Danielle Brooks on Sharing the Oscars with Da’Vine Joy Randolph: “They Make You Feel Like There Can Only Be One”

It seems that the 34-year-old actress was working on a project in New Zealand when she received the news about the Oscar nomination.

“I was in New Zealand and it was about a whole day and a few hours of time difference, so I was in the future,” she jokes. “It was about 3 a.m. and I finally fell asleep because you possibly can’t stop considering on nights like these. I finally passed out around 1 a.m., and around 3 a.m. my husband called me and said, “You made it!” And I heard my daughter’s little 4-year-old voice say, “Mommy, you did it!” You did it!’

Then reality hit us.

“I could not imagine that the moment had come and so they actually called me with this excellent news. “It was a huge feat to overcome and get there, so I was very impressed that the moment came when I received my first Oscar nomination,” she says.

Brooks’ nomination is a big achievement for her and one other step forward for Black women in Hollywood, who rarely receive recognition on such a big scale. One thing that makes this moment especially special is that she gets to share it with one other young black actress, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who was nominated in the same category for her role in “The Holdovers.”

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“It’s great because we have known one another since the starting of our careers. I used to be at Juilliard, she was at Yale, and we met around the same time. Navigating this industry has been difficult since it makes you are feeling like there can only be one. For me, starting with Orange Is the New Black, this myth was cleared up in a short time as I noticed there may very well be room for multiple. Each of us can shine,” he explains.

“There comes a moment where we can both shine. Especially since they’re two plus-size black women and they get to tell these stories at the same time; You’d better not write it. I think it’s great that young women see that there is a place for you too. You can all do your thing at the same time, you don’t have to wait. It was really cool to witness this together.”

Other nominees include a few of our favorites, including Sterling K. Brown, Jeffrey Wright, and Colman Domingo, amongst others.