Elliot Page recalls collapsing at 'Inception' premiere due to gender identity pressure

Canadian actor-producer Elliot Page recently opened up about the societal pressures he had been facing over the years before he came out as a transgender man. The 34-year-old recently sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey for Apple TV+'s The Oprah Conversation and spoke about dealing with gender dysphoria and how it took a toll on his mental health. During Elliot Page's Oprah interview, he revealed an incident from back in the day when he "collapsed" at an after-party post the premiere of his blockbuster 2010 film, Inception.

Elliot Page recalls collapsing at an 'Inception' premiere event

Elliot Page gave his first-ever televised interview since top surgery to Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV+, which released on Friday. During his conversation with the talk show host, The Umbrella Academy star recalled struggling with frequent panic attacks behind closed doors at star-studded after-party events and film premieres. In his interaction with Oprah, Elliot shared an instance from one of the after-party events of the Christopher Nolan film Inception where he collapsed after realising that he had to present himself in feminine clothing. 

Recalling the premiere day, he said, "There was so much press and so many premieres all around the world and I was wearing dresses and heels to pretty much every single event". After his manager offered him three different dresses to wear at a screening of the 2010 film one evening, Elliot revealed to Oprah, "I lost it, it was like a cinematic moment. That night, after the premiere at the after-party, I collapsed. That's something that's happened frequently in my life, usually corresponding with a panic attack."

He continued, "Ultimately, of course, it's every experience you've had since you were a toddler, people saying, 'The way you're sitting is not ladylike, you're walking like a boy. The music you're listening to as a teenager,' obviously, the way you dress." The X-Men: Days of Future Past star added, "Every single aspect of who you are constantly being looked at and put in a box in a very binary system. That's what it leads to." For the unversed, Elliot Page's old name before coming out as a transgender man was Ellen Page. 

Check a video clip from Elliot Page's Oprah interview below:

Promo Image Source: Elliot Page Instagram