Sir Ian McKellen has long been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ visibility in entertainment, having come out during a time when it was much more precarious to do so. Now, the 81-year-old actor and activist is celebrating another big moment for queer visibility in Hollywood, after his X-Men: The Last Stand co-star Elliot Page came out as trans and nonbinary last month.
In an interview with the U.K. gay magazine Attitude, McKellen said he was “so happy” that Page shared their gender identity with the world and expressed his optimism for how it could positively impact Page’s acting and their sense of self. The Oscar nominee said “everything gets better” when you come out because you get self-confidence.
“So you get better in terms of relationships, friends of all sorts, family, if you’re lucky,” he said. “And in my case, I think in every case, your acting is bound to change and improve.”
McKellen came out as gay in 1988 in response to then-U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s push for Section 28, a homophobic law that forbode the “promotion of homosexuality” by local authorities. The British actor reflected on the time he spent with Page while filming the hit 2006 edition of the X-Men franchise, in which he played the role of villain Magneto alongside Page’s portrayal of Kitty Pryde, a superhero with the power of walking through walls.
During their time working together, McKellen said he noticed Page seemed to be struggling to communicate with the team during the process of shooting and believes that could’ve been affected, at least in part, by Page continuing to come to terms with their queerness. Eight years after they initially co-starred in the film, Page came out as gay.
“I remember Elliot Page, in one of the X-Men, sat as close as we are now. And I had to speak when they’d finished, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Nobody could hear what they were saying,” McKellen told Attitude. “So, I said, 'Look, if you can’t speak up, would you mind when you’re finished speaking, just dropping your hand so I know when you’ve finished speaking?’ And then they came out [as gay] years later and suddenly you couldn’t stop them talking. You heard everything.”
“And now… they’re Elliot,” he said. “And I’m so happy for Elliot. And so disappointed in myself that I didn’t detect what their difficulty was with communicating.”
Page, who was nominated for an Oscar for portraying the title character in the 2007 film Juno, came out as trans on December 1 in a heartfelt open letter shared on social media.
“I feel overwhelming gratitude for the incredible people who have supported me along this journey. I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self,” Page wrote, later adding, “And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive.”
Even with the joy they shared, Page also took the moment to acknowledge he feared transphobic jokes, violence, invasiveness, and hateful behavior. At the same time, they highlighted the alarming trend of violence against Black and Latinx trans women, with 2020 being the deadliest such year on record, and spoke out against political leaders who have actively undermined any advancements in trans rights.
After Page came out, more media outlets focused coverage on anti-trans hate violence, according to a report from the progressive watchdog group Media Matters for America.
Weeks later, while sharing their first selfie since making their major announcement, Page thanked their supporters and the trans community for openly embracing them. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your love and support has been the greatest gift,” they wrote in a caption accompanying the photo, in which they wore a black knit cap and matching hoodie. “Stay safe. Be there for each other.”
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