Elliot Page would like Oscars to introduce gender-neutral acting categories: 'Seems like a good idea'
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Elliot Page says he'd like to see the Academy implement gender-neutral acting categories at future Oscars ceremonies.
In an interview with EW about his new movie, Close to You, which premiered last week at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, Page responds to a question about the growing number of awards bodies that have eliminated male- and female-centric divisions for nominated actors, telling us that he'd like to remove that gender-based classification.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Elliot Page at the premiere of 'Close to You' at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival
"Yeah, it seems like a good idea," the 36-year-old Oscar nominee tells EW. "And, again, this sort of unusual aspect of that being the only category, right, where that sort of happens? So, hopefully, we start moving beyond that degree of binary thinking."
Representatives for the Academy did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
EW has learned, however, that the Academy is engaging in discussions around representation and inclusivity, and that discussions with key members involved in the awards process are ongoing to help inform future decisions.
Other awards entities have shifted to eliminating acting categories based on gender, including the Gotham Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards. The Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, and the Academy, however, have not yet done away with Actor and Actress category differentiations.
TIFF Elliot Page in 'Close to You'
Elsewhere in the interview, Page discussed the power of his return to the big screen in Close to You, his first scripted feature film since coming out as trans in 2020. The movie begins with a powerful scene that sees Page standing shirtless in front of the camera, and it was a moment he says impacted him greatly.
"Shooting on the day, I was getting out of bed and getting dressed, it was sort of clumsy, like, 'Oh, it would be great, he sleeps shirtless.' In the moment when you're making this, you're making it from this instinctual place that I don't know how to describe. It just sort of happens, but at the same time, it just felt natural," Page, who also plays a trans man in the film, tells EW in a joint interview with director Dominic Savage and costar Hillary Baack. "Showing this dude who's comfortable and present and waking up in his body, that means a lot to me. I never thought I'd feel that way, so it's nice to get to act it."
Close to You does not yet have a release date.
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