Ian McKellen Praises X-Men Co-Star Elliot Page For Coming Out As Transgender

Ian McKellen is "so happy" for Elliot Page after he came out as non-binary and transgender.

The 81-year-old screen legend — who has been openly gay since 1988 — has offered his words of wisdom to the X-Men co-star and promised "everything gets better" from now.

Speaking to Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey for the February issue of Attitude magazine, he said: “Everything gets better [when you come out because you get self-confidence]. You get better in terms of relationships, friends of all sorts, family, if you’re lucky. And in my case, I think in every case, your acting is bound to change and improve."

The Lord of the Rings star did, however, admit he was "disappointed" in himself for not recognising that Elliot — who was previously known as Ellen — may have been struggling with his identity on the set of 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand when he asked for him to talk louder.

He recalled: "I remember Elliot Page, in one of the X-Men, sat as close as we are now. And I had to speak when they’d finished, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Nobody could hear what they were saying.

"So, I said, 'Look, if you can’t speak up, would you mind when you’re finished speaking, just dropping your hand so I know when you’ve finished speaking?'

"And then they came out [as gay] years later and suddenly you couldn’t stop them talking. You heard everything."

He added: "And now … they’re Elliot. And I’m so happy for Elliot. And so disappointed in myself that I didn’t detect what their difficulty was with communicating."

He wrote at the time: "Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life. I also ask for patience. My joy is real, but it is also fragile. The truth is, despite feeling profoundly happy right now and knowing how much privilege I carry, I am also scared. I’m scared of the invasiveness, the hate, the “jokes” and of violence. To be clear, I am not trying to dampen a moment that is joyous and one that I celebrate, but I want to address the full picture. The statistics are staggering.”

And Elliot also vowed to do all he can to "change the world for the better" for trans people who deal with "harassment, self-loathing, abuse" every day. — BANG

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos