Ellen Page has told Out Magazine that she felt compelled to come out, after securing a role as a lesbian character in Freeheld.

Page came out in an emotional speech to the Human Rights Campaign in February 2014 – within weeks of casting for the drama Freeheld being announced.

In the film, based on true events, Julianne Moore plays Laurel Hester, a New Jersey police detective diagnosed with terminal cancer whose fight to leave her pension to benefits to partner Stacie Andree (Page) sparked a change in the law.

I remember thinking, Ellen, how in God’s name could you make this film and not be out?

What’s interesting to me is how long it took to make the movie — for it to finally come together — and how my internal progression toward coming out was naturally in line with it.

Stacie and Laurel’s story is incredibly inspiring and did take a lot of courage, particularly in a time of such unimaginable difficulty.

It really did make me go, Dude, just tell people you’re gay. Just get over yourself, honestly, and support those who are not as privileged.

It’s like, You have fucking privilege, so do something with it.”

In the same interview her co-star, Moore says working with Page opened her eyes to how hard it is to be in the closet.

 

Ellen had so recently come out, and this is going to sound silly, and hopefully not hurtful, but I don’t think I was aware of how painful it is to be closeted. It was all very eye-opening for me. She was so unprotective [of herself] – I was very touched by that. It definitely made me more sensitive to the nuances of our movie.”

Page also recently revealed Freeheld, directed by Peter Sollett was one of the reason she decided to come out. The 28-year-old, who came out last year, said:

I thought, ‘How can I make this film if I’m a closeted person?’ Keeping that part of myself hidden was affecting my work, my ambition, my relationships.”

The star of Juno, X-Men and Hard Candy, who is currently working on a Vice film about the most homophobic countries in the world, added: “It was a constant burden. It was so toxic.”

The actress has since become an ardent campaigner for LGBT rights.

Read the full interview in Out Magazine.

Freeheld is released on October 2. Watch the full trailer below:

Take a look at the new Out cover with Julianne Moore and Ellen Page.

From Page

I remember thinking, Ellen, how in God’s name could you make this film and not be out? What’s interesting to me is how long it took to make the movie – for it to finally come together – and how my internal progression toward coming out was naturally in line with it. Stacie and Laurel’s story is incredibly inspiring. It made me go, Dude, just tell people you’re gay. Just get over yourself, honestly, and support those who are not as privileged. It’s like, You have fucking privilege, so do something with it.”

Moore plays a New Jersey detective, Page stars as her lovestruck mechanic spouse, and Steve Carrel as a “middle-class Jewish homosexual from New Jersey” in Freeheld.

Based on Oscar-winning documentary short of the same title, Freeheld tells the true story of Laurel Hester (Moore) and Stacie Andree (Page), domestic partners fighting to ensure that Stacie will receive Laurel’s pension benefits after Laurel is diagnosed with lung cancer.