Tattoos can hold different meanings for different people. For some, they’re homages to loved ones, while others see their skin as a canvas for artistic expression.
For Elliot Page, they’re a way to connect to a movie character that had a big impact on him as a child.
The Academy Award nominee, whose memoir “Pageboy” will be released on June 6, spoke to People about his experiences since coming out as trans in 2020, and the meaning behind the “EP phone home” tattoo on his right arm.
“I probably watch ‘E.T.’ at least once a year. It, to me, is a perfect movie, and I always desperately wished I could be Elliott in that film, or even that I felt like Elliott. I resonated with him like I would resonate with other male characters, of course,” he shared.
The “Umbrella Academy” star has spoken about the tattoo before, telling Time in 2021 he “loved ‘E.T.’ when I was a kid and always wanted to look like the boys in the movies, right?”
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The tables have since turned, and Page has gone from seeing a character on screen who he could resonate with to being an inspiration for the next generation himself. “When I’m walking down the street, and young people come up to me, it means the world to me. Them being themselves, having the courage to say, ‘This is who I am, and I’m gonna live authentically,’” said the “Inception” actor.
Being true to himself has allowed Page, 36, the ability to feel “a way that I never thought I would get to feel, and that mostly manifests in how present I feel, the ease I feel and the ability to exist. There’s been periods in my life where I really felt like I didn’t.”
He continued, explaining that “so often it’s a lot more in the quiet moments. I think we talk about ‘trans joy’ and euphoria. So much of it is in the stillness. To have my shoulders back. I just was always kind of shut off, anxious. I used to never feel like my skin was my own.”
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