After asking for patience late last year when he announced that he is transgender and non-binary, Oscar-nominated actor Elliot Page is speaking out on what it’s like to be one of the most visible trans people in the world.
In a cover story with Time magazine, Page, 34, said that he hopes to be an advocate for others.
“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 told the magazine.
In December, Page shared a letter announcing that he was trans and said that while he felt profound happiness about sharing his story, he was also scared "of the invasiveness, the hate, the 'jokes' and of the violence."
But he told Time that he felt a deep sense of responsibility to share his truth. “Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric — every day you’re seeing our existence debated. Transgender people are so very real,” he said.
The actor, who stars in Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy," said that downtime during quarantine helped him accept his gender identity.
“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. … I was finally able to embrace being transgender and letting myself fully become who I am,” he told the magazine.
Page filed for divorce from his wife, Emma Portner, in January. The pair had announced their marriage in 2018.
Portner voiced support for Page shortly after he announced he was transgender.
"I am so proud of @elliotpage," Portner wrote on Instagram. "Trans, queer and non-binary people are a gift to this world. I also ask for patience & privacy but that you join me in the fervent support of trans life every single day.”
Page is known for roles in "Juno," "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
