“Being an actor is a privilege”
Impressive, precise and more than ever fulfilled by her status as an actress, Isabelle Huppert received us for a round table. Meeting with an outstanding actress, a great lady.
From Her by Paul Verhoeven
With Paul Verhoeven I feel in total confidence. The complicity is absolute. I was in high school when I saw one of his first big films, Turkish Delight. From then on, we could detect in him this desire to play on misunderstanding, ambiguity and to combine several genres, from thriller to comedy… That shows all the pleasure I have in acting in his films.
His taste for strong characters and danger.
It is not for the love of putting myself in danger that I play. Playing roles driven by a kind of “perversion” is neither a compliment nor an insult. It is much more than that: a desire to emphasize, to underline this duality that exists in each of us. Good and bad, right and wrong, normal and abnormal. We are all made of the thing and its opposite. And the role of cinema is to give substance to this. To disturb. Otherwise, what’s the point of making films? I don’t only choose roles of strong, unattainable women. My desire is to tell the story of strength, but also the fragility that accompanies it. In Elle, I play a woman who is certainly strong…but lonely.
Rather cinema or theater?
I am attached to both. It’s the same relationship.
From the song
I sang in two films and it has always been a pure joy for me. Just as actors love to sing, singers love to act. For me, singing is the highest level of expression.
Filming…
The filming leaves a memory very close to what we experience. Each film is an experience that stays in the mind. But rest assured, I remain exactly the same afterwards.
Between loyalty to established directors and young filmmakers with a first film, what is the common thread?
Whether you work with a young director on a first film or an established filmmaker, once the doubts have been cleared up, the same relationship develops: that of trust. An essential cement. Believe me, I have good antennae. And all the first films I act in are successes.
When will you move behind the camera?
Being an actor is an immense privilege and we should rejoice in it every morning. I had a lot. For me, it’s the pleasure of doing what you love. I am fulfilled. And if one day I go behind the camera, it will be more out of curiosity than necessity. And I am curious by nature. We’ll see.
From the Marrakech Festival…
I received a tribute there, chaired the jury and today I pay tribute to Paul Verhoeven and present Elle. I have a wonderful time there every time and I really enjoy coming back. In Marrakech, we have the chance to present films that the public is not used to. We cross barriers.
