Da'Vine Joy Randolph is the first to say that acting is "crazy."
"Imagine I'm just meeting you now," she exclaims, her hands fluttering. "We go on-set, and we're supposed to play long-lost lovers. I now have to be in love with you and make everyone believe it, and I just met you five minutes ago." She pauses with the impeccable comedic timing of a pro. "That's insane, right?" Maybe it's because the 37-year-old Pennsylvania native spent her childhood playing the piano and becoming a classically trained opera singer that she can approach acting by embracing its inherent absurdity. Her parents, both educators, worked around the clock to put her in private school and arts camps. "Early on I was made aware that my gift was singing-never, ever crossed over into that other department, the other room down the hall," she says. Then, when Randolph was midway through her undergraduate studies, her mother, Joyce, sensed her acting talent and insisted she switch majors from vocal performance to musical theater.
This story is from the January 15, 2024 edition of People US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 15, 2024 edition of People US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Why I Dropped Everything for My Dad
WHEN THE POLICE ACADEMY STAR'S FATHER GOT SICK, HE TRAINED TO BE A DIALYSIS TECH SO HE COULD TREAT HIM AT HOME: 'HE WAS MY HERO'
A Late Legend's New Novel
When author and film director Michael Crichton died of cancer in 2008 at age 66, his pregnant widow, Sherri, just wanted to sit in his writing room, surrounded by the work that was so central to his life.
MY Life Now
THE FORMER INMATE AND VICTIM OF MUNCHAUSEN SYNDROME BY PROXY ENJOYS FREEDOM AND A NEW LOVE
A HOLLYWOOD STORY
THE TV AND SCREEN VETERAN DETAILS HIS FAMED FAMILY'S HISTORYAND TRAGEDY-IN A NEW MEMOIR
'Find What Fascinates You'
AFTER SCORING EVERY MAJOR ACTING PRIZE, THE LEGENDARY STAR ISN'T DONE RISING TO NEW CHALLENGES
MARLON WAYANS - Crying, Laughing Through Grief
AFTER THE DEVASTATING LOSS OF HIS PARENTS, THE COMEDIAN IS USING HUMOR TO LIGHTEN THE LOAD
The Latest in Brad & Angelina's Court Battle
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's ongoing legal battle over French winery Château Miraval continues to be a case of very sour grapes.
Sixteen Candles' Gedde Watanabe Looks Back
When director John Hughes cast Gedde Watanabe as foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong alongside Molly Ringwald (right) in Sixteen Candles 40 years ago, he had no idea the actor-who was born and raised in Utahwas faking his heavy accent.
Riley Keough's Latest Move to Protect Graceland
When Riley Keough stepped out on May 24 to fete her grandmother Priscilla Presley on her 79th birthday, she was also celebrating a legal victory.
'How Did She Disappear'
NPR host Tonya Mosley got a call and learned she had a sister—who was missing in Detroit. She and her nephew set out to get answers and found healing along the way