It’s been three months since actor Elliot Page came out as transgender in a moving post he shared on social media. Since then, the 34-year-old hasn’t shared much more on the topic — until now.
In a feature for Time magazine, “The Umbrella Academy” star is opening up about what his life is like now that’s he “fully become” himself.
When asked how it feels to be where he is now, Page described it as, “This feeling of true excitement and deep gratitude to have made it to this point in my life, mixed with a lot of fear and anxiety.”
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And that mixture of emotions doesn’t come as a surprise to him. He knew his path wasn’t going to be an easy one, no matter how much support has come his way since first opening up to his fans and followers about his identity.
“I felt like a boy,” he recalled after being allowed to cut his hair short as a child. “I wanted to be a boy. I would ask my mom if I could be someday.”
And for years, he knew that who he was inside didn’t match who he appeared to be outside.
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“I just never recognized myself,” Page told the magazine. “For a long time I could not even look at a photo of myself.”
But in 2020, something changed for the star.
The coronavirus pandemic changed the way everyone lived their lives, and for Page, the isolation that came with quarantine was a gift.
“I had a lot of time on my own to really focus on things that I think, in so many ways, unconsciously, I was avoiding,” said Page, who in January filed for divorce from his wife, Emma Portner. “I was finally able to embrace being transgender and letting myself fully become who I am.”
Now, he’s not only able to step into the spotlight as he the person he knows himself to be, he’s also able to use that spotlight to help others who don’t have any support.
“Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric — every day you’re seeing our existence debated. Transgender people are so very real,” he explained. “My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today, and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can.”
Because he knows firsthand that the subject of personal identity shouldn’t be a controversial one that’s up for public debate.
“We know who we are,” Page said plainly. “People cling to these firm ideas (about gender) because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
