January 27, 2016
Ellen Page Challenges Hollywood's Double Standard on Homosexuality
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
In a recent interview with Elle U.K., actress Ellen Page argues that there is a double standard in Hollywood when it comes to homosexuality and the roles LGBT people take on, The Guardian reports.
Page, 28, said she is often asked if she fears she will be pigeonholed to gay roles after coming out in February 2014.
"Zachary Quinto is out and he stars in one of the biggest blockbuster franchises ['Star Trek']," she told Elle magazine. "I have four projects coming up -- all gay roles. People ask if I'm concerned about getting pigeonholed. No one asks: 'Ellen, you've done seven straight roles in a row, shouldn't you shake it up and do something queer?"
The "Juno" star went on to say: "There's still that double standard. I look at all the things I've done in movies: I've drugged a guy, tortured someone, become a roller-derby star overnight. But now I'm gay, I can't play a straight person?"
Page told the magazine that her six-year struggle to bring her gay rights film "Freeheld," starring Julianne Moore, to the big screen helped her come out two years ago.
"It was part of it," she said. "What blows my mind is how my own personal journey paralleled the development of that movie. It felt wildly inappropriate to be playing this character as a closeted person. Coming out was a long process, though."
Page's comments come days after out "Lord of the Rings" star Ian McKellen made headlines for commenting on the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. McKellen noted the lack of LGBT recognition within the Academy Awards, saying the exclusion of gay actors is just as problematic as the exclusion of black actors.
"No openly gay man has ever won the Oscar; I wonder if that is prejudice or chance," said the 76-year-old two-time nominee. "My speech has been in two jackets... 'I'm proud to be the first openly gay man to win the Oscar.' I've had to put it back in my pocket twice."