Elliot Page recalls panic attacks due to gender dysphoria

Pic courtesy: Instagram

Washington: Hollywood star Elliot Page opened up about dealing with gender dysphoria at the height of his fame as a child actor prior to his recent transition.

According to Fox News, Page gave his first televised interview since transitioning to Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV+.

During the sit-down released on Friday, the ‘Umbrella Academy’ star recalled the frequent panic attacks he struggled with behind closed doors at movie premieres and glamorous after-parties. Page specifically pointed to a moment where he "collapsed" at an after-party for ‘Inception’.

The Christopher Nolan-directed film starring Page, Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was released in 2010. Page reflected on the craze surrounding the movie’s release and said, "There was so much press, so many premieres all around the world. I was wearing dresses and heels to pretty much every single event."

Page said his manager "really believed she was helping me" by providing him several dress options to wear for the parties. However, Page now recalls it did the opposite.

"But we got back to the room and she was like ‘I have a surprise.’ I already had to wear a dress I already had picked out and I went in and there were three dresses laid out, like new dresses to maybe see, and I just like, I lost it," Page said.

Page told Winfrey and added, "It was like a cinematic moment, like the kind of thing that would be in a movie, you know? That night after the premiere and at the after-party I collapsed and that was something that's happened frequently in my life, usually corresponding with a panic attack."

Despite the hardships, Page has celebrated his transition in recent months in interviews in which he expresses he is now able to live authentically. Speaking to Winfrey, he credited the many trans women of color for paving the way for others and putting "their lives on the line throughout history." Page first came out as transgender in December 2020 on Twitter.