Elliot Page on 'the Ease I Feel' as a Trans Man Today: 'I Used to Never Feel Like My Skin Was My Own' (Exclusive)
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'The Umbrella Academy' actor and 'Pageboy' memoir author is PEOPLE magazine's Pride cover star
Elliot Page is ready to talk about his life story, which he’s just put down on paper in his much-anticipated new memoir, Pageboy.
His is a remarkable one: how a Canadian child star overcame his fears to become an Oscar nominee (for 2007’s Juno), superhero (the X-Men franchise and he’s starring in the final season of Netflix's The Umbrella Academy), and, now, perhaps the most famous trans person on the planet, since coming out in 2020.
“When I’m walking down the street, and young people come up to me, it means the world to me,” Page, 36, who graces the cover of this week's PEOPLE, says. “Them being themselves, having the courage to say, ‘This is who I am, and I’m gonna live authentically.’”
“The privilege I have, does not represent the reality of most trans lives," adds Page. "The reality is trans people disproportionately are unemployed, disproportionately experience homelessness. Trans women of color are being murdered. People are losing their healthcare.”
Not that his journey has been without difficulty. “I do feel like I barely made it in many ways,” Page says.
He opens up about those challenges — and the joy he’s found on the other side.
On how it feels to share his truth with the world:
"It definitely feels a way that I never thought I would get to feel, and that mostly manifests in how present I feel, the ease I feel and the ability to exist. There’s been periods in my life where I really felt like I didn’t. So often it’s a lot more in the quiet moments. I think we talk about “trans joy” and euphoria. So much of it is in the stillness. To have my shoulders back. I just was always kind of shut off, anxious. I used to never feel like my skin was my own."
On his closest friends and allies in Hollywood:
"We all love Catherine Keener. She let me live with her. And Alia [Shawkat] and Kristen [Wiig], they encouraged me to go against the forces that were telling me to not be true. [They’re] sincere people who were just selfless and kind and loving."
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On how he finds joy now:
"It catches me by surprise sometimes. A friend will simply take a photo and then I get a glimpse, and it just sends this electric thrill through my body, this sort of spark. Because it’s funny—it’s seeing something new, but also not. I realize I look different to people now who’ve known me from before, but I’m thinking, “Oh my gosh, there’s that person I’ve seen but never thought I’d actually get to see.”
On the meaning behind his "E.T. phone home" tattoo on his arm:
"I probably watch E.T. at least once a year. It, to me, is a perfect movie, and I always desperately wished I could be Elliott in that film, or even that I felt like Elliott. I resonated with him like I would resonate with other male characters, of course."
On whether he's dating at the moment:
"I wouldn’t say a lot, no! [laughs] But I’d say I’m single and enjoying that."
On his close bond with his mother:
"My relationship with her is the best it’s ever been. I’ve had so much to learn about so many things myself. But finally sharing my truth with her and telling her about the changes that were about to happen in my life, my mom was just so immediately supportive. She’s educated herself. I think there was such a profound sense of relief, like she saw her kid step into themself."
For more about Page, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands next week.
Pageboy will be released on June 6.
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Read the original article on People.
