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LAUREN VERRUSIO: Hi, everyone.
Welcome to Talks at Google.
This is a virtual event.
We're so excited to be here with you all.
I'm Lauren Verrusio.
My pronouns are she/her.
And I lead the consumer communications team
here at YouTube.
I've also volunteered with the Human Rights Campaign,
which is the nation's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization,
for nearly 15 years, where I now sit on the board of directors.
But you are not here to hear from me.
You are here for our very esteemed guest.
I am so excited to introduce you to Elliot Page.
Elliot is an Academy Award-nominated actor,
known for his indelible onscreen presence
in both tentpole and arthouse films.
His love for storytelling and passion for social justice
has taken him behind the camera as a producer and documentary
filmmaker, whose work answers the call to action
of a generation.
A tireless champion of the underrepresented,
Elliot uses his global platform to shed light on important
social and LGBTQ+ issues.
Today, we're here to talk about Elliot, his work,
and how we all can contribute as members
and allies of the community.
Elliot, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Talks at Google.
Thank you so much for being here.
ELLIOT PAGE: Thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it, and for that lovely introduction,
thank you.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: Well, it is all of your accolades.
All I had to do was read them.
You did it all, so kudos to you.
And thank you again for joining us.
Did you always want to be an actor?
I know you started at an early age.
Was it something that you always set out to do?
ELLIOT PAGE: Well, it's one of those things
that I think I was clearly very excited by and intrigued by.
And then it just accidentally kind of came
about when I was 10, a very classic
like, hey, come audition for this CBC movie of the week.
You know, someone came to our school.
And so that's what actually started it,
where it became an actual tangible reality.
And then it was really about at the age of, I'd say,
15, 16 where I particularly started
to fall in love with acting in a new way, I think,
in a deeper way--
and film, and art, and music in general.
And that's when I really, really was hoping
for that to be my future.
I think for me, first and foremost, it's
always about connecting with something emotionally
on the page, empathizing with someone emotionally on a page.
And then being able to find that in yourself, which is even more
exciting when the differences seem major, because you usually
find out at the core of it, there's more similarities
than you think.
Which, to me, has always been one
of the most special, and enjoyable,
and one of the greatest gifts for me of acting,
because sometimes it does feel like this kind
of little empathy exercise all the time.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: You also recently made
your directorial debut with "There's
Something in the Water."
Congratulations.
What was it like being on the other side of the camera?
And did "Gaycation" help prepare you for this at all?
ELLIOT PAGE: I really loved the experience
of directing "There's Something in the Water," which
I co-directed with Ian Daniel, who I co-produced and co-hosted
the show "Gaycation" with, which we absolutely
learned so much from.
We worked with such an incredible team,
in terms of understanding, on a documentary level,
how to put stories together, themes, et cetera,
and what it means to connect with people.
And being behind the camera, especially
in the nonfiction realm, I really enjoy the--
I love the research element of it.
And I feel grateful and humbled to connect
with people around the world in so many communities, just
extraordinary people.
And to be able to work with some wonderful people to get
these stories out there--
yeah, it's some of the best experiences
I've had in my life.
And I hope to continue to be fortunate enough to do that,
to continue that work.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: Wow.
It has been amazing to watch all the films you're
a part of, whether it's in front of the camera
or behind the camera, like we've just been discussing.
Off-camera, though, you recently came out as trans,
as you referenced at the start of the conversation.
And coming out is such a deeply personal experience.
And we, as LGBTQ+ people, we don't just come out once.
We come out again, and again, and again,
and it's definitely a journey.
What has it been like to balance something so personal
in such a public way?
ELLIOT PAGE: What is it like?
I think it's something I'm probably
continuing to learn to balance.
And I think that that, of course, takes some time.
I think there's the extraordinary element of what
it means when you receive so much support, and validation,
and love from people., or when people share their stories
that it helps them in some way.
That's such an incredible, beautiful experience.
And there's also an isolating part of it.
And there's the social media part of it,
and people with large platforms who say awful things about you.
And this whole strange, bizarre world
that's beyond your control, and so learning
how to adjust to what that looks like.
But for the most part, I feel just
I'm so lucky and so fortunate for all the people
that have risked far more than me to create a world that
enables me to be here, to be who I am,
and to have this platform, and to have the ability
to create projects that hopefully can help in some way.
And so I think it's about navigating all those truths
and realities, you know?
How grateful, and exciting, and humbling it
all is, and also sometimes how it can be overwhelming.
And certain things aren't necessarily always easy.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: Yeah, and you said within that answer,
reacting to folks.
And I remember, when I came out as gay many years ago--
I'm very old at this point--
there were plenty of people who said,
but I just don't understand.
And my reaction to them was, well,
I don't understand what it's like to be
6 feet tall, because I'm not.
Or I don't understand what the fears are of a parent,
because I'm not a parent.
So when people say to you, but I just don't understand,
what is your reaction to them?
ELLIOT PAGE: Yeah.
Similar, I suppose, to what your response of, yeah, you
don't need to understand to hopefully respect
my identity of trans people.
And if you don't understand, hopefully, that
could be an inclination to want to lean in and maybe
educate yourself more.
Of course, because of the lack of representation,
we're not taught about transgender history,
LGBTQ+ history in school, et cetera.
So when people don't understand, because we do
live in a society that is so binary
and everything is so gendered, not only from the get-go.
Before the get-go, people are having parties
that gender in some cases.
So I think just like what you said, exactly.
You don't need to understand.
I, of course--
I'm not going to ever understand lots of things
about certain people, because I've not had that experience.
But that doesn't mean that I can't respect and also want
to educate myself about what it might mean
or what those experiences might mean.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: I think you hit the nail on the head.
It's education, and to go back to the word
you used earlier, empathy.
We're all trying to be better humans.
So if we could show up and educate ourselves
on certain topics, and to show empathy,
I think we'll get a lot farther.
ELLIOT PAGE: Yeah.
And I think, too, like in regards to cis and trans,
I think as a cis person, I would imagine,
of course, people are dealing with all
their own sort of obstacles and restraints
as to how they can be and how they can express themselves
because of the pressure on them.
So regardless of whether you're cis or trans,
I think it's also about identifying,
what are the pressures put on you,
in terms of how you perform your gender
or don't perform it correctly?
Which I think in some ways, I feel
grateful for this experience, because you work through a lot
and dig through a lot.
And I know so many cis people who
deal with their own issues because
of all these similar expectations, and judgments,
and pressures that are put on us and our gender.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: Each year, YouTube,
which is owned by Google, releases
its top trending videos on the platform.
And last year, the biggest video was of NikkieTutorials.
She's a popular beauty creator on YouTube,
and she came out as trans in the video.
And it was our number one video, as mentioned.
You used a social media platform, Instagram,
to come out to the world as trans.
So this is a two-part question.
In your opinion, what do social media platforms do
to positively advance the LGBTQ+ community?
ELLIOT PAGE: Well, I think it does a lot.
I think in terms of allowing someone
somewhere who could potentially be feeling incredibly
isolated in their household, in the community,
at their school, all of the above,
potentially, with nowhere to turn about how they're feeling,
and to be able to access a resource where hopefully they
can read other people's stories, and see other possibilities
and realities, and engage with other people,
and find connection that way.
I think in that way, it's so incredibly powerful.
And I think for me, I'm thinking back to being a teenager.
There's the inevitable negatives,
of course, that exist.
But I think if there had been access
to that-- and the representation that
comes through those mediums and those platforms
would definitely have been a game-changer, for sure.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: Yeah, I agree.
I completely agree.
What do social media platforms, though,
need to do to be better?
And you do not have to temper your answer, being
that this is a Google Talks.
But we know that there's always work that needs to be done.
And we're always working to be better and to improve things.
In your opinion, where do we need to go?
ELLIOT PAGE: Oh goodness.
I wouldn't say I'm the best, most well-versed
on social media myself.
I wouldn't necessarily say it's completely my forte.
But I guess for me, I think it's the ongoing conversation
about just the degree of hateful language and hateful rhetoric.
And that can often be normalized and defended,
and perpetuates a lot of suffering and violence,
and as we're seeing, a rise in hate crimes all over.
So that is obviously massively important,
in terms of what does it mean to clamp down on that.
And I guess for me, that's the thing I see the most.
And I see it directed at me and other people,
and in much more extreme ways towards other people,
of course.
But that's obviously the sort of horror of it
that I hope can change.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: And you referenced
before, when you were a teenager, if you saw visibility
that felt like you, it would have been a game-changer.
And I will never forget, when I was in high school,
I left school early before softball practice
to go watch Ellen come out.
I know, stereotype.
ELLIOT PAGE: I'm sorry.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: --to go watch-- it's fine.
ELLIOT PAGE: You said it.
You said it.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: I said it.
I own it.
It's fine.
ELLIOT PAGE: You said it.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: I own it.
And the stereotype continues, because I ran home
to go watch Ellen come out on her show.
There was a lot of buzz going into it.
I knew it was going to be a big deal.
I didn't know how it would affect me at the time,
but I knew I had to skip school and go home and watch.
And when I saw her come out, I felt like I saw myself
for the first time.
I was like, OK, this is what I feel.
This is who I am.
And it's OK, because there's someone out
there who is courageous and confident enough
to dive out into the deep end for me,
someone who I can point to when I say, OK, I can't find
the words to describe myself.
But I can point to her now.
I can point to this moment.
ELLIOT PAGE: Living in this space where,
because you don't have those examples, even though you know
something, even though I've known something about myself
since I was a toddler, even though I
know that I've known it--
let's just say it really simply.
Society gets in the way.
Everything that's put on us, projected on us, et cetera.
And when we see these moments, they mean a lot, you know?
And I think more than people--
if we go back to the sort of, oh, I
don't understand what that's like, they might not also
understand just how pivotal representation is,
and how you and I are telling these stories from when
we were really young, these little moments that
were major for us.
And then to think, if we just had an appropriate amount
of representation, for all underrepresented,
marginalized communities.
And you can see a bit of a reluctance
with people, or the sort of, why does everybody
have to be so sensitive?
Or this kind of reaction, which again,
goes back to the, I think, I don't understand,
mixed with an ignorance, of course.
But I just think--
I just hope it makes people understand that it
is so important and crucial.
And it shouldn't be about us sneaking and getting
these tiny little moments.
LAUREN VERRUSIO: You have done so much for the world.
You have not only changed hearts and minds,
but I have no doubt that you've saved lives.
We appreciate who you are and what you stand for.
We appreciate your time today.
Thank you so much for continuing to be you
and continuing to be an inspiration to us
and so many other people.
We really do appreciate you, Elliot.
And thanks again so much for being here.
It was wonderful talking to you today.
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