Alicia Vikander is preparing for the world to see her as Lara Croft in the upcoming 2018 version of Tomb Raider. The Oscar winner is on the cover of ELLE’s September 2017 issue and she opened up about what it takes to become Lara Croft in the action-packed franchise.
Vikander, 28, admitted to ELLE that taking on a role that once belonged to someone like Angelina Jolie was no easy feat, and she knew she had to switch it up completely to make it her own.
“I thought I was going to have to explain it to my mom, and she was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah—Angelina did that!’ It proves that [Jolie] set a whole tone for that kind of role, so I knew we had to do something very different,” she said.
After starring in a string of indie drama films, making the switch to a blockbuster is for sure a whole new world for the star. The Jason Bourne actress told the fashion magazine that preparing for the role was empowering and required a whole new level of preparation.
“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’ve never been able to lift my own weight, and the day when you have that capacity, it’s pretty empowering!” she said.
Despite taking on such a wide variety of roles throughout her career, Vikander admits it is still not easy to find new and challenging roles for women in film: “Complex roles such as that in Hotel] are actually hard to find, which is sad. It’s still—women are written safe.”
