Alicia Vikander Recalls ‘Painful’ Miscarriage And Portraying Infertility Struggles On Screen

Alicia Vikander is sharing intimate details about her journey to becoming a mom.

The Oscar-winning actor recently spoke with The Sunday Times, opening up about portraying a character who suffers a miscarriage after battling her own “extreme and painful” pregnancy loss.

“We have a child now, but it took us time,” Vikander, who shares a 17-month-old son with Michael Fassbender, told the Times.

In 2017, the pair reportedly tied the knot at the La Granja resort in Ibiza.

Vikander and Fassbender met while working on the 2016 film “The Light Between Oceans.” In the movie, Vikander plays a character who suffers two pregnancy losses.

In Vikander’s new show, “Irma Vep,” one of the storylines also follows a character who experiences a pregnancy loss.

“Talk about meta,” the actor told the Times.

The “Ex Machina” star revealed the film took on “another meaning” after she weathered her own miscarriage.

When asked if movies can help both actors and audiences work through their own traumas, Vikander replied, “Totally. [The miscarriage] was so extreme, painful to go through and, of course, it made me recall making that film. That film has another meaning now.”

She added, “Sometimes you go through things that are tough in life, and if you have an office job, you can step away for a bit. But there are times that myself or colleagues have been through something and, well, I can’t understand how they went on to the red carpet afterwards.”

The leading lady shared she didn’t officially know she wanted to be a mom until she was 30, with the pregnancy loss solidifying her desire to have children. “For a while I didn’t think that I could get pregnant,” she told Harper’s Bazaar UK in April.

Though it was difficult to overcome that painful time, Vikander talked about how she and Fassbender remain united while tackling parenthood and juggling gigs.

“In my little family, with my husband and my child, we travel together, always. That’s the rule,” she told Harper’s Bazaar at the time. “We do jobs so one of us can always be with the baby.”

“Irma Vep” is available for streaming on HBO Max. Watch the trailer below.