Da’Vine Joy Randolph has been no stranger to great film and TV roles in recent years, with featured appearances in Only Murders in the Building, Tuca & Bertie, Dolemite Is My Name, Veep, and more. But, she says, the project that landed her the opportunity to work on The Idol was the Hulu series adaptation of High Fidelity.
In the short-lived but highly-enjoyable comedy series, Randolph played Cherise, a gender-flipped version of Jack Black’s role from the original film, but with her own very specific energy. “[Co-creator Sam Levinson] said that he liked my character in High Fidelity, and he felt as though notes of her could fit into this world and thought I would be a great person for this role,” Randolph tells Consequence.
Randolph was hired for the buzzy, potentially controversial HBO drama by Levinson after original director Amy Seimetz’s departure, and so “at that time, there was no script or sides, so it was kind of a true leap of faith, but based off of the work that he’s done on Euphoria, I knew it wouldn’t be anything to frown upon. I knew it was going to be special. And I’m so glad I took that leap of faith.”
Getting the call from Levinson meant that she didn’t have to audition, which could be exciting for an actor — “or terrifying, if you think about it, right?” Randolph says with a laugh. “Because, at least when you’re auditioning, you know what to expect to a certain degree. When somebody offers me a job, I’m actually more skeptical, because I don’t know what you are expecting from me. I don’t know what I’m expecting from you. So as much as it is an honor, it also is kind of daunting sometimes — because yeah, with no script and no sides and an offer, you’re kind of like, what are we doing?”
However, Randolph continues, “[Levinson] spoke from his heart, and [co-creator/star Abel Tesfaye] and I talked as well, and knew that these two men who are such fine craftsmen of their crafts, even though Abel’s is new… I knew that there was going to be something great in it.”
In the series, Randolph plays Destiny, the co-manager of Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), a shining but troubled pop star coping with the recent loss of her mother. Discovering who, exactly, Destiny is as a character was something Randolph says “was a true collaborative experience — Sam and I figured it out together as we went along. There were certain elements that he wanted to make sure that she had, but we really figured it out and pieced it together, which was so amazing because I’ve never had that collaborative an experience with a director before.”
