Elliot Page Opened Up About Using His "Privilege & Platform" To Help Other Trans People

Elliot Page has a story to tell and it's a powerful one, to say the least. In December 2020, Page came out as transgender, proudly revealing he would be using the pronouns he/him and they/them moving forward. Now, the actor is sharing more details of his major life update, and what it was like to do so in the public eye. Elliot Page's quotes about coming out from his TIME interview are so important.

It was via Instagram that Page first shared his coming out story, penning a moving post about his own experience while promising to pave the way for others to do the same.

"I feel lucky to be writing this," Page wrote at the time. "To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life. I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey." Page went on to explain he finally felt like his "authentic self" and was endlessly inspired by the trans community.

Fans rallied behind Page in support of his announcement, and three months later, the Juno actor delivered his first in-depth interview about the experience, which he called "complicated." Before coming out, Page told TIME he felt "this feeling of true excitement and deep gratitude to have made it to this point in my life" along with "fear and anxiety."

Page also shared he witnessed negative feedback as well. “What I was anticipating was a lot of support and love and a massive amount of hatred and transphobia,” Page said. “That’s essentially what happened.

Still, Page hopes his story can help others in similar situations, acknowledging the coming out experience was worth it.

“My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today," Page said. "And of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can."

Page also used the interview to disclose he received top surgery, a decision that has helped him become more comfortable than ever in his body. “It has completely transformed my life,” he explained, adding that his journey is far from over. “It’s a complicated journey ... and an ongoing process.”

“I became a professional actor at the age of 10,” Page said. "And pursuing that passion came with a difficult compromise. “Of course I had to look a certain way.”

Now, with a new lease on life, Page is excited to take on new types of film roles.

“I’m really excited to act, now that I’m fully who I am, in this body,” Page said. “No matter the challenges and difficult moments of this, nothing amounts to getting to feel how I feel now."