Elliot Page had a 'massive explosion of creativity' after coming out as transgender
Elliot Page has noticed a big change since coming out as transgender.
"What has happened the most since coming out to people close to me is this massive explosion of creativity," he told Vanity Fairin a story published Wednesday. "One of my best friends and I wrote our first screenplay, and I'm developing something else now, and I made some music with a friend. I think of all the energy and time that was going towards feeling uncomfortable, constantly checking my body, just feeling unwell. And I've got a new ability to explore creatively and write, and just how much I'm reading — that's been really amazing."
And while Page doesn't know what's to come in his acting career, he suspects it's something good.
"I am just a lot more f***ing comfortable and present, so it's hard to imagine that that's not affecting the work, because, really, being present's ultimately what you're going for — you're just ultimately trying to crack open and be present and connect to the truth of a moment," Page said. "So I'm imagining the more I get to embody who I am and exist in the body I want to exist in, there'll be a difference."
The Umbrella Academy star's upcoming schedule also includes several roles in animated films.
He said the biggest difference from before to after his announcement is that now he's "really able to just exist."
Page still worries, though, about anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ activists. As the magazine pointed out, lawmakers in more than 30 states have proposed more than 115 bills limiting the rights of transgender people since Page came out in December.
"It's devastating," Page said. "These bills are going to be responsible for the death of children. It is that simple."
That feeling is what motivated Page to sit down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview that premieres Friday on Apple TV+. It was, he said, an opportunity to speak from his heart and use his platform.
"I don't want it to sound like, 'Look at me.' It's not that at all," Page told trans journalist Thomas Page McBee. "Actually, I was really nervous. But I thought about it for a bit, and it just felt like, OK, 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 he wants to use his newfound strength to help the movement however he can. And he suggested ways that others could, too.
"Educate yourself about bills in your state," Page said. "Look at the ACLU website; look at National Center for Transgender Equality and Transathlete. There's so much misinformation and lies, so please don't rely on news articles that frame this as a 'trans debate' or don't even include perspectives of trans people."
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