Elliot Page credits 1999 film ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ with helping him overcome ‘loneliness and shame’

‘I don’t know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation’

Elliot Page has credited movies, including the 1999 film But I’m a Cheerleader, with helping him work through painful feelings in the past.

The actor recently received Outfest’s Achievement Award. Outfest is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to creating visibility for LGBT+ stories and storytellers.

Page dedicated his acceptance speech to the power of movies and the importance of representation in art, saying according to Good Morning America: “I, for one, know that without the various representation that I was able to stumble upon as a kid and a teenager – there was very little – I just don’t know if I would have made it.

“I don’t know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation and loneliness and shame and self-hatred that was so extreme and powerful and all-encompassing that you could hardly see out of it.”

The actor added: “And then, you know, at 15, when you are flipping through the channels and you stumble on But I’m a Cheerleader and the dialogue in that film and scenes in that film just transform your life.”

But I’m a Cheerleader, a satirical romantic comedy, tells the story of a teenager who is sent to conversion therapy camp. It stars Natasha Lyonne as the lead character and has become a cult favourite.

Page came out as transgender in December last year. The actor currently stars in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, which has been renewed for a third season.