The Tomb Raider reboot hits Aussie cinemas on March 15, so its star Alicia Vikander is doing the press rounds. One thing she’s been asked already (and will likely get asked over and over again) is how hectic was her workout regime when she prepared to play badass Lara Croft in the flick.
The answer? Properly hectic.
The 29-year-old Swedish actress told E! Online that she trained for a long, hard four months for the role including “cycling…MMA training, I did boxing, climbing, swimming…I lifted more weights than I’ve ever done in my life.”
The star explained that the character’s physicality makes sense in terms of the film’s storyline.
I loved that it was integrated that she was a very physical being, in the beginning of the story she trains MMA, she works partly as a bicycle courier in London. She had these physical aspects of her life, which makes it more plausible for you to buy that she can go through these things. She’s put through all these obstacles and she has to bring out the skills that she has within her and refine them and define them and also bring out the warrior within her.
The rigorous training saw Vikander add about five kilos of muscle to her body, which she says works for the character. “I’m a petite girl and I wanted her to be strong, the character, and also she’s faced in a lot of battles with bigger, stronger men.”
As for her new-found biceps, they didn’t stick around for long. Vikander told E! that although it took four months to build the muscles, they started “disappearing” after three weeks out of the gym.
Ain’t that always the way.
