Elliot Page has cried “tears of joy” while discussing his transition in his first on-camera interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Oscar-nominated actor spoke to Oprah for the Apple TV+ interview after he came out last December on social media.
Elliot explained why he decided to detail his coming out journey publicly.
“For me, in this time we’re in right now and especially with this horrible backlash we’re seeing towards trans people, particularly trans youth, it really felt imperative to do so,” Page said.
“Knowing the pain, and the difficulties and the struggles I faced in my life, let alone what so many other people are facing, it absolutely felt just crucial and important for me to [use this platform] and share that.”
Asked about his most joyful moment after transitioning, Elliot said, “It’s the little things. Getting out of the shower and the towel’s around your waist and you’re looking at yourself in the mirror and you’re just like, ‘There I am.’
“And I’m not having the moment where I’m panicked.
“It’s being able to touch my chest and feel comfortable in my body for probably the first time,” the actor explained, becoming emotional with “tears of joy.”
Elliot Page’s interview with Oprah Winfrey is streaming from Friday (US time) on streaming service Apple TV+.
‘I knew I was a boy when I was a toddler’
Elliot Page also opened up to Vanity Fair, and explained he knew he was a boy from a very young age.
“All trans people are so different, and my story’s absolutely just my story,” he told the publication.
“When I was a little kid, absolutely, 100 per cent, I was a boy. I knew I was a boy when I was a toddler. I was writing fake love letters and signing them ‘Jason.’
“Every little aspect of my life, 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’.”
Page said now, finally living as an out trans man, feels “beautiful and extraordinary.”
“I’m finally getting myself back to feeling like who I am,” he said.
Page said he was “nervous” about the interview but felt a duty as an advocate at a time the transgender community is suffering “horrible backlash”.
“It just felt like, ‘Okay, the GOP basically wants to destroy the lives of trans kids and stop the Equality Act.’ How do you not use this platform?” he said.
“I feel emerging joy and excitement one moment, and then the next, profound sadness reading about people wanting to take gender-affirming health care away from children.
“I feel so grateful to be at this place in my life. And I want to use the strength I have to help in all the ways that I can.”
Elliot Page shared powerful coming out letter in December
The Juno and Umbrella Academy actor came out as transgender in December last year. He wrote a moving letter he shared on social media.
“I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life,” he wrote at the time.
“I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey.
“I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self.”