A Life in Hollywood
Chapter 16 - Alicia Vikander - Part 1
The call came while Osiah was still wrapping his last few days on the Age of Ultron pickups in London. He was standing on the edge of a massive green screen stage, headset on, clipboard in hand, directing a group of fifty background actors dressed as Sokovian civilians. The scene was a reset for the twentieth time that morning—debris rigs ready, wind machines humming, the 1st AD barking notes through the walkie.
"Background, on my mark," Osiah said calmly into his headset. "When the practical explosion hits, scatter naturally. You're not running from monsters—you're trying to get home to your families. Eyes on each other, not the camera. Let's sell the panic without turning it into a stampede."
He walked the line, adjusting positions with quick gestures—nudging one extra two feet left, tapping another on the shoulder to turn her body slightly. The work was familiar now, almost automatic after months on the big Marvel machine. His knee, the old football injury, ached a little from the long hours on concrete, but he ignored it.
His phone buzzed in his pocket during a brief lull. He stepped aside, checked the screen—Working Title Films—and answered.
"Osiah Morse."
A familiar voice came on the line, one he remembered from Dom Hemingway a couple years back. "Osiah, it's Sarah from Working Title. How are you holding up on that Avengers beast?"
"Still standing," he replied, watching the crew reset a fallen light rig. "What's up?"
They needed a 2nd AD for The Danish Girl. Shooting mostly in London and Copenhagen. Tight schedule, intimate story, big emotions. They remembered how he kept things calm and efficient on Dom Hemingway and liked what they'd heard about his recent work stepping up on the Marvel stuff. The director wanted someone reliable who could handle the smaller, more focused crew without losing the human element.
Osiah listened, asked a few questions about dates and tone, then said yes without much hesitation. He liked the script when he'd read it, liked the team, and the chance to work with Eddie Redmayne sounded genuinely interesting. Something quieter after the constant explosions of Ultron appealed to him.
A week later he was in London, stepping onto a new set.
The Danish Girl was already living up to its reputation—focused, and emotionally heavy. The soundstages and period locations felt intimate compared to the massive green screen warehouses of Marvel. Osiah settled into the 2nd AD rhythm fast: coordinating background actors in carefully dressed 1920s Copenhagen streets, keeping sightlines clear for the camera, making sure the extras felt like real people from the era rather than modern extras in rented costumes. It was smaller than Marvel, more contained, which suited him after the chaos of Sokovia.
Eddie Redmayne was exactly as sharp and kind as people said. They clicked almost immediately during a lunch break on the second day. Eddie had just come out of makeup and wardrobe, still half in character as Einar/Lili. He was wearing a delicate pale blue dress that fell just below the knee, with subtle embroidery at the collar and cuffs. Underneath, Osiah knew, was the corset and padding that helped create the silhouette. Eddie moved carefully in it, heels clicking softly on the floor, posture adjusted to the constraints of the period clothing. A light shawl was draped over his shoulders, and his makeup was soft but precise—subtle rouge, carefully shaped brows, lipstick that caught the light.
Eddie caught Osiah looking and gave a self-deprecating grin. "Don't laugh too hard. It took them forty minutes to get me into this thing this morning. The corset is… an experience."
***
"You're the guy keeping all these poor extras from freezing their balls off in these thin coats," Eddie said one afternoon, nodding toward a group of background actors huddled near a heater between takes. He was still in the blue dress, adjusting the shawl around his shoulders with careful fingers. "Respect. I'd be useless at that."
Osiah shrugged, sipping his coffee. "You're the one wearing the corset and heels half the day. I'll take the clipboard."
Eddie laughed, a warm, genuine sound that cut through the quiet set energy. "Fair trade. Though I'm still not sure I won't break an ankle in these. The process is something else—layers upon layers, and then they cinch you in until you can barely breathe. It changes how you move, how you sit, even how you think. Helps with the character, though. Forces you to slow down and feel everything differently."
They talked while Eddie sipped tea, sketchbook open on the table beside him. He flipped through a few pages showing quick studies of poses and expressions. Osiah asked about the transition between Einar and Lili, and Eddie opened up about the research and the emotional weight of it.
Alicia Vikander joined them a few minutes later, still in costume as Gerda. She wore a soft cream blouse tucked into a tailored wool skirt that hugged her figure nicely—accentuating her narrow waist, the gentle flare of her hips, and the subtle curve of her ass. The blouse was modest but fitted enough to show the soft swell of her breasts. Her dark hair was pinned up in a simple style with a few loose strands framing her face. She was smaller in person than she looked on screen, but carried herself with quiet energy and grace. Her legs looked long and shapely beneath the skirt, and her overall presence was warm and approachable.
She smiled at Osiah when Eddie introduced them, offering a warm handshake. Her Swedish accent was soft and pleasant. "Nice to finally meet the man who keeps the set from falling apart," she said. "Eddie's been singing your praises since day one. Says you make everything run smoother than it has any right to."
Osiah shook her hand, noting the firm but gentle grip. "Just doing the job. Good to meet you, Alicia. I've been watching your work in the monitors. You're bringing a lot of heart to Gerda."
She blushed slightly but looked pleased. "Thank you. It's a beautiful but challenging script. Some days it feels like we're all walking a tightrope. Eddie makes it look effortless, though."
Eddie waved the compliment away with a modest laugh. "We're all just trying not to fall off. Osiah here is the one making sure the background doesn't steal the show."
The three of them fell into easy conversation as the break continued. Eddie asked Osiah about the difference between the big Marvel sets and something more intimate like this. Alicia listened closely, occasionally adding her own thoughts about how the scale affected performance energy. The dialogue flowed naturally—stories from previous projects, small jokes about wardrobe malfunctions, and quiet respect for the material they were all working on.
It felt like a good start to the new job.
They fell into conversation during the lunch break, the three of them sitting around a folding table near craft services. The set buzzed quietly around them—crew members resetting lights, background actors chatting in small groups while staying in period clothes. Eddie was still partially in costume, the pale blue dress carefully arranged so it wouldn't wrinkle too badly. He poked at a salad with a fork, looking thoughtful.
"Finishing The Theory of Everything feels like it was a lifetime ago already," Eddie said, leaning back in his chair. "The awards buzz started creeping in almost immediately after the festivals. At first I thought it was just polite noise—you know how these things go. People say nice things because they're supposed to. But then my mum started sending me every single article. She's got a whole folder on her phone. 'Look, darling, they're saying you might be nominated!' It's nice, obviously. Humbling. But also completely terrifying."
He laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had this conversation with my agent last month where she was trying to prepare me for the whole circuit. 'Interviews, panels, red carpets—smile, be gracious, don't say anything stupid.' I told her I'd probably say something stupid anyway. Then I had dinner with a couple of older actors who've been through it before. One of them just looked at me and said, 'Enjoy it while it lasts, because the moment you start believing the hype is the moment it all goes sideways.' That stuck with me. I keep reminding myself it's about the work, not the trophies. But yeah… it's surreal waking up to headlines with your name attached to predictions."
Alicia stole a chip from Eddie's plate with a quick grin. "You're going to win," she said matter-of-factly, popping it into her mouth. "Everyone knows it. And you deserve it. The way you disappeared into that role… it wasn't just acting. It was something deeper. I watched it three times and still get choked up every time."
Osiah nodded, sipping his coffee. "From what I've seen of the clips and the reactions, yeah. That performance is something else. The physicality alone—how you carried yourself through all those stages of the disease. It's impressive."
Eddie looked genuinely touched, a faint flush creeping up his neck. He set his fork down and leaned forward. "Thank you. Both of you. It means a lot coming from people who are actually on set every day, seeing the grind. I remember one night during filming where I was exhausted, barely able to move after a long day in the chair, and my wife just sat with me and said, 'You're doing something important.' That kept me going. The buzz is flattering, but nights like that are what I'll remember."
The conversation shifted naturally as Alicia turned to Osiah, her eyes bright with curiosity. "What about you? Tell us about the jump from smaller films to something like Ultron. It must feel completely different."
Osiah kept it light, leaning back in his chair. "Scale is the biggest change. Going from managing fifty extras on something intimate to hundreds on a Marvel set is wild. On the smaller stuff you get to know everyone's names. On Ultron it's more about keeping the machine moving so the actors can focus. Strange at first, but you adapt. The background has to feel like real people reacting to giant robots, not just bodies filling space."
Alicia listened closely, chin resting on her hand, nodding along. "That makes sense. The background work really does feed into the overall feel of a scene. I've been on projects where the extras just stand there like statues and it kills the energy. You can tell when someone like you is running it—the atmosphere feels alive."
As the days went on, Alicia started finding more reasons to chat with him between setups. She'd wander over during resets with a coffee in hand, hair still pinned up from the previous take, asking his opinion on a blocking adjustment or just talking about her day. She was sincere, thoughtful, and clearly sharp—asking questions that showed she was paying real attention to how the crew side worked. Osiah sensed the interest in the lingering looks, the small smiles that lingered a second longer than necessary, and the way she'd lightly touch his arm when laughing at something he said. But he held back. Alicia didn't feel like someone looking for a quick set fling. There was real weight and sincerity behind her eyes, especially when she talked about the film.
One afternoon during a longer break they sat on a couple of folding chairs near the craft services table. Eddie had stepped away to take a call from his agent. The set was relatively quiet, soft chatter from nearby crew members drifting over.
"This film… it's special," Alicia said quietly, looking out at the set dressed as 1920s Copenhagen. The painted backdrops and carefully placed props created an intimate world of art studios and quiet apartments. "It's not just about one person changing. It's about love, and bravery, and what it costs to let someone be who they really are. I keep thinking about how Gerda has to evolve too. She has to become someone who can support the person she loves even when it changes everything—her art, her identity, her future. It's terrifying and beautiful at the same time."
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