The first thing you notice about the lithe former ballerina during a recent interview at a Beverly Hills hotel is her self-assuredness — a poise and maturity that belie her age. Both Wright and "Royal Affair" director Nikolaj Arcel agree that she is an old soul — and perhaps not surprisingly, both films are set in the past.
"Terrifyingly so," Wright said. "I think it may come from her ballet training."
Arcel's take on her was similar: "She's a fun person, but she's extremely strong. She was our team leader when we were not shooting. She was always bossing us around. She would always have all of these plans laid out for us. So she was a bit of a queen on the set."
"She is incredibly determined," Wright added. "Nothing is going to stop Alicia."
Vikander is so determined, she went to Copenhagen two months before shooting began on "A Royal Affair" so that she could speak Danish fluently.
"I said to her, if you get this part, you have to promise me that you will not only to be able to speak this language, you will have to learn the language," Arcel said. "She worked incredibly hard. Even when I see her now she is still speaking Danish to us."
Because Caroline Mathilde is so famous in Denmark, practically every actress in the age range wanted the role. But none, said Arcel, had the regal quality needed to play Caroline. "I didn't believe any of these actresses were royalty. They were street."
So he cast his net to Norway and Sweden. It was love at first sight when he saw Vikander on an audition. "She said, 'My name is Alicia.' I said, oh my God, there she is."
Vikander said that once she got the role, "I read quite a lot of books about the times. But the greatest treasure I found were letters she wrote her own family in England. I found a very mature woman in those letters. She was only 16 and she was prepared for the tasks, but in a subtle way, she seemed to be keen on telling her family, she was all right."
Wright saw Vikander in the 2010 Swedish film "Pure," for which she won the best actress Guldbagge Award, Sweden's equivalent of the Oscar, as a troubled young woman who becomes obsessed with classical musical. Wright saw qualities in her performance he thought might be perfect for "Anna Karenina" as Kitty, a flirtatious young woman who believes the dashing Count Vronsky is her Prince Charming, only to find love with a kind-hearted farmer named Levin.
Again, Vikander's determination helped her land the role. She recalled getting a call from the film's casting agent, telling her, "If you ever happen to be in London, Joe Wright would like to sit down and have lunch with you.'''
Two days later, Vikander said with a grin: "I happened to be in London."
