Name: Alicia Vikander
Birthdate: October 3, 1988
Birthplace: Gothenburg, Sweden
Claim to fame: Vikander began to get noticed after she appeared in the 2012 adaptation of Anna Karenina. But 2015 is her big breakout year; with films such as The Testament of Youth, Ex Machina and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. she’s now gaining public recognition for her starring roles.
What we can see her in next: She stars opposite Eddie Redmayne in the Tom Hooper-directed film The Danish Girl, which will be premiering at this year’s TIFF Festival.
Interesting fact: Vikander trained as a ballet dancer for nine years in her native Sweden, which ended up serving her very well for her role as the Artificial Intelligence Ava in the film Ex Machina. The role required her to move like a machine without being conscious of her movements, which she was able to pull off brilliantly mainly because of her extensive dance background and ability to control her body movement so flawlessly.
Best quote: “I always get that question — ‘where are your parents really from? Do you know where your dad’s from?’ My parents are both from very small villages, from up north and south of Sweden. I’m also a quarter Finnish, but that doesn’t really make me much darker.” — on being a brown-eyed, brown-haired Swede.
Why We Love Her: 2015 is the year of Alicia Vikander. With roles in eight films being released this year, Vikander is on the brink of becoming the hottest actress in Hollywood. She’s been a rising star for a few years now — but she’s literally about to cash in on all that rising she’s been doing the past few years. By the end of the year, she will be on every major magazine cover and be acting opposite every big leading man in the business. You just watch! To prove this point further, earlier this summer it has been reported she will be starring in the next Bourne movie.
Vikander became known for her role in the 2012 film Anna Karenina, then her status continued to grow earlier this year with the films The Testament of Youth, and particularly, when she appeared in the Artificial Intelligence role of Ava in Ex Machina. In fact, Ex Machina was probably her true breakout role because she played an unbelievably attractive robot. I’m sure everybody who saw the film couldn’t stop saying to themselves, “Who is that machine girl? She’s really hot”. Well, yeah, not only did she look gorgeous in the part, but also she played the role beautifully as she moved through those scenes looking every bit the part of the most beautiful machine you’d ever laid eyes on.
Now Vikander’s rise is hitting fever pitch, already this summer she appeared in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. opposite Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill, and now with her TIFF film, The Danish Girl. Which is already getting early Oscar-buzz, particularly for Redmayne’s role as the first person to receive gender reassignment surgery. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s been dating Micheal Fassbender since late-2014, whom she met on the set of the movie The Light Between Oceans.
Alicia Vikander is a stunning Swedish actress who is probably one of the best-kept secrets in Hollywood, but not for long, the secret is about to get out.
Probably after her newest film, The Danish Girl, hits theatres later this year. Look out for her at this year’s annual TIFF Festival, where she will be promoting the much-anticipated film.
