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hello everyone I'm Connie GMO editor-in-chief of CNET news thanks very much for joining us today here at San Francisco CNET headquarters and also to the people watching online this is part of our Q&A series at CNET today I am thrilled to have a special guest Alicia vikander who many of you know from some of her more notable film roles including as an AI robot in ex machina as a cybersecurity guru in Jason Bourne and next month she will be part of the reboot of a very famous video game character that we all know lara croft in the new movie Tomb Raider so please welcome Alicia vikander thank you alright thank you so much for being here in your patience as we get a bunch of having me everyone is a super fan of comic books and geek culture and sci-fi but we're gonna start by showing a scene from Tomb Raider so if you could roll that so everyone can see it that would be great I thought it's on that again I'm going mad sorry your father's gone at some point we have to face up to who we are who were meant to be I think I know where my dad went that's right in the middle of the devil sea it would be an adventure adventure what are you doing here ara seven years I've been on a silent your father they put me here now I see the likeness intelligence so recklessness what do you know about my father Laurie there was more to my life than boardrooms and business deals there's an organization called Trinity genocide dad Jim you had a bigger holiday got a knack for the unexpected you must stop the flower promised me ladies first over the tomb it's your finger that's pulling this trigger you messed with the wrong family I was a little bit of like you've got the whole trailer all right well I got to see the movie yesterday and I'm gonna try to make this as spoiler free as possible but it looks like you had a lot of fun playing Warcraft yes but I've heard you tell stories about your first meeting with her when you're about ten can you share that yeah I yeah I remember I did I did not have a Playstation in my house very sad and jealous of other people so I went to my friend's house and I remember it was the first time I had seen a video game with a female protagonist and I was just so curious and blown away and after convincing those older boys in the family to play I got the chance to and mostly spend my time to be honest and the manner practicing because I I came by with some of these Wolf's in an early sequence in the game then just freaked me out that was my introduction to video games in general actually I must say and yeah I continued to play quite a lot of adventure games mostly computer games and point and click games and stuff like that but yeah when you returned and you saw this what did you want to be at that time when you grabbed oh my god I I wanted to be anything from a florist to a dancer and an actress and yeah I actually thought I was going to be that I wanted to be a singer or a dancer it was not until it was actually a clip that was found on me a Swedish television not long ago that I you know I don't have any memory of this myself but apparently in this interview at 7 years old I said that I wanted to be an actress and I actually had no clue I wanted to do that already at that young age is it true that you're a big fan of 80s movies like The Mummy Indiana Jones and one of my favorites fifth element yes yes Bruce Willis was my first crush I was like yeah leaven ya know so yeah I love that kind of films you know an adventure film the Indiana Jones I I was a big fan of The Mummy series in my early teens as well so to get into that series right yes yes exactly a good mommy see I haven't seen the new one actually but I I would I mean when when they asked me to be part of an adventure like this I mean it was just a thrill I like I said I seat myself to those kind of computer games when I was a kid and I was also I read a lot of books when I was a child and I had like seven volumes of like ramesses books I loved Egyptian mythology and historical dramas and so and and that is you know very much related to these kind of worlds I want to ask you about Laura Croft but just a side question do you still play video games I know that you're married to Michael Fassbender so I wonder if game night at your house uh since Creed and Tomb Raider going on is that true I wish at the time because that is kind of what I realize I think cuz I did I went back and played the rebooted games now before making this film and I was really excited I remember I was like I bought the the games and I was at home and I sat I was like now I finally had time and I guess it's also because I haven't played in a long time and suddenly I looked down and like eight hours had passed and I'm like I was freaking out I'll say I don't have you know to do there's more today but I guess I had more time when I was a kid but I really yeah I mean that shows also what a what a world it is I kind of forgot about time and I really love it yeah well let's talk about your approach to this reboot of Tomb Raider every one hour a lot of people have seen the prior film with Angelina Jolie there was a reboot of the game in 2013 and a new origin story and again having seen the film you're taking this character on truly an origin story starting it in a place that I wasn't you know sure that that's where you were gonna start so talk about the journey that you took Laura yeah because I think you know that's one of the things of making I think trying to adapt maybe a video game or any other stories the fact that you want to give people what you know honor the character and and the world that they so well love but we also want to surprise them and give them something new and I was some came on board quite early on and knew they was going to be inspired by the 2013 rebooted games and that it was gonna be an origin story and then when I chatted with roar the director and the producers I we kind of realized that there's there's you know a truly a a grounded story to be told and it's set in a reality closer to ours she has all the common trades that she's so well known to have but she's also not afraid of showing her vulnerability and she's human and this is very much the story of how becoming the action hero that we so well know her to be and I love that it was grounded in trying to find maybe a physicality that she's a very physical person a girl and that so it would be plausible for her to go on this first adventure because she doesn't have any experience in the beginning of the film so hopefully we get to be with her and then root for her while she's going step by step to become this this action hero and and actually you start out as a very smart but normal girl living in lost like most young people are including I mean that there was something that I liked that I wanted to kind of cherish the fact that she kind of has people around her who once her dad has been now it has disappeared for seven years and she hasn't really been able to properly mourn him due to not knowing what happened they want her to kind of take over from him and and and move back into the manor but she just feels like she she needs to find her own footing in the world and feels the pressure of of knowing what to do or what to become but she's a headstrong girl and she's clever so when she's thrown out on this adventure she not only gets to learn more about her past and who she maybe is but she also finds courage to embrace who who she is she's fairly kick-ass as you would expect and there are a lot of very physical moments some of which match the game beautifully leaps in the air etcetera you did a lot of your own stunts didn't you yeah I I really I tried to do as many of them as I could and then you have an incredible I mean team I I just did they're watching some of these women's stunt girls that we had who of course kind of made sure that we can run all those stunts over and over again but I always did my first try and they helped me and yeah I it was important for me to to truly really try and get up to physical levels so I would be able to do it and I I used to be a dancer when I was younger so I think there's always been this curiosity and just urge of knowing what it was like to make these kind of films and to do these kind of stunts well you're definitely there's a scene with the bicycle that is you're following that action and I was probably where I got my most wounds oh my god it's tricky we met some like core it was actually me who had found I found this video YouTube clip of bicycle couriers in London I kind of brought this up in the beginning because I moved to London and I try to bike and it's dangerous I mean you can die and that's when I you know it was said to them you know we should they should definitely be an action sequence about this and yeah but it's bit scary to say Laura Croft is a cultural icon is an understatement she has been as of June 2016 the character on the cover of over a thousand magazines surpassing any supermodel and so she's been praised as this catalyst that has gotten people to rethink video game heroine she's been praised as a role model for women but at the same time she's been criticized for being sexualized version of what this action-adventure you know warrior should be and I know that you like to focus on the positive aspect so when you went into the role what was your agenda what did you want to make sure that any young girl seeing this film would things well what I think you know is interesting is yes she's she's really become an icon she's been a character that has been with us now for 22 years and what I find interesting is that all the kind of the kind of what I want to see is the essence of Laura has kind of stayed the same but I think it's a wonderful thing just looking at Crystal Dynamics who created this reboot again 2013 they knew that this is a character that has kind of changed the rules and in society so I think they were they did right of trying to just bring her into our time and it's interesting that you know the the view the the view of a woman or sexuality and I think it's interesting because if you would go out now on the street today and ask what men and women find attractive it's just a very different answer that you would get today then you got 20 years ago and and I'm that makes me happy and I know that I wanted to be part of making a girl be someone that a 2018 audience would be able to relate to well I also loved that you're running and jumping and doing all these stunts and clothes that women would actually wear yeah well sometimes I if she ever goes back I think she should at least have a long-sleeved sweater I prayed for that quite a few times there's a lot of talk in the video game industry about how women are portrayed in video games and Lara Croft stands above she is one of the more notable exceptions to sort of the cliche roles that some people bring and lots of people have called them out and there are there's a whole group of people that will criticize women for to sizing videogames saying that there being two pcs so what would you say to that group of men mostly not all but mostly who don't think that there needs to be any change in the way women are portrayed in video games first of all I think we need to portray women and I think that's the the lack and that comes I guess in video game as much as in film I think we're all storytellers and we're all artists and and and and our kind of what we need to do is make sure that all stories are kind of able to be told and I think I think there's a change I mean just over the last few few months I feel that it's kind of a creative boom of stories of of women coming together and about female stories that start to bubble up to the surface I yeah I I really think that those people who say that it's equal or that it's not a know that it's an already not female characters out there I don't think they've opened up their eyes enough sadly you're one of the people behind times up with Reese Witherspoon Natalie Portman a lot of other folks and you've said that you've seen a lot of positive change like I said I actually think that I've made more female friends in this industry over the past four months and I of course myself I'm part of that behavior but I've also kind of grown up in a social structure and a society where I kind of thought growing up that well there is only place for one girl and then you end up in a position as a woman where you think you're gonna have to push your way through and and and be competitive and and that's not really emotionally what you have wanted you just thought that that was the case and you kind of just sadly enough put your safe myself in that line and accepted that and over the last few months I've I've been on phone calls with women talking that I've kind of people that I've looked up to that kind of inspired me to wanting to do what I do I've been in the same room but sadly because of my working situation I never ended up being a situation when I actually worked with him and suddenly now I meet them in rooms and they're my friends and that is you know a huge change is such a small amount of time I'm trying to make this again a spoiler free as possible Lara Croft is known in part for two guns on her hips and watching the movie yesterday I noticed that you use a variety of weapons a bow and arrow as we can see a knife I think there's an icepick there might have even been a rock as a weapon but there are no gun never fires gun so why is that what was the thinking there well I have you know first of all I'm just happy to know that she doesn't use any guns I love that it also shows a much more personality I think it shows that she is clever and that she's innovative and she's a survivor she just you know she doesn't go out to kill she goes out there to create a change or or or you know to to fight for a better course are you good with the bow and arrow now I'm better it was pretty hard we had one of my a stunt coordinator our main coordinator he is he was on Vikings for like seven seasons or something and I always like I remember this day when I was pretty like happy I'd like aim at the bullseye got it and then he kind of you know just like he's able to run and shoot from like a two meter 200 meters distance it's like insane and then I was like no no I can do this on a horse too so yeah but I was I was taught by the best at least Mattel just a few days ago announced a new Barbie it's Tomb Raider Barbie it's 30 bucks you'd they're taking pre-orders now I just saw it just now at Crystal Dynamics that I visited for the first time I have to hold it up for the camera for one second but what is it like to be an action figure you're a Barbie like is that weird or what it's so strange yeah if I mean both of the things if someone would have told me that I would you know play Lara Croft one day or be a bomb looks I would just rolled my eyes thank you yeah she's a I've heard apparently that the you know the old Bob is kind of fall over because they're not really the right persons I guess I have to try oh great um do you keep anything from your movies some of the people here were curious about like do you take souvenirs from some of the so I mean the the sad reality is that I actually live out of a suitcase and have done in three and a half years I'm just about to move in a house I've been a nomad so it's been like a beam bees and hotels so I'm to try I it's the one thing that freaks me out you would see me have a panic attack trying to pack my bags one more time because I've done it so many times so adding things is not what I prefer but I asked them to send to my storage so I do have the Tomb Raider clapper that's a little souvenir okay I want to switch to ex machina Alex Garland was just here two week oh I spoke to him this morning he says hi I'm sure have you seen the film by the way it's amazing it opens tomorrow Nile agen but he was talking about the role that you played the robot Ava and AI and that it's you know a story of truly exploring the boundaries between robot and human what that is and when you read that script for the first time what was going through your mind it's maybe the best script I've read in my career when I see the film now I'm still wanted over the fact that we didn't change like one line he's truly one of the most intelligent people that I know and he you know managed to kind of bring up a subject that was kind of so much kind of just about to kind of be in the air but it felt like it was just before anyone really talked about AI we shot this film what is it five years ago now something before for the subject interested me then of course getting the chance to play a character it's very brilliantly in the script he kind of doesn't have any description about her you kind of it's the only description is about the brain that is kind of moving around and that is like the most beautifully thing you've seen the machinery but it was like a blank page trying to figure out how she moved what she was like and yeah it was it was a feast to take on that part what do you think about AI to use an AI assistant Alexa or Siri do you talk to them III guess I'm controlled by them constantly I carry my phone with me everywhere sometimes I feel I'm quite good at taking breaks or I try to go out to dinner and not bring my phone but I mean yeah it's it's the way we live it's part of our world at the moment but I tried I need personally a bit of breaks I'm not I'm not on any social media yeah you're moving into a house is it gonna be a smart house no it's gonna be a little cabin out in the woods I just written an interview that said that you're reading a book sapiens that both Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg have recommended that everyone read home adieu yeah have you finished it I know this record I mean what is lovely is that I think I think the beauty of discussing science versus religion and how they are you know part of the same discussion that never really collide I am I think I I've always been so interested in history and science and never really consider myself being religious and that's something I took away from me reading that book now that I look at my I face a whole lot differently it talks about basically the evolution of culture so if you don't have anything on your reading list for this summer add it it's a read you trained as a ballet dancer as you mentioned and there's one of my favorite scenes is from the Man From UNCLE when you come out and you're dancing to cry to me by Solomon Burke yeah that was not in the script that was just me having fun and so who did you pick the music did you just know you don't know what music we're gonna add on in post-production I don't even know what I put on actually I think it was it's also what when you make films to kind of have a song and you kind of get a bit inspired and then sadly enough I mean you should see films when they when they show the behind the scenes because just before takes they need to turn it off so every time now when you see a film where it's a rave at disco a good dance but you see just like turn off the music and then you'll know that was what it was like shooting it everyone's like silent disco yeah that's how it is even an ex Mac and I they had to do that without music alright I'm just being mindful of time here somebody tell me okay we're a tech site what's your favorite gadgets Google Maps I live I live by it I travel I love the fact that you can first of all I'm a big foodie so I kind of always come to a new place and I look up and I put it in I have like I actually use it a lot I have like all my lists and like need to go to two stars one star and then I also love the fact you can actually get lost that's a nice thing when you come to New City normally you cannot before was afraid that you were not gonna know where you are and then you can kind of leave it and then you can just wander and then you know that you won't be able to get to find your way back to the hotel hopefully what piece of tech do you wish had never been invented well bombs I guess all right I'll take that one that's a good one what tech would you like to have invented for yourself it's gonna sell too much about me no we we want to hear that right yeah I would love to I mean I've heard about like drone copters and things like that me yeah I would like to fly yeah I would like to maybe have just a little backpacking a jet pack and go like a little backpack and be able to fly and fly off yeah there is there is one already no yeah we've been cheated out of drede pack jet packs and flying hover boards and the like most people say time machine some things that can get you distances or take you back to erase a mistake so that is unusual um okay so in the next couple of weeks Tomb Raider is going to come out lots of people are going to be talking about again this new reboot of Lara Croft and where that's going to go she starts out as I say as pretty much a regular girl and you're taking our on a journey the end we get a hint of how much even more of a badass you're going to become because really the two guns it's a pretty a moment of fierceness what would you like to see you know girls will dress up as you for Halloween and carry their Barbies I guess if their moms will buy that what what's the best review of this movie and do you know I you know I grew up in Sweden in Europe I have a mom as an actress and I was kind of introduced to kind of very heavy-handed European art house cinema but I also since I was like 5 ran to the cinema because I loved to just leave the world behind and go and enjoy myself dream throw myself out on an adventure and a ride and if people have that coming out from seeing this film then I'm thrilled all right we're gonna leave it here thank you so much for joining us please thank thank you so much for coming thank you