NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Elliot Page is revealing how happier he feels after having top surgery and how important he believes it is to support health care for transgender people.
“I want people to know that not only has it been life changing for me, I do believe it is life-saving and it’s the case for so many people,” the actor tells Oprah Winfrey on her new show for Apple TV+.
During the interview, Page teared up when Winfrey asked him what has brought him the most joy.
The Oscar-nominated star of “Juno,” “Inception” and “The Umbrella Academy” said it was the little things — like wearing a T-shirt, having a towel around his waist after a shower or touching his chest — that made him “feel comfortable in my body for probably the first time.”
The full interview from “The Oprah Conversation” will be released Friday.
Page urged officials to support health care for transgender people and allow them access to sports. Some lawmakers are seeking to ban transgender youth from playing sports that match their gender identity. “Children will die,” Page said. “And it really is that simple.”
He said the surgery has given him newfound energy “because it it such a freeing, freeing experience,” adding: “This is incredibly new. I feel like I haven’t gotten to be myself since I was 10 years old.”
Page came out as transgender in December, an announcement that was widely greeted as a watershed moment for the trans community in Hollywood. He told Winfrey the decision was “imperative” in light of the violence against transgender youth.
“It felt important and selfish for myself and my own well-being and my mental health,” he said. “And also with this platform I have, the privilege that I have, and knowing the pain and the difficulties and the struggles I’ve faced in my life, let alone what so many other people are facing, it absolutely felt crucial and important for me to share that.”
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