Isabelle Huppert: Greatest Actor of the 21st Century
We interviewed Isabelle Huppert, one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.
(Here’s the link to the interview: https://theindustry.co/p/isabelle-huppert-interview)
Her work breathes a vivid specificity into the darkest corners of human nature, most strikingly in The Piano Teacher (2001) and Elle (2016).
Not only has she acted in more films that have been selected for the Cannes Film Festival than any other actor in history, but she has also worked with some of the greatest directors of our time:
Jean-Luc Godard
Michael Cimino
Paul Verhoeven
Michael Haneke
David O. Russell
Joachim Trier
Catherine Breillat
Huppert is a pure artist. When I asked her what films inspired her work, she responded:
“I am a spectator, who's not a great spectator by the way, because I've seen films, but not so many. I'm not the biggest cinephile in the world.”
Her response caught me off guard, but I was magnetized by her conclusion:
“I can't say that I am inspired by a film as an actress. I keep thinking sometimes, maybe not rightly, but I think rightly, that you could be an actress without even coming out of your bedroom. It's more all about imagination.”
Huppert shares my deepest-held belief about creativity: while it’s wonderful to reference real life, the best stories are ones steeped in imagination.
For an actor or writer to be brilliant, as Huppert is, you need an imagination that can project you into the soul of experiences that are foreign.
Huppert has an extraordinary malleability that has allowed her to find the heart of well over 100 characters she has played throughout her career.
For More:
Want to discover more about Huppert’s latest role, Luz, which premiered at Sundance last week? The film explores how a parent (Huppert) and child bridge their emotional gap through virtual worlds. Huppert’s character has an astonishing contradiction: her maximal life force blinds her from connecting with the person who matters most: her stepdaughter.
Here’s our cover story:
https://theindustry.co/p/isabelle-huppert-interview-sundances
Here’s the NY Times article that lists Isabelle Huppert as one of the greatest actors of the 21st Century:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/movies/greatest-actors-actresses.html