Da'Vine Joy Randolph joined The Idol to "keep people on their toes"

The Idol was one of the year’s buzziest and most controversial shows. Rumors of production issues caused a media firestorm and the actual content of the series raised eyebrows. But “removing all that aside, I loved doing that job,” Da’Vine Joy Randolph told The A.V. Club, praising Sam Levinson and The Weeknd specifically.

As to what attracted her to the project in the first place, the Golden Globe nominee said, “[For] I never want people to be able to predict, like, ‘Oh, Da’Vine’s in that? Okay, I know what she’s gonna do. I may or may not see it, but I know what she’s gonna do. I never want that. I always want to keep people on their toes. So a big reason why I did this was because it was something different than I had done before.” She continued, “I highly respect and really admire Sam Levinson the creator, I think he’s so talented. He creates such beautiful, deep, authentic, gut-wrenchingly honest narratives. And I wanted to get into a different space and try something new and hopefully attract a new audience and demographic.”

Contrary to reports of a strained set, Randolph shared, “Everyone was so lovely to work with, so kind.” She was particularly impressed that The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), despite “immense fame and success in one arena,” was “willing, and had a desire, to put himself out there and try something new.” Expressing her admiration for the singer, she added, “And he has such a dedication to it, so much so he let us film in his house. I don’t even let people over. I just was like, it really spoke to me in that regard.”

“You can’t control that stuff,” Randolph said of the negative press. “It can’t be about that stuff. The same thing with awards and stuff like that. You gotta do the work and understand why you’re doing it, and what is your purpose for doing it. And for me, it is… in a way, my form of activism, and reaching out to others, and connecting with people, and hopefully making somebody’s life or day better. Whether it’s a smile, a laugh, a cry, calling up that person that you haven’t talked to in a while, that’s why I do what I do. And so, all the other elements, good, bad, and indifferent, I just don’t even subscribe myself to.”

“But I really enjoyed doing that project, and it was tons of fun, and Destiny is such a cool character,” Randolph reflected, noting that The Idol’s Destiny and High Fidelity’s Cherise are both “unapologetic, speak their mind, strong, and just [burst] through life fearlessly.” She said, “That’s something I’m noticing I’m starting to become quite attracted to in regards to character development. So yeah, I had a blast doing it.”