Alicia Vikander still thinks Eddie Redmayne did a 'wonderful' job playing a trans woman in 'The Danish Girl' but 'totally understands' criticism of his casting

• While speaking to Insider about "The Green Knight," Alicia Vikander reflected on "The Danish Girl."
• She won an Oscar for the film, which was criticized for starring cis male Eddie Redmayne as a trans woman.
• "I think Eddie did a wonderful job in the role," Vikander said when asked about the controversy.

Alicia Vikander still says her former costar Eddie Redmayne did a great job playing a trans woman in the controversial Oscar-winning film "The Danish Girl."

When asked about the criticism the 2015 movie faced for featuring a cis actor playing a trans role, Vikander responded with praise for Redmayne's performance.

"When we were making the film, it was such a learning experience," Vikander recently told Insider while promoting her new movie, "The Green Knight."

She continued: "And I think Eddie did a wonderful job in the role."

But the actress said that she understood the backlash over Redmayne's casting.

"I totally understand the criticism that has been out there, because we need to make change and we need to make sure that trans men and women actually get a foot in and get work," Vikander told Insider.

"My only concern is that we may need to get to a point in the end where we have trans women and men playing cis characters," she continued. "Because that is the main thing, you know?"

Redmayne starred as Danish painter Lili Elbe in "The Danish Girl." The real-life Elbe was an acclaimed painter married to fellow artist Gerda Wegener, played by Vikander in the film.

Elbe's relationship with Wegener, as well as her experiences as a trans woman in the early 20th century, are the focuses of the movie. But some took issue with the fact that Redmayne, a cis man, played Elbe and received critical praise for his performance.

When asked about the backlash after the film's premiere, director Tom Hooper told Slate that he cast trans people in cisgender roles in the movie, and blamed the system on enacting "barriers" against trans actors.

"I like the fact that you can cast trans actors to play cis roles, and I hope the world will evolve to a point where the flow can be both ways," Hooper said in the interview.

Redmayne similarly pointed out that "The Danish Girl" cast a trans actress as a cisgender nurse and acknowledged that the criticism of his casting is "representative of a lot of discrimination against trans people in the work place generally" when Indiewire asked him about the backlash in 2015.

"I hope there's a day when there are more trans actors and trans actresses playing trans parts, but also cisgender parts," Redmayne told Indiewire. "And I hope - as an actor one hopes - that one should be able to play any sort of part if one plays it with a sense of integrity and responsibility."

Despite the backlash the film faced from some critics, Vikander ended up winning best supporting actress for her role in it at the 88th Academy Awards.

She currently stars opposite Dev Patel in the medieval drama "The Green Knight," which premiered Friday. You can watch the trailer below.