'The Light Between Oceans' Star Alicia Vikander Discusses Emotional Role in Upcoming Film

— -- Alicia Vikander is enjoying an impressive breakout year. From her Oscar-winning performance in "The Danish Girl," to starring in the summer blockbuster hit "Jason Bourne," the Swedish star has taken her place among Hollywood's hottest actresses.

Vikander's upcoming role in "The Light Between Oceans," based on the best-selling novel by M.L. Stedman, will be the 27-year-old's most heart-wrenching performance to date.

Vikander calls the film "a very human story about ordinary people," about good people who don't always make the right decisions.

The novel-turned-movie tells a timeless story about love and loss. Vikander plays Isabel, a free spirit who falls in love with Tom, a lighthouse keeper, played by her real-life boyfriend Michael Fassbender.

In the story, Isabel struggles through several miscarriages -- something Vikander found daunting to portray on-screen.

"Actually as an actor I felt that was the most intimidating thing I've ever performed because it's so primal," Vikander said in an interview that aired on ABC News' "Good Morning America" today. "I had wonderful, you know, people who -- who really helped me to try and make those scenes authentic ... and real."

The plot intensifies when the childless couple discovers a living baby in a rowboat washed up on shore. The couple decides to keep the child as their own -- a fateful decision that brings serious consequences.

The Swedish actress said "it was interesting to play a character like Isabel because it's hard to judge her," adding that the driving force behind her character's decision "comes from a good place."

Vikander and Fassbender have remained discreet about their off-screen relationship. The actress said the two met a few times at a film festival and other industry parties.

"But we kinda first got to know each other during rehearsal," she said. "We -- both him and I -- have done several films where we play a love story, so it's very different."

Vikander said she hopes audiences will walk away from the film with sympathy for all the characters.

"It's about loss," she said. "This is about very universal, emotional subjects that I think everyone can kind of relate to."

"The Light Between Oceans" hits theaters nationwide on Sept. 2.