You can find her in a classy hotel bar, but she also loves hosting at home — which is in north London by the way. This is Alicia Vikander’s London.
Home is …
To be honest, it’s wherever my family are and right now we’re here for a few months which is nice. This used to be my home for a lot of years, so I’m back in north London.
Which five London shops do you rely on?
When I’m back here in north London, in Belsize Park there’s a pharmacy on England’s Lane. I love a pharmacy, I spend so much time in them — even Boots.
Then I would say that the Grocery Post, up in Highgate, is where I go and get my food. I go and buy my books in Primrose Hill Books. I love going to Rose Uniacke’s store, on the Pimlico Road, and looking at the furniture, it’s very dangerous. Lastly, the closest flower shop I can find, because I always dress my home with flowers.
Where do you go and what do you do to have fun?
I haven’t lived in London for years and I was excited about going back to the Chiltern Firehouse. I can’t believe it’s burned down. I’m such an old-school person, I love a hotel bar; at The Connaught or Claridge’s I can go and have my favourite, my only go-to drink — a martini.
Also read: Inside the bitter battle to bag Chiltern Firehouse’s A-list crowd
I also throw really good parties. I’ll get out a karaoke machine. Then I’ll go to the Grocery Post, buy a lot of ingredients and then I’m going to spend some hours in the kitchen, get my friends really drunk as I cook, and then for sure we’re going to dance until the early hours.
Who is the most iconic Londoner in history?
Jack the Ripper.
What’s the best thing a cabbie has ever said to you?
“Wake up, you’re home.”
What’s your London secret?
It’s a little chef’s table Japanese restaurant in Belsize Park that no one believes is there, including me. I walked in there by total chance. You can hardly see it from outside. Literally everyone who I’ve taken there now tells me they go back all the time. But I’m not telling you the name.
Also read: The best Japanese restaurants in London, from Koya to Roka
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
I’m now biking around London and I would just force everyone to get on a bike. Maybe in high heels — just to make it more fun.
What book did you last read?
Funnily enough it’s a Katherine Rundell children’s book. It’s really great — I have two kids and right now I’m totally into that book. I read every night, I love reading to them. I’m excited to start reading chapter books with them, that’s the next step.
What are you up to for work at the moment?
I’m preparing to return to the stage, for Simon Stone’s new version of Henrik Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea at the Bridge Theatre. I’m so excited. I’ve been secretly waiting for the day when this will come. My mother was a stage actress, and in Sweden there are not that many films or TV shows being made, so if you are an actor you are on stage.
To be able to go back to my Scandinavian roots and to such a classic, with Simon reimagining it … I saw his Yerma, which was one of the most powerful pieces I’ve seen. This week we’re having workshops and he is literally writing scenes for us in the morning.
What’s your favourite work of art in the capital?
I’m all about architecture. I would actually say the Tate Modern, which as a building and structure is so beautiful. London has incredibly beautiful old buildings, but not as much modern. And the Tate is pretty fantastic.
What was the last thing you Googled?
Can I ride a Lime bike without a helmet?
Alicia Vikander attended Dom Pérignon’s New Creative Chapter: Creation is an Eternal Journey celebration. She stars in The Lady from the Sea at the Bridge Theatre from September 10
