Da’Vine Joy Randolph has emerged as a true star within the past several years, and she only has more room to rise in Hollywood. Now, just over a decade into her career in earnest, the actress is revealing a grounding moment involving great advice from Al Pacino. The fame-related wisdom that the iconic actor shared with her resurfaced when they reconnected for a project years later. Needless to say, it was a "full circle" moment for Randolph.
The Dolemite Is My Name actress was a guest on the Sirius XM's Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast and discussed much of her career. During the conversation, Da'Vine Randolph explained how a life-changing but a semi-abstract exchange with the Scarface star came back around years later. She said this of his metaphorical piece of advice:
So he basically said, ‘I can tell you're special.’ And I was like, you don't know I'm special. You haven't seen the show. You don't know what I can do. And he was like, no, I can tell because of your dedication to the craft. And then he gave this analogy and he asked, ‘Do you fly private?’ And I was like, No, I definitely drive the Amtrak train and Greyhound bus to and from Philadelphia. No, sir. I don't know about private planes. And he was like, ‘But you know how with a private jet, like you can't really carry that much luggage and you can't really take that many people on it.
The moment seems unreal and probably was to the High Fidelity alum. Al Pacino called it right out of the gate, Randolph is special and has given plenty of Oscar-worthy performances already since the 2014 conversation. Of course, Pacino is also one of the many stars who's dished out a performance that deserved an Academy Award and won for their efforts. So Randolph is in very good company.
Amid her recent interview, the Lost City actress went on to pull from her fellow actor's analogy. With that, she spoke of her experience making that proverbial climb:
But it's a really special thing as you continue to ascend. And become what people consider successful. And he was like, ‘That's the life of an artist. As you continue to climb up this ladder, everybody's not going to be able to come along for the ride. And you're going to have to lighten the load in order to go to the top. But when you do get there, I'll be there. And other people will be there that understand what that is. And you'll build a community from that. It'll be a small community, but you'll build a community for that.’ So it was like, I was like, what? It was so over my head. And then that was 2014.
Of course, the star -- who welcomed a child at 83 years old in 2023 -- would be able to foresee and be right about DaVine Joy Randolph’s career at the beginning. I wouldn't be surprised if the message seemed incredibly confusing to Randolph and too much to fully process then. The United States vs Billie Holiday alum then revealed the full circle moment where she found herself in a room with Pacino and other A-listers (and I think plenty of actors would be feeling incredibly emotional in such a situation):
And they put a ladder on the set and then you could tell they were like, trying to figure out what the tableau was going to be. Who's going to stand where? And so we're doing final things. And so people start coming in and I'm like, Whoa, that's De Niro. That's crazy. That's Scarlett Johansson. And then Al Pacino comes in and I'm like, Crazy. Okay. And so they're getting us all together. And I was the last person that they put in place. And if you look at the picture, Al Pacino is standing next to the ladder and they told me to get on the ladder and halfway while we were shooting, he was looking up at me at the ladder and I'm on the ladder and I just got deeply emotional.
What a cinematic moment for Randolph, celebrating her accomplishments in the industry, being surrounded by the best and understanding fully what Pacino meant. And how incredible is it that the moment is forever etched in history? Truly this was a beautiful moment. What's most exciting now is that the sky is the limit as, even though there are plenty of great movies and show starring Randolph, she has the potential to contribute more great work.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph shared more during her interview, touching upon whether or not Al Pacino actually remembers the moment:
I don't know if he remembers this, but it was a full circle moment. That this man is talking about as you're climbing up a ladder and now I'm doing a photo shoot and I'm on a ladder like it just It hit me.
By all accounts, the On the Come Up alum is a true student of her craft and has seemingly always taken the chance to learn from Eddie Murphy and other industry giants like Sandra Bullock and Paul Giamatti. Don’t be fooled though, while she does take the time to absorb what she can from veterans, her performances are all her own. And, if her unparalleled emotional performance in The Holdovers is any indication, she'll contribute even more great work as time goes on.
