Ellen Page reflects on coming out

MALCOLM TAYLOR/Getty Images

Ellen Page reflects on coming out
(Image credit: MALCOLM TAYLOR/Getty Images)

Though she estimates 80 percent of Hollywood already knew she was gay, Ellen Page's public coming out at an LGBT event in February was a landmark moment for open sexuality in Hollywood — and almost didn't happen. "For so long I just sort of thought, 'You just can't. I love being an actor, it's a huge part of my life, so I'm going to keep that private,'" says Page in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "And, 'Oh, I have to keep it private because my job is about creating an illusion' and kind of all those bullshit excuses. Because I don't see heterosexual actresses going to great lengths to hide their heterosexuality."

Page tells The Hollywood Reporter that while no single incident led to her coming out, she does recall the "profound effect" of a TV appearance by columnist and "It Gets Better" founder Dan Savage. "He was like, 'It's a social responsibility and a moral imperative,' " she says. "And I was like, 'You're right. You're really intense — but you're right.' " It turned out to be the right decision; since coming out, Page reveals that "every tiny little aspect of [her] life feels better."

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.