Ellen Page to play closeted US marine in new film
Juno actress Ellen Page will play a marine who is forced to hide her sexuality in a new film.
The actress, who came out last year, will appear in indie drama Lioness, which is based on the true story of Lance Corporal Leslie Martz.
The soldier was appointed as head of the Female Engagement Team in Afghanistan – forging bonds with wives of Taliban fighters in order to help them and gather intelligence.
She formed close friendships with the women while being forced to hide her sexuality from army bosses, as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was still in force.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, James Dahl, who worked on a biopic of novellist David Foster Wallace, will co-produce with Rosalind Ross. Ross also wrote the screenplay.
Page revealed she is gay in February last year, explaining in an emotional speech to GLAAD that she is ‘tired of lying by omission’ about her sexuality.
She later tweeted expletives to the Queen – after the Monarch she awarded an MBE to Northern Irish Councillor Maurice Mills, who blamed the spread of AIDS in Africa on gay people engaging in the “filthy practice of sodomy”.
Of her own time in the closet, Page said recently: “I feel extremely fortunate and humble when I have experiences with LGBT people who come up to me and say how I helped them come out.
“Those moments are really extraordinary. They are typically really emotional.
“The biggest feeling I get is gratitude. I totally stayed in the closet, and I felt guilty about it.
“I was finally able to get out, and that was my life journey. I’m interested in gay issues. It’s natural for that to be a part of my life.”
