Ellen Page is ready to take on all the queer roles.
While at the Toronto International Film Festival, the actress recalled how often she gets asked whether, as a lesbian, she worries about being typecast.
“You would never ask a heterosexual actress that, as being typecast as straight,” she replied. “Why would I not want to play those roles? Quite frankly, I would be thrilled if it’s every role I ever played again!
There have been many discussions lately surrounding the rise of queer roles vs how its still usually straight actors who are cast in them. Meanwhile, openly queer actors often struggle for years trying to get cast in any roles at all, as The Powers That Be seem to think many aren’t capable of playing het convincingly. (Despite many queer people having to “play het” in real life for many years.)
Page herself has spoken previously about being warned to stay in the closet earlier in her career.
“I was distinctly told, by people in the industry, when I started to become known: ‘People cannot know you’re gay,’” she told Porter earlier this year.
But since coming out in 2014, Page says most of her roles have been playing queer women. Fighting for more queer content and queer representation is something she’s been passionate about. And one aspect of that is lessening the stigma Hollywood has against queer actors.
“I came out when I was 27 years old,” she said at TIFF. “Like, what? I wasn’t talking about who I was and being my authentic self because I was an actress in Hollywood. That’s absurd. We need to look at these things as absurd.”
