Birthday's to share this week : 9th-15th October 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Ben Whishaw does on 14th October - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 36, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 9th October

• Brian Blessed - Born 1936, turns 80 - Actor | Director
• Tony Shalhoub - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Scott Bakula - Born 1954, turns 62 - Actor | Producer | Director | Singer
• Guillermo del Toro - Born 1964, turns 52 - Director | Producer | Writer | Consultant | Actor
• Pete Docter - Born 1968, turns 48 - Director | Producer | Writer | Animator  
• Steve McQueen - Born 1969, turns 47 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Chris O'Dowd - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Brandon Routh - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor

Monday 10th October

• Charles Dance - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Martin Kemp - Born 1961, turns 55 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer | Songwriter  

Tuesday 11th October

• David Morse - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer
• Sean Patrick Flanery - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Luke Perry - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Dawn French - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Singer 
• Joan Cusack - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actress | Writer  

Wednesday 12th October

• Hugh Jackman - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Josh Hutcherson - Born 1992, turns 24 - Actor | Producer  

Thursday 13th October

• Chris Carter - Born 1956, turns 60 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Sacha Baron Cohen - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Kelly Preston - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actress  

Friday 14th October

• Lori Petty - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actress | Writer | Producer | Director
• Mia Wasikowska - Born 1989, turns 27 - Actress | Writer | Director
• Roger Moore - Born 1927, turns 89 - Actor | Producer
• Steve Coogan - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
• Ben Whishaw - Born 1980, turns 36 - Actor  

Saturday 15th October

• Todd Solondz - Born 1959, turns 57 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Dominic West - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor
• Tanya Roberts - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actress  

Benjamin John Whishaw was born in Clifton, Bedfordshire, England to mother Linda Hope - a worker in cosmetics, and father Jose Whishaw - a worker in the field of Information Technology. He has a twin brother, James. He was raised in the central Bedfordshire villages of Clifton and Langford, and he attended the Henlow Middle School nearby, and then the Samuel Whitbread Community College in Shefford, also close by. It was here through the allied theatre company, 'Big Spirit' that Whishaw first become involved with play acting, and, to some local critical acclaim. He went on to study at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he graduated in 2003.

He gained his first screen role in the 1999 film 'The Trench' - a story of young soldiers in the trenches preparing to go over the top in the WWI Battle of the Somme as Directed by William Boyd and also starring Daniel Craig, James D'Arcy and Cillian Murphy. 'The Escort' came later that year too, with small screen roles following on 'Black Cab', 'Other People's Children' and then short film 'Baby'. 'My Brother Tom' in 2001 garnered Whishaw a British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer, which was followed up with 'Ready When You Are Mr. McGill' in 2003 with Bill Nighy and Tom Courtenay and then made for television film 'Booze Cruise', with short films 'Spiritual Rampage' and '77 Beds' in the meantime. 

Next up was 'Enduring Love' in 2004 with Daniel Craig again and Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans and Andrew Lincoln, and then Matthew Vaughn's 'Layer Cake' later that year with Daniel Craig once more and Tom Hardy, Michael Gambon and Sienna Miller. 'Stoned' came next in 2005 with Whishaw playing the role of Keith Richards in this bio-pic about the (short) life of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones. That same year he appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom over one single season of six episodes - 'Nathan Barley' with Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Ayoard. He gained perhaps his breakout role in 'Perfume : The Story of a Murderer' for Director Tom Tykwer with co-stars Alan Rickman and Dustin Hoffman. The film was generally well received and it was a commercial success. Whishaw gained two further award nominations for his role as perfumer and murderer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. 

Todd Haynes 'I'm Not There' inspired by the life and music of Bob Dylan saw Whishaw alongside Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and Christian Bale, with the big screen adaptation of 'Brideshead Revisited' opposite Matthew Goode, and then 'The International' for Tom Tykwer again with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, 'Bright Star' for Jane Campion based on the final three years of poet John Keats with Whishaw in the lead role of Keats alongside Abbie Cornish, and short film 'Love Hate' seeing out the decade. In the meantime there had also been five episodes on the highly acclaimed drama series 'Criminal Justice' which also garnered Whishaw further award wins and nominations.

The new decade landed with a big screen adaptation of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' with Julie Taymor Directing an all star cast including Helen Mirren, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand and Alfred Molina. Another BBC drama series followed airing over twelve episodes - 'The Hour' with Dominic West and Peter Capaldi. 2012 gave rise to another Daniel Craig partnership in his role as Bond, James Bond and Whishaw as the new, younger, tech savvy 'Q' in 'Skyfall' - a role he would reprise in 2015's 'Spectre'. The multi-dimensional, time travelling 'Cloud Atlas' for the Wachowski's and Tom Tykwer once more and an ensemble cast including Tom Hanks, Jim Sturgess, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving with Halle Berry and Susan Sarandon came next, with his leading role in 'Richard II' in the made for television film for BBC2 following.

Terry Gilliam's 'The Zero Theorem' was up next, then a screen version of 'The Seagull' by Anton Chekov titled 'Days and Nights' with a backdrop of New England sometime in the 1980's, which despite its strong cast bombed critically and commercially. 'Lilting' followed, and then Whishaw lent his voice talents to Paddington Bear in the live action film of 'Paddington' - the story of a bear thrust from the deepest darkest jungles of Peru into deepest darkest London.

2015 was a big year with short film 'The Muse', and then feature length films 'The Lobster', documentary 'Unity', 'Suffragette', 'The Danish Girl', 'Spectre' and 'In The Heart of The Sea' all released that year, as well as a five part BBC 2 series 'London Spy'. 'A Hologram for The King' was released earlier this year with Tom Hanks, as was short film 'Family Happiness'. Next up and due in December 2018 and currently in pre-production is 'Mary Poppins Returns' with Emily Blunt in the lead role, and also staring Meryl Streep.

Since 2003 Whishaw also has amassed numerous stage credits at London's National Theatre, The Old Vic, The Royal Court Theatre, the West End Noel Coward and Harold Pinter Theatres and most recently on Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre. He has appeared in 'Hamlet' to much critical praise, 'The Seagull', 'Cock', 'Peter and Alice' alongside Judi Dench, 'Mojo' and 'The Crucible'. All up Whishaw has forty-four screen and television acting credits to his name and has so far accumulated eight award wins including a BAFTA for television mini-series 'The Hollow Crown' and another fifteen nominations including three BAFTA nods.

In 2012 Whishaw 'married' Australian composer Mark Bradshaw in a civil partnership, and they reside in London.

Ben Whishaw - fiercely private and guarded about his life away from the cameras; shuns celebrity status; enjoys simple pleasures such as gardening, reading, painting and travel; clearly is on the rise and in demand as evidenced by his prolific output as seen in recent years; and already has been critically praised for his work on film, on television and on the boards - and we're happy to keep watching Ben. Happy Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursdays 14th & 21st January 2016.

Even Bloggers have to take a holiday occasionally, and that time has come as I bid you farewell for a couple of weeks and ride off into the sunset for a family break this summer holiday. Of course just because I am off-line for a couple of weeks the movie world doesn't come to a grinding halt, and nor should your readership of Odeon Online. There are a handful of new movies coming at you in the next fortnight that are certainly worthy of your attention and close scrutiny, and begin to set the tone in the lead up to February's Academy Awards. To ensure you don't miss out on the opportunity to see a latest release, here is a brief snapshot of what you can expect at your local Odeon over the coming two weeks.

CAROL (Released 14th January - Rated M) - Directed by Todd Haynes and based on the Patricia Highsmith novel 'The Price of Salt' this is a romantic drama film set in 1950's New York City and starring Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird and Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet - the former going through a troubled divorce connecting with the latter, an aspiring young photographer. Released in November in the UK and US, this film was made for under US$12M and so far just about recouped that, Along the way it has picked up numerous awards and nominations, many of which are still pending a determination, with many critics hailing this as one of the best films of 2015.

THE 5th WAVE (Released 14th January - Rated M) - this SciFi thriller is Directed by J. Blakeson and is based on a trilogy of novels by Rick Yancey and is the first in the series with 'The Infinite Sea' its follow up published in late 2014 and the third in the set 'The Last Star' will be released later this year. The films stars Chloe Grace Moritz as our heroine Cassie Sullivan  who is on the run and trying to save her young brother as the world succumbs to an alien attack that has seen four previous increasingly deadly attacks that are all but wiping out civilisation one step at a time. As aliens inhabit humans and it becomes harder to tell who's who in the zoo, who exactly can Cassie really trust when life depends on it?

THE BIG SHORT (Released 14th January - Rated M) - is also garnering much positive press and is a biographical comedy drama set in the lead up to the global financial crisis of late 2008 and the causes of this worldwide financial meltdown. Based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis this film is Directed by Adam McKay for US$28M and has since bought in US$40M. Starring Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and Marisa Tomei this tells the story of three groups of individuals who uncover the foundations of the financial crisis brought about by the greed of the banks and finance institutions, the growth in the housing market and the unpredictable credit bubble of that time, but who all managed to profit from it when countless others went under . . . and then some. This film too has already picked up several award wins and has numerous other nominations still pending.

GOOSEBUMPS (Released 14th January - Rated PG) - Directed by Rob Letterman, and based on the best selling books of the same name our story here surrounds Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) who has moved from the big city to the small town and is finding it hard to adjust and not to happy about his new surroundings. Until, he discovers his beautiful next door neighbour Hannah (Odeya Rush) and he discovers that her father is R.L.Stine (Jack Black) - the author of the successful 'Goosebumps' books. When Zach accidentally unleashes the monsters from the Goosebumps tales, it falls to Hannah, her father and Zach to hunt them all down, capture them and return them to the pages of the books from whence they came. Made for US$58M this films has so far returned US$121M.

DIRTY GRANDPA (Released 21st January - Rated MA15+) - Directed by Dan Mazer, here we have young stressed out and uptight lawyer Jason Kelly (Zac Efron) just a week from getting hitched to his boss' masterful and controlling daughter, ensuring him though a quick succession through to promotion and partnership in the firm. However, duped by his grand daddy Dick (Robert De Niro) young Jason finds himself driving down to Florida with the foulmouthed bad tempered lecherous old man for a weekend of wild parties, bar brawls, loud karaoke and good times whilst stressing about his upcoming nuptials whilst being shown how to live large by the old geezer!

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Released on 21st January - Rated R18+) - QT's eighth film is another Western and also written by him too, as they mostly are. With an all star line up taking in his regulars Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Kurt Russell and Zoe Bell, there is also Jennifer Jason Lee, Walton Goggins, Bruce Dern and Channing Tatum. This film unfolds over six chapters as eight strangers are thrown together in a remote Wyoming stagecoach stopover during a blizzard where their stories are all told, but who can you trust with the truth and with a gun when you're on the run and need to get someplace else. We're in for some sharp dialogue and some sharp shooting' so saddle up! Made for US$40M it has made US$33M since its Christmas Day release in the US.

THE DANISH GIRL (Released on 21st January - Rated M) - already the subject of many an award win and many more nominations and pending nominations for Eddie Redmayne once again and hot on the heels of last years success, as well as his co-star Alicia Vikander,  for the Director, the Screenplay, the Score and much more besides. This film is Directed by Tom Hooper, and is set in 1920's Copenhagen and is based on the book of the same name by David Ebershoff. This biographical drama centres around Einer Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander), as Einer becomes Lili Elber - one of the very first male to female sex reassignment surgery recipients. Also starring Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts and Ben Whishaw.

Plenty then to keep you occupied, amused and entertained at the movies in the next couple of weeks.  Head on down to your local Odeon, where you won't see me, but you will see a great movie, and when you have done so drop us a Comment or two below this or any other Post and share your own views, opinions and observations of the film recently experienced.

Get to the Odeon, and catch a movie!

See you in a few weeks!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 3rd - 9th January 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Eddie Redmayne does on 6th January - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy, turning 34, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 3rd January

• Verne Troyer - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor
• Frank Langella - Born 1938, turns 78 - Actor

Monday 4th January

• Julia Ormond - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actress

Tuesday 5th January

• Diane Keaton - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Hayao Miyazaki - Born 1941, turns 75 - Director | Writer | Animator | Editor
• Roger Spottiswoode - Born 1945, turns 71 - Director | Writer | Producer | Editor
• Bradley Cooper - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actor | Producer
• Robert Duvall - Born 1931, turns 85 - Actor | Producer
• Vinnie Jones - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor
• Clancy Brown - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor

Wednesday 6th January 

• Eddie Redmayne - Born 1982, turns 34 - Actor
• Norman Reedus - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Writer | Director
• Rowan Atkinson - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Sylvia Syms - Born 1934, turns 82 - Actress

Thursday 7th January

• Linda Kozlowski - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actress
• Nicolas Cage - Born 1964, turns 62 - Actor | Producer
• Jeremy Renner - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actor | Producer
• David Caruso - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Producer

Friday 8th January

• David Bowie - Born 1947, turns 69 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor | Producer
• John McTiernan - Born 1951, turns 65 - Director | Producer | Writer

Saturday 9th January 

• J.K.Simmons - Born 1955, turns 61 - Actor | Producer
• Imelda Staunton - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actress
• Joely Richardson - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actress

Edward John David Redmayne was born in Westminster, London, England to mother Patricia Burke who managed a relocation business and father Richard Redmayne, a senior banking businessman. He has an older brother James, a younger brother Thomas, and two half brothers, Eugene and Charles. He attended the independent prep, school for boys - Colet Court in Barnes, London, and then Eton College and did so in the same year as Prince William. Leaving there he went onto Trinity College, Cambridge studying the history of art from where he graduated in 2003. He took drama lessons from an early age having been encouraged to do so by his parents, which he continued throughout school and university, including with the National Youth Music Theatre. His first stage gig was in the Sam Mendes production of 'Oliver' playing a workhouse boy.

Before turning to professional acting Redmayne modelled for Burberry with Alex Pettyfer and Cara Delevingne. He made his professional stage debut in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' in 2002 for which he won the award for Most Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, and then Best Newcomer at the Critics Circle Theatre Awards for 'The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?' in 2005. In 2009 he appeared in 'Red' for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and he then took the play to Broadway for a fifteen week run for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. He subsequently played Richard II in 'Richard II' in London's Donmar Warehouse.

Redmayne graduated from some minor television roles with his debut feature film in 2006 with 'Like Minds' starring alongside Toni Collette and Richard Roxburgh, with 'The Good Shepherd' coming next that same year as Directed by Robert De Niro with a huge cast including the great man himself with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin and William Hurt. The following year saw 'Savage Grace' with Julianne Moore and that same year 'Elizabeth : The Golden Age' with Cate Blanchett in the title role and Geoffrey Rush and Clive Owen. Redmayne had starred in 2005 in a television mini-series 'Elizabeth I' playing the Earl of Southampton -  a role that doubtless prepared him well for this one!

2008 brought 'The Yellow Handkerchief' with William Hurt again, and 'The Other Boleyn Girl' with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana and Benedict Cumberbatch. 2009 saw 'Powder Blue' with Forest Whittaker, Ray Liotta and Patrick Swayze, and 'Glorious 39' that same year with Christopher Lee, Bill Nighy and Juno Temple, and 'Black Death' a year later with Sean Bean. As the decade drew to a close there had also been television mini-series 'The Pillars of the Earth' and 'Tess of the D'Urbevilles'.


'Hick' kicked of 2011 with Chloe Grace Moretz and Juliette Lewis, with 'My Week with Marilyn' starring Michelle Williams, Julia Ormond and Kenneth Branagh, and then Kathryn Bigelow's 'The Miraculous Year' with Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella. 2012 saw 'Les Miserables' with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.

2014 hailed Redmayne's Oscar winning turn as Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything', before The Wachowski's 'Jupiter Ascending' a year later with Sean Bean again, Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis. 'The Danish Girl' is up next early this year with Alicia Vikander and Ben Whishaw with 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' currently in post-production and based on the book of the same name by one J.K.Rowling who also penned that lesser known series of books about one certain young magician whizz kid Harry Potter.

All up Redmayne has 24 acting credits to his name so far. He won the Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA for his lead role in 'The Theory of Everything' and has a pending nomination for this years Golden Globes for his role in the upcoming 'The Danish Girl' as well as sixteen other award wins and a further 54 nominations. When he picked up his Oscar statue in 2015 he was the first actor to do so born in the 1980's, and, he picked up his award alongside Best Actress Julianne Moore for 'Still Alice' - his co-star from 'Savage Grace' some years earlier. He is also strongly touted for further critical acclaim and recognition with Tom Hooper's 'The Danish Girl' due in Australian Cinema's on 28th January.

In December 2014 he married Hannah Bagshaw, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to drama.

Eddie Redmayne - rising star of stage, television, film and already much lauded and highly acclaimed; deeply grounded, diverse acting range and keeps it real whether playing bio-pics, period pieces, Sci-Fi or present day drama and infinitely watchable as a result. Happy Birthday to you Eddie - from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 27th September - 3rd October 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Alicia Vikander does on 3rd October - check out the tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 27 at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 27th September

• Gwyneth Paltrow - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actress
• Meat Loaf - Born 1947, turns 68 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter
• Denis Lawson - Born 1947, turns 68 - Actor

Monday 28th September

• Naomi Watts - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actress | Producer
• Hilary Duff - Born 1987, turns 28 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Mira Sorvino - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actress | Producer
• Brigitte Bardot - Born 1934, turns 81 - Actress | Singer

Tuesday 29th September

• Luke Goss - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer
• Ian McShane - Born 1947, turns 73 - Actor | Producer
• Nicolas Winding Refn - Born 1970, turns 45 - Director | Producer | Writer

Wednesday 30th September

• Eric Stoltz - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Angie Dickinson - Born 1931, turns 84 - Actress
• Marion Cotillard - Born 1975, turns 40 - Actress | Singer
• Monica Bullucci - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress

Thursday 1st October

• Julie Andrews - Born 1935, turns 80 - Actress | Singer
• Randy Quaid - Born 1950, turns 65 - Actor | Producer
• Zach Galifianakis - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | Producer | Writer

Friday 2nd October

• Sting - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter

Saturday 3rd October

• Clive Owen - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actor | Producer
• Denis Villeneuve - Born 1967, turns 48 - Director | Writer
• Neve Campbell - Born 1973, turns 42 - Actress | Producer
• Alicia Vikander - Born 1988, turns 27 - Actress

Alicia Amanda Vikander was born in Gothenburg, Sweden to mother Maria Fahl, an actress, and father Svante Vikander, a psychiatrist. At five months old her parents separated and for the most part thereafter was raised by her mother, although she had access to her father every other weekend with whom she would grow up enjoying the company of his other five children. She studied ballet at the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Gothenburg from the age of nine and at fifteen moved to Stockholm where she trained to become a principal dancer. At the Gothenburg Opera she appeared in several musicals including 'Les Miserables' and 'The Sound of Music'. By the age of sixteen she was travelling the world to fine tune her acting craft. Due to injuries over the subsequent years her career in dancing became sidelined as her career in acting began to take hold, although for a short time she was considering a move into the legal profession gaining a place at law school, which she also sidelined in favour of acting - a wise choice in the long term it would appear!

At home in Sweden she gained early work on a number of television shows and made for TV movies - 'Min balsamerade mor' in 2002, 'En decemberdrom' for three episodes in 2005, the mini-series 'Levande foda' in 2007 and then on the longer running 'Andra Avenyn' for 39 episodes from 2007-2008.

From 2007 there were a number of short films in her native country launching with 'Darkness of Truth' and 'The Rain', 'My Name is Love' in 2008, and 'Susans Iangtan' in 2009. Her feature film debut came in 2010 in the acclaimed 'Pure' for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Swedish Guldbagge Awards - the equivalent there of the Academy Awards or the BAFTA's.

After this was her lead role in 'The Crown Jewels' in 2011, however, international recognition came in 2012 playing the role of Kitty in the Joe Wright Directed British adaptation of 'Anna Karenina' alongside Keira Knightly, Jude Law, Domhnall Gleeson and Emily Watson. The film picked up numerous awards including a Breakthrough Performer Award for Vikander at the Hamptons International Film Festival. She followed this up that same year with the Danish period piece 'A Royal Affair' with Mads Mikkelsen which gained a Best Foreign Language Film nomination at the 2013 Academy Awards. That year, she was also nominated at the BAFTA's for a Rising Star Award but missed out to Juno Temple.

2013 saw her star in Bill Condon's 'The Fifth Estate' about the rise of WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange as portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. The film also starred Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie and David Thewlis. Next up was the Swedish film 'Hotell' for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Marrakech International Film Festival.

'Testament of Youth' came next with Vikander in the lead role as Vera Brittain recounting her WWI memories as a war time nurse. This was followed up that same year with Aussie crime drama 'Son of a Gun' with Ewan McGregor and Brenton Thwaites, and then 'Seventh Son' with Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, and Djimon Hounsou. 'Ex Machina' came earlier this year in the Alex Garland Directed film in which she stars as humanoid robot Ava, alongside Domhnall Gleeson again, and Oscar Isaac. Most recently there has been 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer as the reprised 60's Agents Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin respectively.

Coming soon is 'Burnt' with Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson due before the end of the year, as is 'The Danish Girl' with Eddie Redmayne and Ben Whishaw. 'Tulip Fever' is currently in post-production for 2016 and stars Dane DeHaan, Christoph Waltz and Judy Dench, 'The Light Between the Oceans' due next year too and starring Michael Fassbender and Rachel Weisz, and currently filming is the fifth instalment in the Bourne franchise as Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne with Tommy Lee Jones and Vincent Cassel and due in mid-16.

Vikander has 26 acting credits to her name and has won seven awards and another seven nominations to date - she expects big things from next years Academy Awards too where she may have multiple films in contention. Recently split from Michael Fassbender, Vikander seems more intent on keeping busy, chasing the Oscar dream and polishing her celebrity status as her star continues to rise.

Alicia Vikander - young, beautiful, talented, determined, committed, hard working, in demand, already much praised and with the Hollywood world at your feet - Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-