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36 NOVEMBER 2016
DVD&BD
FEATURE
Jason Bourne is director Paul
Greengrass’s third film in
the franchise, following The
Bourne Supremacy and The
Bourne Ultimatum, and Matt
Damon's fourth round in the
title role. It also introduces
Swedish actress Alicia
Vikander to the franchise as the
CIA’s head of cyber ops.
Vikander is quick to admit she’d
always wanted to be a part of
the series – “I was so happy
that they were making a new
one. Matt [Damon] and Paul
Greengrass teaming up again
was big news”– and was thrilled
to meet with the director in
London to discuss the possibility
of being involved.
“I got to sit there and tell him
how big a fan I was of his work,
and what he’s done with these
films – I even brought up that
he said years ago that he’d
never do another one,”
she laughs. “I was so
happy that he decided
to in the end.”
As a fan of the
Bourne films,
Vikander found it
somewhat surreal
to be working
alongside the
man himself –
Matt Damon. “I’d
met Matt backstage,
but the scenes that
we did were never really in the
same room.”
She does confesses to being
starstruck, however, when she
finally got to shoot a scene with
him. “One of the first scenes
we filmed was in Vegas. There
were a bunch of hidden cameras
everywhere, because they
wanted people to be walking
around and not having to worry
about them looking into the
lenses. We had lived and worked
in this casino for about five
weeks – I was in full makeup
and costume and everything,
and I managed to walk
straight into and out of
a shot without even
knowing.”
The fangirl inside
her also recalls
the moment
she saw him
in character
for the first
time: “I was just walking around
and suddenly I see this guy with
a cap on, and I immediately got
that thrill – I thought to myself,
‘that’s Jason Bourne!’, and then
as soon as I saw him he was
gone.”
In researching the role of a
CIA operative, Vikander watched
YouTube clips of other hackers,
and paid close attention to the
conferences they attended.
“The Deep Dream convention
we attend in the movie is
basically another name for a
similar convention held in Vegas
every year. It was cool to watch,
because most people in that tech
industry are all very young, but
have important positions in their
work.”
Vikander acknowledges
how far the tech revolution
has come, and the advantage
people who can manipulate it
have, particularly the ability to
compromise security.
“The people with knowledge
of computer and IT nowadays
are the ones in power," she
says. "It was pretty extraordinary
watching a person who is 25
years old hold a speech about
something I don’t know anything
about. They’re remarkable
people.
“I think in one way, with
everything that’s going on
now, and with the politics
• Jason
Bourne
is out Nov 23
Rising star Alicia Vikander was in Sydney earlier this year to
promote the release of her new film, Jason Bourne. STACK
was lucky enough to talk with her about what it means to
be a part of the Bourne franchise, and how the films remain
relevant to the state of the world.
Words Alesha Kolbe
and everything in America
at the moment, it’s all very
representative of the times.”
The prolific actress believes
portraying global issues in an
accesible “popcorn movie”
medium is what the Bourne films
do best.
“It’s part of the franchise to be
able to bring up issues that are
accurate and a real threat in the
real world – it helps audiences
to enjoy it. Jason has become
this action hero that I genuinely
believe could be out there in the
world today.”
Alicia Vikander seems to
be showing up more and
more of late – and we just
can't get enough of her.
Ex Machina
As the sensuous and robotic Ava,
Vikander took the Turing Test to
determine if Artificial Intelligence is
in fact intelligent.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
As the daughter of a Nazi scientist,
and a mechanic to boot, Vikander
caught the eye of rival spies Armie
Hammer and Henry Cavill.
The Danish Girl
As the wife who helps her conflicted
husband discover his feminine side,
Vikander deservedly received the
Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Tomb Raider
As Lara Croft, Vikander will boldly
venture where Angelina Jolie has
gone before, while her current
boyfriend plays an assassin. Game on!
Girl
The
Swedish
THE
SWEDISH
STARLET
Alicia Vikander