This story originally appeared on Them.
Despite having a memorable role in a box-office juggernaut, Elliot Page hasn’t reaped the benefits of The Odyssey’s gargantuan success.
During an interview on the Wednesday, September 2 episode of On Film…with Kevin McCarthy, the Oscar-nominated actor said that he hasn’t been offered a role in the two months since its release.
“Do you know what you’re doing next? Have you already started looking?” host Kevin McCarthy asked Page. “I imagine you’re getting a zillion calls after this movie.”
“No, Kevin, I’m not,” Page responded. “If someone wants to call me …”
“Elliot Page in every movie ever going forward,” McCarthy said.
“I know I get some pushback for being Canadian, I don’t know what it’s about,” Page joked. (Later in the interview, Page joked a second time, “It’s a little tricky for me to get cast right now, I think that’s for pretty obvious reasons,” he said, in reference to him being transgender, adding, “The Canadian thing.”)
McCarthy asked Page to clarify whether he had any projects coming up or wanted to take a break, and the actor emphatically answered that he wants to act.
“No, I’d really love to do ideally good work,” Page said. “That’s what I’d love to do.”
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Page mentioned that while he loved working on Inception with Christopher Nolan, he was still ultimately uncomfortable in his own body pre-transition. But, he says, he feels better able to deliver now.
“I am like, I feel like I could maybe, I could do some of my best work now,” he said. “I’m not having to, like, literally work through a performance that I don’t even quite know I’m doing to get to a performance.”
He continued, “So, like, the experience of feeling, of walking onto a Chris set this time, versus in the ways of, like, it being cathartic. Like, when I wrapped on The Odyssey, I had a moment. There was a full-circle moment.
Page’s performance as Sinon, a Greek warrior who convinces the Trojans to let the infamous wooden horse into the city’s walls, was widely praised upon The Odyssey’s release, with many critics describing it as the emotional core of the film. Patrick Ryan of USA Today wrote that Page “bring a searing yet wounded quality to Sinon” and said the role was a “powerfully understated and haunting showcase” for him.
Earlier in the interview with McCarthy, Page talked about the beautiful and positive moments that have occurred since the film’s debut. “I do feel an energy from people who want to engage with me walking down the street,” he said. “There’s an excitement and an energy about it.” He added, “People are extra jazzed."
He continued, “The best thing you can hear as an actor is that people have been affected by the Hades scene. That seems to be consistently what people want to talk about.”
Page’s presence in The Odyssey became a favorite topic among conservative pundits — and Elon Musk — as they decried the presence of a trans person in … checks notes … a mythological film (based on a fictional poem) in which literal gods and goddesses appear. Alongside criticism of Page, many conservatives also lampooned what they deemed to be Nolan’s “woke” Odyssey, also taking racist umbrage with the casting of Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy.
Despite conservatives’ belief in the oft-disproven “go woke, go broke,” maxim, The Odyssey went on to become a massive hit, and is currently sailing toward about $600 million in domestic box office and has surpassed $1.5 billion worldwide.
Page is not the only actor from The Odyssey who has been upfront about casting since the mythological behemoth dropped. Samantha Morton, who has garnered significant Oscar buzz for her portrayal of the witch Circe, told the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast in August that she hadn’t worked since filming for the epic wrapped a year ago.
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