The Oscar winner shares how she makes sure she's comfortable when filming intimate scenes.
Alicia Vikander has a unique policy to ensure she always feels in control when filming sex scenes -- she only ever does one take.
The Oscar-winning actress discussed the delicate topic in a new interview touching upon her new Netflix film, Earthquake Bird, a thriller set in 1989 Tokyo which apparently includes an intense sex scene.
"I'm lucky to say that all of my sex scenes throughout my career have been nothing but technical," the 31-year-old actress tells Harper's Bazaar U.K. "I probably did my first sex scene at 20 and it's always been technical, as it should be; it should never be anything but technical.
"I tell the crew it's a one-taker," she explains. "That way, everybody on set is on point, because you have to get it done in one take. Like a dancer, we [choreographed it] the same way."
Vikander went on to add that, through loads of preparation, the scene is clearly laid out prior to filming, ensuring she is able to focus on her performance.
"I think that's the way to do it because then everyone feels comfortable and then hopefully, although it is super strange and uncomfortable, a little magic comes through [the] lens and people will be convinced," she continues.
In the new film, which arrives on the streaming platform on Friday, Vikander plays Lucy, an expat living in Japan as a translator who becomes a suspect in the murder of her close friend, Lily (Riley Keough) after she goes missing following a torrid love triangle also involving Teiji (Naoki Kobayashi), a handsome local photographer.
"She meets Lily and Lily's really interested in Lucy's life," Keough explains in the film's behind-the-scenes featurette, which debuted on ET. Vikander adds of Lily, "She enters our story like a whirlwind."
The sex scene aside, Vikander's role required some other intense preparation as well, according to director Wash Westmoreland.
"Alicia was really thrilled at the challenge of learning Japanese and also learning the cello," Westmoreland explains in the featurette. "And, of course, she did them perfectly."
Check out the featurette below.
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