Angelina Jolie won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Girl, Interrupted in 1999/2000. She then went on to play Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Alicia Vikander just won Best Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl. And she will play Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. The casting was just confirmed last week. In March we’d heard that it was Daisy Ridley who was being considered for the role. Not sure why that didn’t work – perhaps scheduling, as Daisy’s shooting Episode VIII right now and is likely committed for IX immediately afterwards – but I do like the strategy here from Alicia’s side. The prestige has been secured with the Academy Award. Now let’s see if she can go for big box office and action.
As for whether or not she can do it, if you’ve seen Ex Machina, you know she can do it. She played vulnerable and cunning, she was a friend, she was a tease, she was child, she was a monster; in fact, the only thing missing from that performance was fun. And Lara, on top of all that complication, is FUN. But I don’t doubt that Alicia can bring that too.
Here she is in New York last night with some friends ahead of the MET Gala. Presumably she’s going to rep Louis Vuitton. And that’s something else she has in common with Angelina.
