It’s been a big year for Elliot Page. For starters, his candid and clever memoir, Pageboy — which documents the 36-year-old actor’s journey to come out as a trans man, among other life experiences — quickly became a New York Times bestseller upon its release in June, almost instantly topping the nonfiction list. The Los Angeles Times lauded it as “raw, harrowing, and often heartbreaking,” while The Washington Post called the memoir “eloquent and enthralling.”
He's also been named one of 2023's The Advocates, our annual list of creatives and changemakers who are working toward a brighter future for us all.
Among the many intimate details of Page’s life that are included is the fact that he and actress Kate Mara (American Horror Story, Fantastic Four) once had a secret relationship. Despite the fact that Mara was also dating actor Max Minghella at the time, Mara expressed she was OK with the revelation, knowing it was an important part of Page’s story. In the book, Page writes that Mara was “the first person I fell for after my heart was broken.”
“This was right after I’d come out as gay and it was a time of exploration and also heartbreak,” Page told People.
“Today I definitely feel a way that I never thought I would get to feel,” he added about his decision to write the book, and how he had to come to a certain place of peace from within before sharing his story outwardly. “I think that mostly manifests in how present I feel. The sort of ease and the ability to exist. There’s been periods in my life where I really felt like I wasn’t. We talk about trans joy and euphoria and all of those things, and so much of it is in the stillness. I just feel so lucky.”
In addition to becoming a bestselling author, Page also had to navigate the delicate balancing act of promoting his indie hit film Close to You, which he cowrote with the film’s director Dominic Savage, during this year's writers strike while also supporting his colleagues. The experimental film was one of very few independent projects officially deemed exempt from the strike due to a lack of conflict with the union’s grievances and demands. Still, Page consistently showed up at the picket lines in support.
The Umbrella Academy actor also spoke out about the movement to degender acting categories at awards shows, echoing what many other nonbinary and trans actors have recently voiced. While in Toronto for the Close To You premiere in September, Page told Entertainment Weekly that he’s hoping the Oscars will do away with gendered classifications very soon. “Yeah, it seems like a good idea,” Page told 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.”
