Elliot Page is one of the highly acclaimed actors in films such as Juno and Inception, as well as playing Viktor Hargreeves in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. In a recent interview, he opened up about a very personal and crucial transformation he went through regarding his recent lead role in Close to You, a new film by Dominic Savage. This character managed to heal deep emotional parts of himself, especially because it allowed him to show his complexity on screen.
Close to You is just one of the projects Page has chosen that have greater personal meaning for him since coming out as a trans man in 2020. The story follows Sam, a man who has recently undergone gender reassignment surgery, who returns to his hometown for the first time in hopes of reconnecting with his family. The plot is based on Sam’s fear of being reunited with those he loves and those people’s reaction to the new Sam.
As Page himself noted, this role would have been impossible for him before his gender reassignment: “It’s impossible that I would have felt comfortable, present and grounded enough to actually exist and do that openly.”
Playing Sam allowed Page to release emotions that corresponded with experiences he’d lived through, which was cathartic in many ways. There was the joy he felt when he arrived on set each day. “For me, waking up every day and looking forward to going on set was a big, big healing experience,” Page said, showing how much he got out of the role. The film follows Sam’s return to small-town Canada, where he is confronted with old memories, love is rekindled and family ties are strengthened as he matures into himself and gains confidence.
Dominic Savage’s unique approach to storytelling in this film involved a lot of improvisation, which both fascinated and intimidated Page. He is known for his work on Channel 4’s I Am. In that series, Savage lets the actors take on their roles. Page confessed he didn’t know if he would do it, but on set he felt so supported to just let these improvisational scenes happen. The more they shot these long takes, he said, sometimes up to 53 minutes, the more challenging and exhilarating they were. “It’s not normal for an actor working in film to do a 23-minute or 40-minute take. You can go on and on and on and it was just an absolute joy.”
Savage felt the “effortless” partnership was the best thing that could have happened to fate itself. He and Page hit it off immediately, as both loved personal stories. “It almost felt like it was meant to be,” Savage said, emphasizing the organic nature of their collaboration. Page himself knew his work and appreciated the director’s approach as well as the natural connection they both shared: “We just connected, connected by similar tastes, reasons why we like to do things, and that’s really how it all started.”
Close to You also features a gentle romance between Sam and Katherine, played by deaf actress Hillary Baack. The romance was written improvisationally; Baack said there were no rehearsals so authentic moments of connection could emerge. “It was really exciting to see what happened when we were able to just jump into the moment and go on a journey together and find these moments of truth and humanity,” she says. The complexity of their love story lies in the unspoken emotions and in the shared feelings of being outsiders. Through it all, Sam and Katherine’s relationship is pure and touches on the human core, breaking through the barriers that usually seem to separate them.
ALSO READ: What is Elliot Page’s net worth in 2024? Find out when The Umbrella Academy ends