Elliot Page says he ‘wasn’t OK’ while filming Juno: ‘They made me wear a dress – it was f***ed up’
‘It doesn’t matter if I’m trans or cis. Lots of cis women dress how I dress. That has nothing to f***ing do with it,’ actor said
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Your support makes all the difference.Elliot Page has spoken about issues he faced while filming and promoting the hit indie film Juno, which was released before he came out as a transgender man.
The 2007 drama starred Page as the titular teen who becomes pregnant and chooses a couple to adopt the unborn baby. However, things are put in jeopardy when the prospective father develops feelings for Juno.
In a recent piece written in his own words for Esquire, Page opened up about the turbulence he experienced around the project.
“When Juno was at the height of its popularity, during awards season time, I was closeted, dressed in heels and the whole look,” he wrote. “I wasn’t okay, and I didn’t know how to talk about that with anyone.”
Speaking about the film’s press tours he explained: “I said I wanted to wear a suit and Fox Searchlight was basically like, ‘No, you need to wear a dress.’ And they took me in a big rush to one of those fancy stores on Bloor Street [Toronto]. They had me wear a dress, and... and that was that.”
“And then all the Juno press, all the photoshoots – Michael Cera was in slacks and sneakers. I look back at the photos, and I’m like...?” Page continued. “That was really extremely, extremely f***ed up.”
“It doesn’t matter if I’m trans or cis. Lots of cis women dress how I dress. That has nothing to f***ing do with it,” he argued.
The Oscar-nominated actor initially came out as gay in 2014. He later came out as transgender in 2020 and was met with “love and support from many people and hatred and cruelty and vitriol from so many others”.
“Transphobia is just so, so, so extreme. The hatred and the cruelty is so much more incessant,” he said.
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Currently, Page stars in the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, which in March announced its decision to have his character Vanya Hargreeves come out as transgender in the upcoming third season, releasing on 22 June.
“I love making The Umbrella Academy. I’ve learned how special it is to play one character for so long, to evolve with a family of characters. All of us have gone through a lot. Years have gone by, and we’ve changed and grown in our own ways,” he added.
“I’m just learning to love the whole journey of it.”
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