Who knew Julianne Moore and Ellen Page would be a celebrity match made in heaven? But the two costars reflect candidly on their new film Freeheld that empowered them and became so much more than just a movie.
More: Ellen Page and coming out in America
In the film, Moore and Page play lesbian partners, and Page revealed that when she booked the role, she still wasn’t out.
“I remember thinking, Ellen, how in God’s name could you make this film and not be out? What’s interesting to me is how long it took to make the movie — for it to finally come together — and how my internal progression toward coming out was naturally in line with it. Stacie and Laurel’s story is incredibly inspiring,” Page said of the main characters in the film. “It made me go, Dude, just tell people you’re gay. Just get over yourself, honestly, and support those who are not as privileged. It’s like, You have f***ing privilege, do something with it.”
And though Moore hasn’t struggled with her own sexuality, she said the film still affected her in a huge way because of Page’s journey and the journey of the country to finding acceptance.
More: Ellen Page has a new girlfriend: 6 Things to know about Samantha Thomas
“Ellen had so recently come out, and this is going to sound silly, and hopefully not hurtful, but I don’t think I was aware of how painful it is to be closeted,” Moore explained. “I have the advantage of being a person who’s never had to hide my sexuality, so I asked her a lot of questions — frank questions — about what that feels like. She said she felt discomfort simply wearing all these dresses, and it was all very eye-opening for me. She was so unprotective [of herself] — I was very touched by that. It definitely made me more sensitive to the nuances of our movie.”
Moore sees it as a film that doesn’t just effect change but also reflects what the country has gone through in the journey to accept all different kinds of love.
“When there’s a Supreme Court judgement [sic], generally, it’s because popular opinion has already changed,” she explained. “A majority of people in this country were in favor of marriage equality, and the Supreme Court made that ruling. And look! Suddenly, here is this movie that sort of reflects that back. So we’re ready as a culture to say, ‘Here. Look. Look how far we’ve come, and look what we’ve done.'”
More: Julianne Moore is raising her kids to be charitable
For Page, the experience will forever be a personal one. “For me, lot’s of stuff surfaced [playing Stacie]. Recreating a sort of closeted relationship in a film caused some stuff to surface, for sure. And then there’s [the matter] of speaking up or potentially owning an identity that I think does require a responsibility of trying to help move things forward.”
You can read Page and Moore’s full interview over on Out Magazine‘s website.
More Stories from Entertainment
Leave a Comment