To Sweden, one must send thanks, first for Ingrid Bergman and then for Lena Olin. While Bergman's talents and contributions to film are well noted, Olin's are still very much in play. Raised in Stockholm by parents who were regularly collaborators with that other Bergman -Ingmar- Olin was born into theater and bound, from an early age, to perform. Merging an earth-and-flame sensuality that should be branded a fire hazard with a free-spiritedness that might very well be contagious, Olin'best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Enemies: A Love Story - is quite simply one of the sexiest women alive. Which is not to imply, not for a moment, that she lacks anything as an actress. On television's Alias and in this summer's Hollywood Homicide, Olin lends gravitas, soulfulness, and a wizened sense of humor to all of her scenes. She makes it all feel real.

Hollywood Homicide dares to explore a romance between two people older than 25.

Yes. I am 26. [Laughs] No, I think it's very cool. It's a great choice. I think it makes Harrison look so much more attractive, being with someone like me instead of someone who's 20. He's a real guy. He's his age. He's very sexy and appealing.

In Homicide, you share a couple of rather interesting love scenes with Ford. Tell me about them.

A lot of movie sex scenes are done so deadly serious. "Oh, we're making love here; we'd better be gorgeous and serious, and oh!" Well, that's not anyone's experience in real life. You're sexy and funny and sweaty, hopefully, in real life. That's what I like to see in a movie love scene.

You're married to director Lasse [Cider House Rules, My Life As a Dog] Hallstrom. You've just complimented Harrison Ford for his masculine qualities. Is it safe to say men who work in film have been appealing to you over the years?

Actually, just the opposite. [Laughs] My parents were actors. I was afraid of press, because my parents were celebrities. It was, like, "Oh no, the journalists are coming." Actors never impressed me. I grew up with people like Ingmar Bergman in my house, and so that didn't work for me [romantically] either. I liked sports guys. Those were the cool guys to me when I was 15 or 16. I fell madly in love with tennis players. You have to struggle, sweat it through, and get the game on; that's what I like in a man. That's how I like to work today. That said, I also fell in love with Humphrey Bogart when I was a young girl. When my dad told me Bogart was dead, I was devastated; I had to find a new man to marry. I was obsessed. I was going to go to America and marry him. But he was dead. [Laughs]

In addition to your film career, you've also played a key role on television's Alias this past season. Many actors have said that doing a movie after working on a tight TV schedule is actually leisurely. What do you think?

In some ways, yes. TV is hard. You get the script and you shoot it right away. There's no thinking or process or searching it out. It's an adrenaline kick in some ways, but it's also dangerous. I think that something can break along the way in television. You're doing it so fast all the time. Maybe if I'm always going that fast with my acting I'll wear something out that I can't replace. I've been thinking about that a lot. For the actors, it's so different. If you have a script and rehearsal and time to find the fifth or sixth way to play a scene, you're strong. With the tremendously short time you have on TV, it can wear you out and be dangerous.

How has doing Alias changed your life?

I knew it was a hit show, but I didn't know that TV had such an impact. I see the impact this show has had on the public, and certainly on me. The attention that I get now is incredible. I've been acting for years in movies, and I'm getting attention from studio executives who never heard of me before the show. It's strange to me. Everybody watches TV.

More people see you in one night on Alias than see most movies.

Isn't that crazy?

In TV, you get to return to a character. Is that appealing to you?

In a way it's good. I grew up in the theater where you do the same character 65 times. You feel like you know the character so well, sometimes you feel it in your bones. It's a good thing. I love working with the same people over and over. But I'm also used to movies, where you're in six or eight or twelve weeks and you're done. Sometimes on Alias, it's, like, "When will this movie ever end?" It's a little scary doing television, but also very appealing.

- Audience Magazine