Oprah Winfrey says she was more nervous than anything for her recent interview with Elliot Page for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, which drew a staggering 17 million viewers on CBS. The renowned talk show host has recently gotten into the streaming game with The Oprah Conversation on Apple TV+.
Oprah's latest interviewee, Elliot Page, announced he was transgender in an open letter late last year. One of Page's earliest film roles came in 2005 with Hard Candy and X-Men: The Last Stand a year later. This led to his Oscar-nominated role in Juno, in which Page portrays an offbeat teenager faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Page also starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Christopher Nolan's Inception and is now a star of the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. Page has been relatively open about his experiences since coming out, including during his recent interview with Oprah.
Oprah itted that her recent sit-down with Elliot Page was one of the most nerve-wracking of her career, according to E! News. Oprah says her nervousness stemmed from wanting to be fully informed about transgender rights issues rather than being nervous about actually talking to Page.
"I was more nervous about this interview than anything. I wanted to get it right."
To prepare for the interview, Oprah says she watched the documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen by Orange Is the New Black star, Laverne Cox. The film examines Hollywood's portrayal of transgender characters onscreen and the impact on actual trans people and American culture at large.
Cox's documentary highlights an important point. Many people learn about transgender issues from watching movies and television shows, and sometimes, these representations can be misleading. It seems like Oprah tried very hard to avoid contributing to any transgender stigmas during her interview with Elliot Page, which will likely help others to do the same. The entire episode of The Oprah Conversation with Elliot Page is available to watch on Apple TV+.
Source: E! News