Giving a short acceptance speech when accepting the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2024 Oscars for her role in “The Holdovers,” actress Da’Vine Joy Randolph spoke about God and his many blessings, stressing that her success came thanks to God and that “God is so good.” She also thanked her mother and the others who helped guide her on her career trajectory.
As background, in “The Holdovers,” Randolph plays Mary Lamb. Lamb, in the movie, is a cook at the fictional Barton Academy school and recently lost a son in the Vietnam War. While a cook for the school, she becomes friends of sorts with two others, a brainy student and a grumpy instructor, who have to stay on campus during the school’s Christmas break.
The movie was generally positively received by Christians, the Christian Post reports, with one reviewer commenting, “In truth, “The Holdovers” features a sense of healing that is mutual amongst all three left at the school. The path that takes them there provides gentle lessons of compassion for all involved in community making. And, for Christian people, that’s all of us!”
Another reviewer noted how the film shows “grace,” writing, “The Holdovers doesn’t suggest that any of these grumpy characters experiences a Scrooge-like transformation. These are still deeply flawed, and often annoying, individuals. But their two weeks together gives each of them time to dig through their brittle shells to better understand the people underneath. These characters learn to extend a little kindness and grace, too. And before the film is done, someone makes an unexpected sacrifice.”
Speaking about God and his glory during her acceptance speech, Randolph said, “God is so good. God is so good. You know, I think I was supposed to be doing this as a career. I started off as a singer, and my mother said to me, go across that street to that theater department: There’s something for you there. And I thank my mother for doing that.”
Continuing, she said, “I thank you to all the people who have stepped in my path and have been there for me. Who has ushered me and guided me. I am so grateful to all you beautiful people out here. For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different, and now I realize, I just need to be myself. And I thank you. I thank you for seeing me.”
Watch her here:
Speaking to USA Today, Randolph said that she sees her career as evidence that “God has a bigger plan,” noting, “You can seemingly be going along and everything is great, and then you slide down. But if you keep playing, you can jump right back up. And that’s life, especially in this industry. It’s more about trusting that your path is your path.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video