You probably know Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander from The Danish Girl, but she's about to blow up again as she takes on the role of Lara Croft in the new Tomb Raider movie.
Not everyone could fill the shoes of Angelina Jolie, but 29-year-old Alicia has the talent and vulnerability to do it justice.
GLAMOUR UK caught up with the star to grill her on all things Tomb Raider, her minimal makeup routine and the intense four month workout that got her fit for the iconic role.
Based on the 00s video game, Lara is the daughter of a missing adventurer. She refuses to take on her father's global empire, instead going in search of him on the island where he was last seen.
"[Lara is] 20 when we meet her in the film and that was probably the time when I was working in a Levis store," Alicia says, reminiscing on her own early 20s. "I'd quit ballet school, which I thought was going to be my path, but my gut instinct told me to do something different. I had tried out for theatre school and didn't get it four times." Proof that sometimes what can feel like a failure just isn't meant to be.
"I didn't know what was going to happen, but that's also part of a very important time when you get to try different things," she says. "I think, like Lara in this film, you shouldn't feel pressured."
To become Lara, Alicia had to learn some kickass moves which required a full-on training regime. "There were so many different skills I had to learn and I also gained around 10lbs-12lbs of muscle. I worked with my trainer for four months leading up to it, then every day before I started to film I was in the gym." But she found a new love for muscle training and has continued since filming ended. "It was something I really enjoyed. I felt very much in my body and I loved having another strength."
The Swedish actress already has an enviable figure but when it comes to health and fitness, she swears by one tip: sleep. "It changes the way you look and the way you feel," she says. "My mum used to tell me when I was a kid that I had to go to bed at 7.30pm and when I'd ask why she'd say, 'well you do get a bit grumpy when you don't have routines'. Then I realised when I was a bit older, that's actually true."
In terms of beauty products she's less about makeup, but all about skincare. "Now I have a wonderful professional team to put on my makeup for camera and things, I rarely use makeup in my everyday life," she says. "But I love skincare. If anything, my skin goes extremely dry. I could put hand cream on my face and it still goes in. On flights I always put on masks and I have night cream as my day cream."
See the interview in full below:ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLjApqauqp2WtKLGyKecZ5ufY8Kse8Crq6KbnJp8orjInKCaZaaeuKK6w56pZqyfoq9uvsCim56qXZ67tbHRr6Cerw%3D%3D