Alicia Vikander: Paparazzi make me feel violated

Alicia Vikander feels violated when the press invade her privacy.

The 26-year-old actress has risen to prominence in recent years thanks to her starring role in films including Testament of Youth and Ex Machina. While the Swede is grateful for the opportunities that have come her way, she is starting to realise that there is a downside to fame.

“You realise that someone was there, watching, while you were having a coffee with your friends. And you just feel violated,” she told British newspaper The Telegraph. “It’s a strange feeling. But also, I totally know how privileged I am to be doing what I do, and it’s hard to talk about the downside because the upsides are so amazing.”

The attention surrounding her increased when she started dating fellow actor Michael Fassbender. The couple met on the set of The Light Between Oceans filmed in Australia and New Zealand last year and while she didn’t reveal any further details of their relationship to the outlet, she admitted that there are so many pictures of them together now, that there’s no point in pretending they are not an item.

Her life now is a world away from her childhood growing up in Gothenburg. While her parents split up when she was only five months old, Alicia felt very secure.

“I got so much love. Children are very adaptable as long as they feel safe,” she said. “With my mum, I lived in a very urban, cultural environment and I got to be the only child, then every second weekend I was part of this huge family in a much smaller town, going to the lake during the summer months.”