doesn’t want to go. And when Angus says “Boston,” she realizes that she has to go see her sister, and it’s the universe she’s telling him.
Why do you think Those Who Remain has been so well received by the audience?
I think it’s a good time to see a movie like this, especially because of what’s happening in the world. On the other hand, there are many Christmas movies that come gift-wrapped, with an ending that makes everyone happy, and this one is not like that. That was one of the reasons that attracted me to the project. I thought it could be an anthem for all those people who deal with personal problems during the holiday season. Imagine if you are depressed and you have to watch Father in Trouble. I’m surprised that a slightly more realistic Christmas movie like ours has never been made before.
