What we learned from Elliot Page’s BFI Flare talk – from ‘awful’ times on set to dream roles

During his BFI Flare Screen Talk on Friday (15 March) Elliot Page opened up about a lot of things. From his latest projects like Close To You and Backspot to his memoir, Pageboy, dream roles, and more, Elliot shared everything with a sold-out audience at BFI Southbank.

Here are 11 of our takeaways.

Page had “the most joy” working on Close To You

One of the films Page has at BFI Flare 2024 is Close To You, which sees him return to the big screen for the first time since his transition. He plays Sam, a trans man, who returns to his small hometown in Canada for the first time since transitioning.

The film was largely improvised, lending it an extra level of authenticity that Page told Attitude previously “wouldn’t have been possible” pre-transition. On working on the film with director Dominic Savage Page said it was “arguably the most joy I’ve ever felt” on set because of how free he felt.

He had an “awful experience” during an intimate scene when he was younger

It was also revealed that Close To You was the first film Page has done that used an intimacy coordinator. He said it was shocking initially having been working since he was 10 and having done “very intense sex scenes” as a 16-year-old.

Speaking further on that experience involving a “much older man” he said it was “awful” and that he was “not protected at all.” Continuing Page said: “People should be taken care of and I think on sets there is very distinct power dynamics,” that he suggested could cause people to feel pressured into vulnerable situations. “I think it’s fantastic,” he added on the greater use of intimacy coordinators.

He doesn’t think LGBTQ+ stories are “niche”

Discussing the need for better LGBTQ+ representation all around Page said it feels LGBTQ+ stories are still considered “niche”. He then said: “30% of young people identify as LGBTQ+, this is not ‘niche’,” getting a big round of applause.

“That really irks me,” he added. “You tell really specific stories about cis-het people. I’m not calling that odd plot ‘niche’.”

Working on Tales of the City was “an honour”

Turning to his TV career Page was asked about working on the 2019 mini-series Tales of the City. Based on the works of Armistead Maupin it featured actors like Laura Linney who reprised their roles from the earlier TV adaptations as well as new additions.

“It was an honour,” Page said of the experience. He described Linney as a hero of his and also spoke about working with a predominantly queer cast and crew. “That was most certainly a project where if you were cis-het you were the odd one out,” he said. “I had never been amongst a crew like that before.” Page also met transgender author and journalist Thomas Page McBee on the project, who he said has had a “big impact” on him.

The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman was one of the first people Page came out to

Asked about the fourth and final season of the popular Netflix series Page shared that showrunner Steve Blackman was “one of the first people I came out to.” Page revealed that he spoke to Blackman about his transition and they worked it into his character, Viktor’s, plot.

“It was last minute. There wasn’t much time before we were shooting,” he elaborated. He then collaborated with Blackman and Page McBee about how to show Viktor’s transition on the show. Eventually, they decided that “it doesn’t have to be this big drama whole season arc of Viktor’s in torment,” and instead made it a simple moment of recognition from Viktor’s cohort.

The TIME magazine cover was “overwhelming”

Moving on to his 2021 TIME magazine cover Page revealed some of the behind-the-scenes details. He said “The moment of actually doing the shoot was really lovely and quiet and intimate,” but it was shot during an “intense” lockdown during COVID-19 in Toronto.

Page said he told TIME he wanted to shoot with a trans masc photographer which TIME was ok with. He and Wynne Neilly shot together in a Toronto studio with one other person. “It coming out was a bit overwhelming, I’m not going to lie,” Page went on to say. “That whole period of my life was definitely a lot. A mixture of feeling the best ever and most present ever, all those things, and of course there were moments that were overwhelming.”

Coming out as queer was “a little bit different” to coming out as trans

Asked about a quote from his memoir Page said coming out as queer in 2014 “was a massive step forward to getting closer to who I really am. That lifted so much weight off my shoulders.” He also remembered being “very closeted” until he was 27.

With both coming out experiences he said it felt like “if I don’t, something really bad is going to happen. I’m not okay.” But of coming out as trans he said there was a “depth of understanding” he gained. On coming out as queer he said, “It massively changed and improved my life and laid the groundwork for the next step.” He concluded the two experiences were “a little bit different.”

He thinks Hollywood is “toxic”

In his memoir, Page described Hollywood as “Plastic, empty, and homophobic.” Elaborating on this he clarified there are great people in Hollywood but said there is a “toxic” system in place. “Those were a lot of my experiences,” he reiterated.

Page felt “miserable” when he was nominated for an Oscar

Referencing his 2008 Oscar nomination for Juno, Page said that time was when he was “the most miserable I’ve ever felt.” Jokingly he said it wasn’t something you could tell people when nominated for an award. But he said to learn that at 21 “was so liberating” and that what matters is the work you make. He also said he felt “very lucky” to have gone through his journey and to make things he wants to make.

He shared what LGBTQ+ movies inspired him

In terms of what queer movies have inspired him, Page said he was “utterly transfixed” by the 1999 flick But I’m a Cheerleader. He was also inspired by Céline Sciamma’s Tomboy which he wept at.

He also shared snippets about what his dream roles are

While saying he was “pretty open” to things Page did mention an aspiration to play “a villain” or some “crazy action shit.” Ultimately he said he wanted to explore the liberation he has felt while filming Close To You. He also mentioned feeling like a child getting to have fun while filming the last season of The Umbrella Academy suggesting he could be up for more.

BFI Flare runs from 13-24 March 2024. Full details and tickets are available here.