Alicia Vikander‘s rapid rise to movie stardom safely can be described as the stuff of dreams, and she was the first to acknowledge it.
The 27-year-old Swedish performer said as much backstage tonight the Dolby Theatre in the afterglow of capturing the best supporting actress Oscar for “The Danish Girl.”
The actress told the media she couldn’t remember what happened “for about five minutes” after she was announced the winner.
“I usually get up at 2 a.m. to watch the show from a long way away,” Vikander said. “I always have my mom with me. I never thought from back home that I would do films in English. This is like a dream.”
Considering what she accomplished in 2015, that’s an understatement.
In addition to her Academy Award for “The Danish Girl” — based on the fictional novel about 1920s Danish artist Gerda Wegener, whose husband, played by Eddie Redmayne, was one of the first people to undergo a sex change — she also received a Golden Globe nomination for her supporting role as Ava in “Ex Machina.”
Add to that her Golden Globe best actress nomination for “The Danish Girl,” and one can understand how Vikander envisions herself in a dream sequence.
A former student at the Royal Swedish Ballet School whose mother is a stage actress, Vikander began her professional acting career by appearing in Swedish short films and television series.
She made her feature film debut in 2010’s “Pure,” for which she won Sweden’s Guldbagge Award for best actress and received the Shooting Stars Award at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival.
In 2012, Vikander gained international attention when she appeared in the adaptation of “Anna Karenina” and gained one of the leading roles in the Academy Award-nominated Danish film “A Royal Affair.”
Vikander told a questioner that in addition to her Oscar, she felt honoed to be part of a film she believes will have long-term impact by encouraging other gender-bending film projects she hopes will help engineer a change in public perception and acceptance.
(“The Danish Girl”) is a social change,” she said. “I just hope that it can continue. If I can continue to do such work, that will be great.”
Vikander, however, said her most immediate move would be to free herself from her gown and go celebrate her big night.
“I even have a short dress that I can dance in,” she said.
–City News Service