Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander has discussed the abuses of power she's witnessed during her time in the film business amid the Time's Up movement causing a seismic shift in Hollywood's attitude toward sexual misconduct and gender equality.

Vikander spoke to Elle Magazine while on the promotional trail for blockbuster adventure Tomb Raider - an adaptation of the hit video game series - and revealed how an older colleague stood up for her and empowered her to speak up more.

"I've been very fortunate that I haven't had any sexual harassment on set," Vikander made clear from the outset.

"But I've been in situations where people in power have put me on the spot, or made me feel stupid and young when I wasn't able to express myself publicly.

"Once, an older female co-star actually said on my behalf, 'That's not okay.' I can now speak up and say that is not fine, and I've been given the fortunate position now of not being, in the same way, afraid of losing my job, which was deep down the reason you don't want to be trouble. You don't want to be difficult..."

Vikander also discussed her preparation for Tomb Raider, a reboot of the series started with Angelina Jolie at the turn of the century. She plays iconic hero Lara Croft, meaning she was involved in a lot of big action sequences.

"For three months before filming, I started every morning with an hour's workout," Vikander said. "Then there was a lot of eating going on; I had to have five meals a day.

"I wanted Lara to be strong. I'm very petite myself, and I wanted the audience to find the action sequences plausible – to believe that she could do it, that she could lift herself up with her own bodyweight.

Lara Croft has always been a hardy and headstrong character, but depictions have long been overly sexualised - something not helped by her large, angular bossoms in the original PlayStation being the result of a programming miscalculation.

That changed with time, and came to a head with the 2013 series reboot which cast Lara as more of a survivalist, with a deeper character. This game, and its sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, served as inspiration for the new film.

"Sure, Lara is a sex symbol in some ways but for me, what makes a woman or a man attractive is someone who dares to speak up, who dares to show their personality. It's tough being a young girl at this time, you know? I'm now working in an industry which lives on creating an image, a fantasy and I feel like I need to show younger women that is what it is."

Directed by Roar Uthaug, Tomb Raider stars Vikander alongside Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins, Kristin Scott Thomas, Daniel W, Dominic West and Nick Frost. The film will be released on 14 March.

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