Elliot Page got candid about the expectations and pressures he felt while working as an actor before coming out as transgender.
On Friday, the 34-year-old actor joined Oprah Winfrey for his first television interview since coming out as trans in December 2020. The emotional interview saw Page open up about many things, including his depression and anxiety before transitioning and how it feels finally to live as his authentic self. However, one poignant moment was when he detailed passing out at the premiere of Inception after being offered three dresses to wear.
“There was so much press and so many premieres all around the world, and I was wearing dresses and heels to pretty much every single event.”
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The Umbrella Academy star then said the pressure to fit the female norms in Hollywood took a toll on his mental health so much so that he eventually “lost it,” explaining:
“It was like a cinematic moment. That night, after the premiere at the after-party, I collapsed. That’s something that’s happened frequently in my life, usually corresponding with a panic attack.”
Wow, the moment must have been so difficult and traumatic. Page continued:
“Ultimately, of course, it’s every experience you’ve had since you were a toddler, people saying, ‘The way you’re sitting is not ladylike, you’re walking like a boy. The music you’re listening to as a teenager,’ obviously, the way you dress. Every single aspect of who you are constantly being looked at and put in a box in a very binary system. That’s what it leads to.”
Later in the interview, the Canadian spoke about his experiences with anxiety while attending the press tour for Juno and the Oscars where he was nominated for best actress for the role. He said of the “intense” period:
“I remember it felt so impossible to communicate with people how unwell I was because obviously there is so much excitement. The film unexpectedly became a big hit, I became quite known, all these things, and I felt I couldn’t express just the degree of pain I was in.”
Page added:
“So the Oscars, for example, I could not look at a photo from that red carpet. People might watch this and say, ‘Oh my gosh, this person is crying about the night they went to the Oscars.’ And I think again that prevents the ability to allow yourself to not just feel the pain but reflect on the pain, to even begin to sit down and bring it all up and finally confront all of that.”
Earlier this week, Page revealed to Vanity Fair that he knew he was a boy since he was a toddler and felt so much frustration at not being able to live his truth.
“That is who I was, who I am, and who I knew myself to be. I just couldn’t understand when I’d be told, ‘No, you’re not. No, you can’t be that when you’re older.’ Now I’m finally getting myself back to feeling like who I am. It’s so beautiful and extraordinary, and there’s a grief to it in a way.”
Again, we are so glad Elliot is finally free and happy. Even more so, it is amazing to see him speak out about the harmful gender norms in the industry and advocate for the trans community.
[Image via AppleTV+/The Oprah Conversation]
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