Ellen Page reflects on coming out

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."

For more on Ellen Page — including the unlikely beginning of her career and her thoughts on the recent allegations against X-Men director Bryan Singer — click over to The Hollywood Reporter.

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