Elliot Page says playing trans man in improvised drama was ‘big healing experience’

Elliot Page has suggested there was a catharsis in portraying a man who had recently transitioned in his new role.

The Umbrella Academy actor, 37, who came out as a trans man in 2020, says he doesn’t think he’d have been able to play Sam – the lead in Dominic Savage’s largely improvised drama Close to You – prior to his transition.

“There is no way that I would have been able to do this before my transition,” he said.

“That I would have been able to feel comfortable and present and grounded enough to actually exist and create that openly.”

Close to You is set to be released in the UK on 30 August.