Da’Vine Joy Randolph wins NYFCC, Santa Barbara International Film Festival awards for ‘The Holdovers’

Randolph portrays a grieving mother in the latest film from director Alexander Payne.

Awards season is beginning to shape up, and eyes are on Da’Vine Joy Randolph as she wins Best Supporting Actress accolades for her performance in “The Holdovers.”

Da’Vine Joy Randolph stars as Mary Lamb in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” a Focus Features release. (Photo by Seacia Pavao / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC)

Randolph appears in one of awards season’s biggest films, “The Holdovers,” starring Paul Giamatti. Taking place at a New England prep school over Christmas in the 1970s, the story follows an instructor (Giamatti), who is forced to stay on campus over the holiday break to babysit students with nowhere to go.

Randolph, in a performance critics have called “layered and nuanced,” plays Mary, the prep school’s head cook who has recently lost her son. While we are still months away from heavy-hitting ceremonies like the Oscars, others are already taking place, with Randolph earning multiple awards for her turn in the film.

On Thursday, Randolph earned the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Supporting Actress. Annually, the NYFCC is among the first critics groups to select the best performances and work in film for the year, essentially kicking off Oscars season, as Variety points out. She also took home the Virtuoso award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Randolph is scheduled to receive the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s esteemed Breakthrough Performance Award, per The Wrap. According to the outlet, PSIFF Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said in a statement that she “brings not only her significant comedic talents to the table, but also extremely moving emotional depth to her portrayal of Barton Academy head cook Mary Lamb, who is grieving the recent loss of her son.”

Stay tuned as Randolph is set to appear on an upcoming episode of theGrio’s “Acting Up” podcast with Entertainment Director Cortney Wills.

“The Holdovers” is in theaters now.

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