Photos: ‘Homeland’ Actress Claire Danes Honored as Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year [WACKY PHOTOS]

By Cristina Merrill | Jan 27, 2012 12:11 PM EDT

"Homeland" actress Claire Danes received a very high honor on Thursday: She was awarded Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year title in a wacky ceremony with all the pomp and hilarity you'd expect.

The club honors one man and woman each year with the iconic golden pot award. Past Hasty Pudding honorees include actresses Julianne Moore and Anne Hathaway, talk-show host Jay Leno, and singer-turned-actor Justin Timberlake. 

Before claiming the pot, Danes had to complete a number of tasks -- including a dance-off with one member dressed as a virus, according to a report in The Harvard Crimson.

"It was a blast," she said at a post-event news conference. "It was totally bizarre. In the best sense."

Danes is at the top of her game. She just snagged a Best Actress Golden Globe for her role in "Homeland." Before that, she received major accolades for her title role in the HBO movie "Temple Grandin."

Still, this did not prevent members of the Hasty Pudding club from poking a bit of fun at the acclaimed actress, who attended Yale. The two schools have a deep and longstanding rivalry.

"I now know that you guys are kind of deranged and you like to pee on statues," she said at the conference. "That's what I've taken from this experience, it's to never touch a statue in Cambridge again."

This year's Man of the Year will be "The Muppets" actor Jason Segel. He will be honored on Feb. 3.

In the meantime, check out these hilarious photos of Danes.