Fresh off her Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for her role in "The Holdovers," Da'Vine Joy Randolph sits down to play a game of 'Smash or Pass.' She reveals what it felt like to hear her name called at the Academy Awards, discusses a near-death experience that left her rattled and professes her love for all things related to Philadelphia.
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00:00 I'm Oscar winner Dave Andre Randall, and I'm playing Smash Pass for Variety.
00:04 [MUSIC]
00:11 Smash, wait, what's smash mean, amazing?
00:14 Yeah, I killed that.
00:15 Yeah, JLo and I always talked about life, love, prosperity, success.
00:20 It was my first Caporelli show, and it was epic.
00:24 I think probably the most exciting part is it's exclusive.
00:27 You're seeing things before anyone else has seen them yet.
00:30 And I'm always fascinated how they're able to pull off stunning works of art
00:35 under a pressure cooker of time.
00:37 We tried on a couple of things, but that and
00:41 with the iconic oyster shell necklace, we knew that was it.
00:46 That's a hit, yeah, Philly's a good time.
00:50 And you know why it's dope too?
00:52 I never got bored, but if you got bored,
00:57 you gotta go to New York, out of DC.
01:01 If you wanna go to Jersey, I guess.
01:02 You can't have bad food in Philly.
01:05 I will say this, that whole Patch Gino stuff is BS, cut it out.
01:12 It's commercial, we don't need it, so don't eat it.
01:17 And don't get mad if you don't like it, cuz we don't need it.
01:20 And they can come and get me if they want to, cuz they know.
01:24 Listen, you know one thing I love about Philadelphia?
01:30 If the Phillies are doing great, that's how we're gonna ride for
01:34 the whole year with every sport.
01:36 Happens that way all the time, it's the weirdest phenomenon.
01:39 If we're killing it in baseball, well, we're gonna kill it in football, and
01:43 we're gonna kill it in basketball.
01:44 Like this year, we did not do, it was what it was.
01:48 But at that time, basketball and football was doing good.
01:53 You see what I'm saying?
01:54 A home eagles game?
01:55 There's a jail underneath the stadium.
02:00 How you think that game is?
02:04 Amazing.
02:05 And when I was younger, a teenager, our parents used to tell us,
02:09 if you got locked up on a Thursday night game, you're not coming out until Monday.
02:14 So for those games in particular, you would be like, yo, let's not fool around.
02:20 Let's just enjoy the game, be proper, because that's a long weekend lockup.
02:26 You do not want.
02:27 No, no, no, I never got locked up, but
02:29 everybody knew behave yourself on Thursday.
02:33 >> [APPLAUSE]
02:40 >> I just waved to Meryl Streep right there.
02:42 I guess I smashed it.
02:44 I'm just so grateful about this whole process.
02:46 Speeches are important.
02:48 I was just speaking from my heart.
02:50 So I was very nervous.
02:52 >> And to the character Mary, Mary, you have changed my life.
02:55 You have made me feel seen in so many ways that I have never imagined.
02:59 >> That was such a beautiful moment and a beautiful dress.
03:02 And it was a really fun way to kick everything off.
03:05 People for the past two weeks have been telling me no, no cards for
03:10 the Oscars if and when it happens.
03:12 And they wanted to see my face.
03:14 But those were because I didn't think I was gonna get it.
03:20 And so half of those notes are from different hotels, notepads and
03:24 stuff like that, or a napkin that we just wrote on.
03:27 But yeah, I guess smash.
03:29 I don't know, that's more vulnerable for me to be like, yeah, I smashed it.
03:33 Then I'm just kinda like, I hope I did.
03:35 >> There was a jewelry store just outside of the mall.
03:38 >> My God.
03:38 >> There was a smash and grab.
03:40 >> 100% past that near death experience.
03:44 I was in the Glendale mall having lunch with my best friend.
03:47 And a couple doors down was a jewelry store and there was a robbery.
03:53 But they had a privately hired security at the jewelry store and
03:58 those people are able to carry firearms.
04:01 So they got a little surprised that they weren't expecting.
04:03 And so they were running throughout the streets and then through the mall.
04:07 So they came through the restaurant I was in,
04:10 and they were like, Den Tai Fung, haven't been there yet.
04:14 And I love dumplings and I'm traumatized.
04:16 You know what's crazy?
04:17 I almost ordered it on Postmates.
04:19 Literally my stomach started hurting and I said, well, that's that.
04:23 [MUSIC]
04:27 Like I don't fucking know chorus line.
04:29 [LAUGH]
04:32 They tricked me because they know I don't like singing publicly like that.
04:39 I think if anybody could make me sing, those could be the guys.
04:45 I'm so nervous about singing.
04:47 I take it so to heart.
04:49 I hope I smashed on it.
04:51 I think I've been just kind of like figuring out what my way, if and
04:57 when my way back in would be.
04:59 And I think now I'm in a space where I understand
05:02 that it's a part of the fullness of my gifts.
05:05 I think I would like to see my character continue to tap
05:08 into her own personal life and her wants and needs,
05:11 as well as continuing to build a bond, a true bond, even outside of work,
05:17 with the three of them, and then selfishly any and all things
05:21 to do with Meryl Streep.
05:23 OK, so I loved doing Broadway.
05:28 I loved doing musicals.
05:30 This is like my PSA announcement, and I really do mean this.
05:34 They have to pay these artists better.
05:36 It's not OK.
05:38 Theater artists in particular break their backs, literally,
05:43 to do beautiful work, and they're not getting paid their worth.
05:49 I was a lead in a musical, and I could barely pay my rent.
05:55 I'm in Harlem in a one-bedroom apartment struggling.
06:00 Something about theater artists in particular,
06:03 there's such a devotion to the craft and that they will do anything for it.
06:10 And I just want to empower people of, like, know your worth.
06:14 I'm in a privileged situation now.
06:16 So if I do go back to Broadway, it's still not going to be my worth,
06:20 but it'll be better than most, and that's not fair.
06:24 And I wouldn't feel comfortable to be in a position because I left--
06:28 not even left theater, because I then embarked on TV and film,
06:33 that because of that, now when I come back, I'm going to get paid better.
06:36 My gifts aren't no better than anybody else on that stage.
06:40 It was a beautiful experience to be around so many hardworking people.
06:45 It was life-changing.
06:46 Musicals are a whole other beast.
06:48 It's one of the hardest things I've ever done.
06:50 It was a smash to do it, but a pass on how antiquated ways have been
06:56 in providing resources and finances and paying its workers down.
07:01 My grandmother said you never trust a dude with a rat tail.
07:05 That was cute.
07:06 Yeah, I remember I had improv'd the first part.
07:10 My grandmother says you never trust--
07:12 and then we just started doing wiles of, like, width of this, width of that.
07:17 But, you know, Abel really wanted that little ponytail,
07:20 and he used to piss my little character off.
07:23 It wasn't even substantial.
07:26 It was just thin and thinning at the end.
07:30 That was fun.
07:31 I think people enjoyed her.
07:33 The Oscar goes to "Divine Story."
07:37 [APPLAUSE]
07:40 Oh, it was a smash.
07:43 It was a beautiful experience.
07:45 It was really beautiful.
07:47 When they said my name, I think it was just overwhelming,
07:50 because this has been such a beautiful and long journey.
07:53 So I think with it being the closure of the awards season,
07:58 I think my body just had an emotional release.
08:02 It's a good lesson I tell people themselves.
08:05 State your goals and dreams, and make it plain, and then let it go,
08:10 because it's going to happen.
08:12 I just want to encourage people, because I don't even
08:14 know if everybody knows that they are gifted, that we are all given a gift.
08:18 Gifts, plural.
08:21 And I don't want people to think just because all this gowns, and hair,
08:25 and makeup, and fancy lights, that it's only
08:29 reserved for certain people.
08:31 Select a few, or just actors and movies.
08:34 I just want people to tap into their gifts, and believe in themselves,
08:39 and not limit themselves.
08:40 I believe that the world will be an immaculate place
08:45 if we operate it from there.
08:47 Selfishly, I'm asking people to find their gifts,
08:50 and to be kind to themselves, and loving themselves,
08:53 because I think, too, our world will be able to prove itself.
08:58 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:01 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:04 (upbeat music)