Alicia Vikander: Ive never been pregnant, but I hope to have a family one day
I was surprised to see Alicia Vikander on the cover of Elle’s September issue because I didn’t realize that she has anything big coming out? Her turn as Lara Croft in the franchise reboot, Tomb Raider, doesn’t come out until next March. She does have Tulip Fever coming out in late August, but I thought people wanted to keep that a secret, because it looked like such a mess? And then there’s Submergence, a film which will be making its way through the film festivals this fall, probably. So, yeah, she does have a reason why she got the September cover, I guess. Sorry, I don’t always keep up with her schedule! Anyway, here are some highlights from her cover profile:
Getting into shape for Tomb Raider: “I love big popcorn movies. I’ve never done action scenes on this level—not even close. It feels like I’m back to dancing—the training, the intensity. You need to be aware of your movement up in the wires and how your body works… [I spent a lot of time] bulking up quite a lot at first and then trying to just, like, tone down. I’ve never been able to lift my own weight, and the day when you have that capacity, it’s pretty empowering! And you get the endorphins afterward.”
She’s ready to be a mother: “I don’t even have children, and it’s the wonder of my world. I’ve always wanted kids. I’ve never been pregnant, but I hope to have a family one day. It’s both the expectation and knowing that it should be the greatest experience of my life—and suddenly from one day to another, it’s a reality; it’s a new chapter of your life.”
She almost gave up on acting: After being rejected from drama school (twice!), Vikander was about to call it quits—that is, until she was cast in Pure. “It’s so strange to say, but I knew that this was my one shot,” she says of the 2010 movie. “It was such a layered role; I knew it would be my one chance to show what I could do.”
Director Derek Cianfrance on Alicia’s effect on Michael Fassbender: “Fassbender has a really hard time doing it bad—know what I mean? Then I had this young upstart in Alicia. I think she threw Michael off his center. What I saw in front of the camera was this incredibly trained actor trying to get his bearings with this thoroughbred who was just inexhaustible. Whereas Michael would get it good in the first two takes, Alicia would be hitting her stride sometimes around the 13th take. It made for a real magic between the two of them, where they were pushing each other… All I can say is that what I saw unfolding in front of my camera felt true to me, and when you’re making a love story, if you don’t believe that the people are falling in love, it’s not really working. I believed it was happening.”
There are more quotes from more directors in that piece, but I felt like ending it there because I thought Derek Cianfrance’s comments were telling and slightly nauseating. Like, Alicia is a “thoroughbred”? It’s gross to refer to her like that in general, and it makes no sense in context either. She’s a thoroughbred because it took her 13-plus takes to act properly? She’s a thoroughbred because Fassbender didn’t know how to act against someone who needed 13 takes to figure out the scene? As for the comments on motherhood… I guess we should make our peace with the idea that there could be a Vikbender baby coming at some point. Who knows?
Photos courtesy of Elle Magazine.
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