Alicia Vikander says giving birth ‘a second time was definitely harder’

Alicia Vikander has recalled how giving birth “a second time was definitely harder”, as the film star appeared to suggest she has had a second child.

The Swedish actress, 35, known for playing Lara Croft in the 2018 remake of Tomb Raider, had a son with her husband – the Irish-German actor Michael Fassbender – in 2021.

Speaking to Elle UK magazine about giving birth on screen, Vikander appeared to speak about another pregnancy.

She explained she had previously felt like “an imposter” when acting in a birth scene before she had her own baby.

She said: “All women have such different experiences, and going through it a second time was definitely harder for me.

“But I think training made it easier. Going through those nine months is like a marathon, so it does help if you’re strong going into it.

“It’s so physically demanding, and I have so much admiration for any woman who has done it. I gave birth four times on screen before I did it myself.

“Your job is to pretend as an actor, but every time I had to give birth, I said to every woman on set, ‘I’m sorry’ – I felt like such an imposter.”

Vikander met Fassbender on 2014 romantic drama The Light Between Oceans, in which they played a husband and wife, with her character dealing with two miscarriages before finding a baby and raising it as her own daughter.

She also spoke about her research for upcoming film Firebrand, in which she plays Henry VIII’s last wife Catherine Parr, with Jude Law taking on the role of the infamous king in the September release.

Vikander said she had read the books of the former queen of England in order to get “personal contact” with the historical figure, who she described as “so interesting”.

She said she was “embarrassed” she did not know about Parr, thought to be the first English queen to publish under her own name.

“I went back and read her books, which was so interesting because it was an incredible way of getting personal contact with someone who lived 500 years ago,” she added.

“You realise how tough times have been, and the reality of women’s experiences in that.”

Vikander has also starred in Ex Machina and Jason Bourne, as well as voicing Casablanca star and Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman for the documentary Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words.

The Gothenburg-born actress also said she gets the “blues” after doing an acting job.

“You have to let go,” she added. “You can’t be in control of your own work, which is a really strange feeling. But then you realise that’s actually what it’s like to be an actor.”

She told the magazine her nine years of ballet school helped her to be able to move freely in heavy period costumes, but she still struggled while filming Firebrand.

She said: “Me and the actors who played my ladies-in-waiting had to see osteopaths because the square shapes they wore around their bust push your shoulders up, and we all had pain from our necks to our shoulder blades. We were in agony.”

Vikander will feature on the cover of the September issue of Elle, which goes on sale August 1.