Da'Vine Joy Randolph wins Academy Award for movie filmed in Fairhaven and New Bedford
NEW BEDFORD — "The Holdovers," filmed in Fairhaven and New Bedford, took home an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress on Sunday night. Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who played the role of Mary in the film, was the proud recipient of the award.
Partly filmed at the James Arnold Mansion and Fairhaven High School, the film tells the story of a history teacher, a grieving school cook and a troubled student who come together during the holidays. It is currently available to stream on Peacock.
At the ceremony, Lupita Nyong'o, who won a Supporting Actress Oscar for "12 Years a Slave," presented the award to Randolph. She praised Randolph's performance as a tribute to her grandmother and the way she sees the world through her grandmother's glasses, which was part of her wardrobe in the film.
More: Artist at Cake Smith Gallery creates spectacular wedding cakes with a twist
During her acceptance speech, Randolph shared that she had always dreamed of pursuing a career in the arts and thanked her mother for pushing her to follow her dreams. She also expressed gratitude for all the people who have supported her along the way and helped her pave her own path.
"I am so grateful to all you beautiful people out here. For so long I wanted to be different and now I realize I just needed to be myself," she said.
"Thank-you for seeing me."
Nicholas Cage also honors 'The Holdovers' actor Paul Giamatti
Randolph also thanked her co-stars, with special shoutouts given to her publicist Colleen Camp, colleague Barbara Broccoli, and producer Tracy Granger-Sarafian.
According to IMDb.com, Randolph made her Broadway and West End debuts starring as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical (2012 Tony Award? Nomination, Best Featured Actress in a Musical). A Philadelphia native, she received her bachelor's from Temple University in classical vocal performance and transitioned into acting by attending Yale School of Drama for her master's degree. Regional stage credits include Servant of Two Masters at Yale Repertory Theater and Hair at Prince Music Theater.
More: Fall River actress talks working on 'The Holdovers' and her big scene with Paul Giamatti
Also at the ceremony, actor Nicholas Cage praised nominee Paul Giamatti, who was nominated for Best Leading Actor for his role in "The Holdovers." Cage shared that Giamatti's commitment to the character was so strong that he wore a soft contact lens during the entire film shoot, even though it affected his vision.
"Would I have done that? Hell yes!" Cage said, before the award was ultimately given to Cillian Murphy for his role in "Oppenheimer."
"The Holdovers" also received three other nominations at the Academy Awards. However, it lost to other films in the categories of Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Picture.
Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter:@ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Da'Vine Joy Randolph wins Oscar for The Holdovers, filmed in New Bedford
