Isabelle Huppert has five films coming out in 2019. The French actress is so notoriously busy that, when playing an exaggerated version of herself in an episode of the Netflix comedy “Call My Agent!” last year, she was depicted shooting two major films at once (and doctoring the script for one of them) while squeezing in an artsy Korean flick on the side and preparing to play Hamlet onstage.

The portrayal is gently satirical. But only just.

“I love what I do,” Ms. Huppert said in an interview, when asked why she keeps such a busy schedule. “It’s a great privilege in life, to love what you do.”

The actress, whose American profile got a big boost from earning an Oscar nomination for her 2016 no-holds-barred performance in “Elle,” is taking a brief break from film to star in “The Mother,” a play by Florian Zeller that begins performances Feb. 20 at the Atlantic Theater Company. (During the run, she will also have another movie release: Neil Jordan’s demented psycho-thriller “Greta,” in theaters March 1.)

The American theater producer Jeffrey Richards approached her with the project by Mr. Zeller — whose “The Father” was on Broadway in 2016 — and she immediately signed on.