Elliot Page Talks 'Liberating' Shirtless Scene in Close to You

The Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page opens up about his "liberating" shirtless scene in the upcoming indie drama Close to You.


Elliot Page felt free when performing a shirtless scene in Close to You.


Per Entertainment Weekly, Page appeared at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival for the world premiere of his first theatrical movie in the years since making his transition. Speaking to the outlet alongside British director Dominic Savage and co-star Hillary Baack, Page opened up about a mundane but poignant scene in Close to You where his character wakes up shirtless in the morning. "Shooting on the day, I was getting out of bed and getting dressed, it was sort of clumsy, like, 'Oh, it would be great, he sleeps shirtless.' In the moment when you're making this, you're making it from this instinctual place that I don't know how to describe," Page said.


He continued, "It just sort of happens, but at the same time, it just felt natural. Showing this dude who's comfortable and present and waking up in his body, that means a lot to me. I never thought I'd feel that way, so it's nice to get to act it."


Close to You stars Page as a transgender man returning to his Canadian suburban home for an uncomfortable family reunion while reconnecting with his ex-flame (Baack). The movie was a career highlight for Page thanks in part to the production's improvisational style which gave the actor a "liberating" experience on set. "The way I get to feel working now is far more embodied coming from that foundation, versus entering and not feeling that way. It's a huge shift. Doing something like this, complete improv, before, would've been close to impossible," Page said. "The sensation of being able to do it and feel that present enough to do it, I just felt exhilarated every day. What a special film to do, first time [back on film], because it lets you feel embodied to the extreme."


Filming Close to You Was a New Experience for Elliot Page

Page went on to explain how her positive experience on Close to You was a sharp contrast to the studio-produced movies that he acted in previously. The actor recalled some of these issues that were detailed in his memoirs Paperboy, including the unsafe conditions and misogyny he experienced on the set of the Flatliners reboot in 2017 as well as suffering from shingles on the set of Christopher Nolan's Inception. Additionally, Page detailed verbal abuse against director Brett Ratner on the set of 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. Page found his work in those movies to be "stiff" and was unable to "go with the flow in the present moment."


Close to You does not have a wide release date.

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