Tomb Raider 2.0

She’s had over 30 roles and won more than 30 awards and counting. And she’s only 29! Much like the Lara Croft before her, Alicia Vikander is a force to be reckoned with.

We aren’t exactly sure when we first found out about Alicia Vikander; for someone with so much talent and an Oscar win under her belt, the Swedish actress has somehow managed to keep a surprisingly low profile. But suddenly her name was popping up everywhere. And now, with Tomb Raider about to hit, the buzz is louder than ever.

When Alicia Vikander began her journey to gaining 7kg of pure muscle and becoming Lara Croft, fellow Swede Alexander Skarsgård was her “gymspiration”. “I told my trainer I wanted to look like Alexander in Tarzan,” she giggles cheerfully. “He was my end goal.”

Having seen shots of Alicia on a boat in Ibiza revealing her abs of steel earlier this year, it’s clear she has achieved her end goal.

In person, our interviewer says she’s warm and chatty but a reserved underlay is always present. And she remains steadfastly rooted in her desire to keep married life firmly under wraps. A warning from her publicist also reiterates that fact. When it comes to Lara, however, Alicia is entirely forthcoming.

Lara was one of the first feminist icons in video games and then Hollywood movies. Was this a large part of the appeal for you?

Yes, absolutely. I played the games... and then grew up watching Angelina in the movies. We know that video games are a very male-dominated world, so to have a female protagonist in this way was so intriguing to me.

Were you ever concerned with comparisons to Angelina Jolie, who played the original Tomb Raider?