The Danish Girl: a decade on, Vikander sees progress in trans casting

Ten years after The Danish Girl premiered, Alicia Vikander says the film already feels extremely dated, a reflection that she views as a positive sign for how quickly conversations about transgender representation are evolving. The Oscar-winning actor, who portrayed Gerda Wegener, the wife of Lili Elbe, one of the first transgender women to undergo gender-affirming surgery, said the movie helped spark discussion around transgender lives even as it faced criticism for casting a cisgender man in the central trans role. Her comments come as the film’s star, Eddie Redmayne, has revisited his own participation, conceding that he would not take the part again and describing the casting as a misstep in retrospect.

The Danish Girl, directed by Tom Hooper and adapted from David Ebershoff’s 2000 novel, centers on the real-life story of Danish painter Lili Elbe and her wife Gerda Wegener. Redmayne’s portrayal of Lili earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, while Vikander received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Gerda. The film was praised for its intimate storytelling and for bringing visibility to a historical moment in the transgender rights movement,...