Elliot Page: actor describes transition surgery as 'life-saving' in Oprah Winfrey interview

Actor Elliot Page said he collapsed after suffering a likely panic attack triggered by wearing feminine clothes during the promotion of blockbuster film Inception.

Page came out as a transgender man in December and is best-known for his Oscar-nominated role in 2007 coming-of-age drama Juno, and more recently for starring in Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy.

The 34-year-old also starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s 2011 thriller Inception.

‘After the premiere I collapsed’

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey for the chat show host’s Apple TV+ series, Page said he suffered a probable panic attack during the promotion of the film.

Page had been wearing dresses and heels for events, he said, and the stress came to a head following the Paris premiere.

His manager, who Page said remains “like family,” presented him with three dresses in his hotel room.

He told Winfrey: “And I just like, I lost it. I got so… it was like a cinematic moment. The kind of thing that would be in a movie.

“And 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.”

‘Life-saving surgery’

Elsewhere in the interview, Page said his top surgery – where breast tissue is removed – was life-saving.

Asked by Winfrey what prompted him to speak publicly about the surgery, he said: “I wanted to talk about it for a couple of reasons – I wanted to share with people just how much it has changed my life and I want people to know that not only has it been life life-changing for me, I do believe it’s life-saving and it’s the case for so many people.”

Page warned the wave of laws targeting the trans community in the US could cost lives.

States across the US are limiting young transgender people from accessing certain medical treatments or in some cases participating in sports.

Winfrey also asked Page what part of his transition had brought him the most joy.

An emotional Page said: “Getting out of the shower and the towel’s around your waist and you’re looking at yourself in the mirror and you’re just like, ‘there I am’. And I’m not having the moment where I’m panicked, I’m not having all these little moments that used to be.

“Just being in a T-shirt. It’s being able to touch my chest and feel comfortable in my body for the, probably the first time. Tears of joy.”

Page, who came out as gay in 2014, was married to choreographer Emma Portner before announcing their divorce in February.

The Elliot Page episode of The Oprah Conversation is streaming now on Apple TV+.