More than three months after his coming out captured global attention, Elliot Page has opened up further about his journey to embracing his authentic self.
The Oscar-nominated star of Juno and Umbrella Academy sat down with Time magazine for an emotional interview and photo essay unveiled this week, making him the magazine’s first transgender male cover star.
In the interview, Elliot said that while reactions to his announcement have been widely mixed, “letting myself fully become who I am” has been worth the scrutiny he has had to endure.
“What I was anticipating was a lot of support and love and a massive amount of hatred and transphobia,” Elliot explained. “That’s essentially what happened.”
Still, at a time when hate crimes against transgender people and transphobic rhetoric are on the rise, the 34-year-old felt a deep responsibility to serve as a visible advocate for that community.
“My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today, and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can,” he added.
“Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric — every day you’re seeing our existence debated. Transgender people are so very real.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Elliot touched on his recent divorce from his ex-wife Emma Portner ― the couple actually separated last summer but only formalised the split in January ― as well as how his mother, the daughter of a minister, reacted to her son’s gender identity.
He also said his time spent in isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic had affected his decision to come out.
“I had a lot of time on my own to really focus on things that I think, in so many ways, unconsciously, I was avoiding,” he said, naming Janet Mock and Laverne Cox as two of his personal inspirations.
One thing Elliot said he needn’t have been concerned about was the impact that living his truth would have on his career.
The actor’s team has seen a renewal of interest in his work, including offers to direct and produce, as well as some “dude roles,” presumably referring to opportunities to play cisgender men.
“I’m really excited to act, now that I’m fully who I am, in this body,” he said. “No matter the challenges and difficult moments of this, nothing amounts to getting to feel how I feel now.”
This article originally appeared on the US edition of HuffPost.
Useful websites and helplines:
- The Gender Trust supports anyone affected by gender identity | 01527 894 838
- Mermaids offers information, support, friendship and shared experiences for young people with gender identity issues | 0208 1234819
- LGBT Youth Scotland is the largest youth and community-based organisation for LGBT people in Scotland. Text 07786 202 370
- Gires provides information for trans people, their families and professionals who care for them | 01372 801554
- Depend provides support, advice and information for anyone who knows, or is related to, a transsexual person in the UK