Isabelle Huppert is shocked by win for controversial ‘Elle’

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – French actress Isabelle Huppert was as shocked as the rest of the room when presenter Leonardo DiCaprio announced that she had indeed won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for her role in the controversial film “Elle,” in which she plays a woman who is raped.

“Oh my god! Thank you! Thank you!” Huppert gushed. “My heart is beating. If you could hear what is going on here!”

This was Huppert’s first Golden Globe nomination. The 63-year-old actress was considered a bit of a dark horse in competitive category that included Natalie Portman for “Jackie,” Jessica Chastain for “Miss Sloane,” Amy Adams for “Arrival” and Ruth Negga for “Loving.

“Elle” director Paul Verhoeven had earlier in the night accepted the award for Best Foreign Film saying that he was “astonished” that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had singled out his film because it’s been such a button-pusher.

“Isabelle Huppert is the only person who could have made this movie work,” Verhoeven told reporters backstage.

Huppert, in turn, thanked her director for “letting me be what I am.”

Backstage, Huppert said that she likes cinema that is adventurous.

“Exploring the human psyche, that’s what makes cinema most of the time valuable and worth being done,” she said.

While critics groups like the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association have also recognized Huppert for her performance, this might be the end of the train for the film’s chances at awards. “Elle” did not make the Oscars shortlist for Best Foreign Film. Huppert, however, could still potentially score a nomination for her performance on Jan. 24.