Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander has revealed there have been times during her career where she has not felt she was “protected” on set.
Vikander, 33, gained global recognition for her roles in the 2014 films Testament Of Youth and Ex Machina, and won an Oscar in 2016 for her role in The Danish Girl after beginning her acting career working on short films and TV programmes in her native Sweden.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar UK, Vikander said: “I’ve been in situations that were not fine, where I didn’t feel I was protected.
“[On one occasion] everyone was busy doing their own thing and, in the middle, you have an actor who sits there naked for a couple of hours. And someone is supposed to arrive with a robe, and they don’t.
“It comes afterwards – [the knowledge that] that was not right. I should have been looked after.”
Vikander, who stars in the upcoming Sky Atlantic series Irma Vep, also spoke about the difficulty of filming intimate scenes, describing it as “the worst thing ever”.
She said: “The only thing that can’t be improvised is an intimate scene – you have to make choreography and stick to it. It’s the worst thing ever to do those scenes.”
Adding: “I am very comfortable with my body and I’ve done quite a bit of nudity and sex scenes, but it’s never easy.”
Vikander married German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender in 2017 and explained that since having their first child, the couple always choose travel together when working on a project.
“In my little family, with my husband and my child, we travel together, always. That’s the rule. We do jobs so one of us can always be with the baby,” she said.
The actress reflected on the stereotypical perception of showbusiness and working in Hollywood, and while acknowledging the “fun,” spoke of the reality of the long hours and regularly working with new people.
She said: “People come and see us at a premiere dressed up and walking these carpets, and that’s fun, of course. But that’s the illusion of what the industry is.
“[The reality is] interest, and passion, and a will to make something.
“It’s four months where a bunch of strangers work 15-hour days, six days a week, and don’t sleep.”
Irma Vep will be coming to Sky Atlantic and streaming service Now later this year.
The March issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK featuring the full interview with Alicia Vikander is on sale from April 7.