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A look at the epic rise of 29-year-old Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who has already won an Oscar and now stars as Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider'
A look at the epic rise of 29-year-old Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who has already won an Oscar and now stars as Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider'
Travis Clark,Jason GuerrasioMar 16, 2018, 01:49 IST
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Alicia Vikander has had quite the success story, and she will fill the boots of popular video game character Lara Croft in this weekend's "Tomb Raider" film reboot.
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The 29-year-old actress rose to prominence in 2015 with her role as an AI in "Ex Machina."
That same year she starred in "The Danish Girl" as artist Gerda Wegener, the wife of fellow artist Lili Elbe (played by Eddie Redmayne), one of the first identifiable recipients of sex-reassignment surgery.
The performance won Vikander an Oscar for best supporting actress.
Since her Oscar win, Vikander has taken on numerous roles of the dramatic and action-type, from "Jason Bourne" to "Tulip Fever" - and married fellow Hollywood luminary Michael Fassbender.
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Here's a look through Vikander's rise to fame and fabulous life:
Vikander grew up in Sweden, where even at a young age, she was destined for stardom. In 1997, at 8 years old, she won a televised children's talent show with her lip-syncing talents.
Vikander's first taste of acting success came in 2007 with the Swedish soap opera "Andra Avenyn" ("Second Avenue"), which looked at the lives of a group of people living in the second-largest city in Sweden.
In 2009, she starred in her first feature film, "Pure," in which she plays a troubled 20 year old who, in leaving her family life, ends up in the arms of a married man.
Vikander then found notice in the US playing Kitty in the 2012 adaptation of the Tolstoy classic "Anna Karenina," starring Keira Knightley in the lead role.
In 2014, Vikander began dating actor Michael Fassbender. The two met on the set of the film "The Light Between Oceans." More on that later.
Then early in 2015, audiences were wowed by Vikander's portrayal of an artificial intelligence in "Ex Machina."
Playing an AI named Ava, Vikander was covered head-to-toe in a silver mesh body suit that took hours to prepare for filming. The final version onscreen is impressive, but Vikander's performance gives the character the life it needs.
Business Insider asked Vikander during the release of "Ex Machina" if she felt any pressure as her Hollywood stock was beginning to rise.
"The worst pressure is probably the one you put on yourself," she said. "But I don't think there's any way to prepare. You just hope the films find an audience."
Audiences weren't completely taken by Vikander's next movie, the Guy Ritchie-directed spy thriller "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," but it showed that she could hold her own in an action movie. And might have paved the way for "Tomb Raider."
Then we saw her back in a dramatic role with "The Danish Girl" ...
... which won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 88th Academy Awards in February, 2016.
It didn't take long after the Oscar for her land a major action-heroine role. Last April, Vikander was named the next Lara Croft in the new "Tomb Raider" movie.
But before "Tomb Raider," Vikander starred in another action movie: 2016's "Jason Bourne" with Matt Damon back in the lead role.
Vikander seemed to be riding high, but then "The Light Between Oceans" opened in theaters September 2016. The movie bombed with both critics and audiences, but it's how she met now-husband Fassbender — so there was a silver lining.
Vikander then starred in an even worse movie, "Tulip Fever" (it has a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes) ...
... but her 2017 would rebound when she married Fassbender in October.
In November, Vikander was among 600 Swedish actresses to sign an open letter calling on the Swedish film and theater industry to protect women against sexual misconduct.
2018 is a busy year for Vikander. She starred in Swedish drama "Euphoria" in February and will be in romantic thriller "Submergence" alongside James McAvoy, which comes to US theaters in April after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.
But next, Vikander can finally be seen in this weekend's "Tomb Raider"...
... which she put on 12 pounds of muscle for. We'll see whether the reboot is a hit with audiences, but regardless, Vikander is a bonafide action and dramatic superstar.
