Alicia Vikander "felt loved" after she won an Oscar for her role as Gerda in 'The Danish Girl'

Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: "Because of the press commitments and being busy, it's almost like I didn't reflect at all when it was happening.

"It was something that was beyond anything I could ever have dreamt of. So you stand there and you're kind of overwhelmed, constantly - and feel extremely happy and fortunate.

"The rooms you are in, the people you get to meet. And I felt loved. You have your own idea of yourself and then, suddenly, it's like seeing yourself from an outside perspective for the first time."

Alicia also explained that despite finding herself at the top of the acting world, she struggled to enjoy it all as it was happening.

She explained: "I think it was something I realised after it happened. It was the biggest thing I've ever been through. I can't deny that. But then at a certain point afterwards, it's almost like you're afraid of not being as happy as you should be all the time because the most incredible thing has happened.

"My friends back home, almost all of them, are not in the industry, so they became better at seeing things as they were. They'd just say, 'Hey, you haven't been home for two years.'"

Alicia is married to actor Michael Fassbender, who she met on the set of 'The Light Between Oceans' and started a relationship with in 2014.

The 'Tomb Raider' star - who has two sons with the 'Alien: Covenant' star - has previously described her life with him as like being in a "circus family".

Asked about balancing work and family life, Alicia told The Observer magazine: "It's gone pretty well, actually. We've been together almost 10 years and we tend to not work at the same time. We're more like a circus family, always on the move."