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In the flurry of reactions to Christopher Nolan’s take on The Odyssey earlier this year, there was one thing detractors and fans could agree on: Elliot Page put in one of the stand-out performances of the film.
But the Canadian actor said that he hasn’t received any casting calls since the smash hit. Page made the comments in an appearance on the podcast On Film… With Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday.
When host Kevin McCarthy asked what Page was doing next, saying, “I imagine you’re getting a zillion calls after this movie,” Page replied, “No, Kevin, I’m not.”
The Halifax-born actor was highlighted in reviews of The Odyssey for his turn as the Greek soldier Sinon, who becomes an early casualty in Odysseus’s plans and returns to deliver a haunting monologue from beyond the grave.
“I know I get some pushback for being … Canadian. I don’t know what it’s about,” Page quipped to McCarthy, subtly referencing the transphobic clamour far-right commentators made earlier this year when rumours surfaced on social media that Page had been cast as the famous Greek warrior Achilles.
Right-wing commentators and agitators such as Ben Shapiro, Megyn Kelly and Elon Musk whipped up a frenzy on social media over the idea of a trans man in the role — a controversy called out by 2SLGBTQ+ advocates as ridiculous at the time, and made more ridiculous when it was revealed Page was playing a different role.
Page has been acting since the age of 10, and is known for his Oscar-nominated role in Juno, and roles in Inception and Hard Candy. In 2020, he came out as trans in a social media post.
He has spoken out multiple times against the recent wave of anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric and anti-trans legislation in the U.S. and Canada. In 2024, he was one of 400 Canadian artists to sign an open letter denouncing “alarming and destructive” anti-trans policies.
“It really blows my mind, you know, just some of the stuff you see, or the misinformation or the stories that are constantly peddled. It’s absurd,” he told CBC chief correspondent and host of The National Adrienne Arsenault in 2023 in his first Canadian interview since his transition. Trans people, he said, “just want to live, just want to be able to be who they are authentically.”
‘I could do some of my best work now’
Page said in the podcast episode that he’s not looking to take a break, and that he’d love to tackle more roles.
He added that alleviating the ever-present discomfort he felt before transitioning has left him more confident in his acting.
“I feel like I could maybe I could do some of my best work now,” he said.
“I’m not having to literally work through a performance, that I don’t even quite know I’m doing, to get to a performance.”
During his previous collaboration with Nolan on the 2010 sci-fi action Inception, where he played a female character, he felt more uncomfortable on a personal level, even though he had “a great time being in that movie,” he said.
“When I wrapped on the Odyssey, I had a moment,” he added, miming tears, “like there was a full circle moment.”
Page isn’t the only star on the Nolan epic that hasn’t had a flood of casting calls after the hit. Samantha Morton, the actor who played the magnetic Circe in The Odyssey, said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in August that she hasn’t worked for a year since the film.
“But at the end of the day, I’m 49,” she told host Josh Horowitz. “I do believe I’m a good actor, [but] there are other good actors out there. Do you know what I mean? So, the politics of the industry has changed massively.”
