Interview: Ellen Page
A chat with the new Kitty Pryde.
April 14, 2006 - IGN FilmForce recently participated in roundtable interviews with teenage Canadian actress Ellen Page, who stars alongside Patrick Wilson in the Lionsgate thriller Hard Candy, which opens today.
Page told IGN and the other reporters about the challenges of making such a dark and daring film as Hard Candy, where she plays Hayley Stark, an adolescent avenger out to get pedophile Jeff Kohlver (Wilson). Page also spoke about her role as Kitty Pryde in the forthcoming X-Men: The Last Stand.
Q: How hard was it to go (into Hayley's mind) every day?
ELLEN PAGE: I think the reason I wanted to be an actor is because I like to go to those places, whether they're dark or whether I like to become completely and utterly engrossed in something and just lose myself. And this allowed me to do that so I'm grateful for that.
Q: Did you take it home with you?
PAGE: To a certain extent for sure but I think elements go home with you. On this film, because we shot it in 18 days, it was kind of grey because the immediacy I think made it the film that it is, kind of like a manic nature. But, yeah, I would go home and obviously there was a lot of dialogue, memorize lines, sleep, wake up, go to set but it's why I love to do it.
Q: Did you and Patrick hang out?
PAGE: No. I actually, it's really interesting. I really don't really know Patrick very well because we met, rehearsed, shot this movie and in New York the other day is the first time I've seen him since we finished shooting.
Q: Can a movie like this change a bad person?
PAGE: I don't know. I have no idea but it's clearly provoking people strongly and that's great because it's what film should do. It's what art should do so cool.
Q: What was the hardest scene to shoot?
PAGE: I don't know. Actually, sometimes it's the much simpler things that can be or what appear to be simpler, can be more difficult. Like I wanted to maintain vulnerability in the sense of her being 14 and not some kind of superhero or whatever. And then like shooting the stuff with Sandra [Oh] was oddly like, "Am I doing this right or is it just stupid?"
Q: What was your take on the character?
PAGE: I wouldn't say she's evil or sick at all. I think she's an extremely passionate, intelligent young woman. So I actually found it kind of inspiring in a way. And in a symbolic sense perhaps. But no, I wouldn't think she's crazy or evil. I think she sees something wrong with society. She's irritated that people are ignoring it and she's going to do something about it.
Q: Was it shot in sequence?
PAGE: Oh, not predominantly. We shot in sequence which was fantastic. We actually shot all the cafe stuff at the very end but other than that, all the stuff in the house was pretty much in sequence. It was great to go on the journey that way.
Q: How did the director [David Slade] help you build the character?
PAGE: I think before we shot we just developed a trust with each other. He's just so open and awesome, we just went for it. There wasn't a lot of time to talk.
Q: How hard to go back and do the beginning last?
PAGE: I don't know. It was kind of nice because we shot the stuff on the roof right before the cafe stuff and that was like I mean, that took a lot of physical and emotional and it was kind of nice to finish with something a little peachy. But yeah, it was a little awkward though because it's like kind of a very different character in a way.
Q: Did you look at Misery, these torturer characters?
PAGE: Not consciously, no.
Q: What's your reaction when you read a script like this?
PAGE: It totally blew me away. First of all, I found it just incredibly engrossing and obviously original. And then on top of that to read a role written for a teenage girl with so much passion and intelligence, that was extremely refreshing because most scripts I get are like girlfriend of the lead at this point or oh, she's doing cool things and then she gets a crush on a boy or something like that.
Q: Did you come up with a backstory for Hayley?
PAGE: Well, I think the whole point of the movie is that she is ambiguous so I'm not going to share my backstory with anybody.
Q: Could this movie make parents think more about online safety?
PAGE: That'd be great. We didn't make the movie as a preaching about the evil of the internet or anything, but yeah, if it makes people more excited then that's great. I mean, it can be a scary thing but it can also be a great thing, like pretty much anything in our world.
Q: What's it doing for your career now?
PAGE: It's been really fantastic. I'm really grateful, first of all to even have been able to play this role and then on top of that, it's opening many, many doors.
Q: How did this project find you?
PAGE: Yeah, well, I was in Toronto and I read the script and I had just shaved my head for a film so I sent a tape but I had a shaved head so I guess David liked it but the producers were like, 'For Christ's sake, David, she has a shaved head. And then later I flew down and auditioned and luckily they gave me the role.
Q: Was it the plan not to talk between scenes with Patrick?
PAGE: Well, there wasn't much time. It wasn't like a normal movie. Actually, no, what am I saying? I grew up working in Canada so everything was low budget. It's true, like 18 days I've done tons of times. So there isn't really a lot of time to be friendly, nor did I really want to be. So Patrick was awesome and he's a great guy, a great actor but yeah, I mean, the immediate nature of such a shoot doesn't really allow for playful chit chat.
Q: Have people reacted positively and negatively?
PAGE: Of course, which is great. It's all good. Yeah, people really angry and they all seem a little whatever. Or really inspired or sick or whatever. It's all good.
Q: What are the angry reactions like?
PAGE: The funny thing is, I don't actually cut off his balls. In the end, she doesn't do anything to him other than make him realize that what he did was extremely, extremely sick and any justification he feels for himself is ridiculous. ... One woman came up to me and was like, 'You're totally sadistic.' And I was like, 'A, fiction. B, I disagree with you' and then I did the whole stupid actor thing of like 'She's not sadistic.' There's no point in doing that with this woman. But yeah, you get really angry people, angry men and then not so angry.
Q: Are they saying you shouldn't punish pedophiles?
PAGE: Exactly, that's what's so interesting about it. And I think what's interesting about the film is people are justifying a guy who's done something so awful and like still try and justify it. I think it's because they get scared because they were feeling a tremendous amount of sympathy for him. And the whole point of this movie is that neither characters are really right or wrong. And you leave without any answers. And I find right now movies give too much answers. We really like to categorize things. It makes us feel safe as humans I think. Things are always pigeonholed. I think this movie scares people because they're not given answers. It's not cut and dry just like life isn't cut and dry for God's sakes.
Q: Has your family seen it?
PAGE: My dad has. My mom hasn't. She's seeing it tonight for the first time.
Q: What did your dad think?
PAGE: He said to me, as we were walking out in Sundance, 'I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach.' And I said, 'Good.' And my mom hasn't seen it so she'll see it tonight.
Q: And then you went from this to X-Men.
PAGE: Well, it's a huge transition. There actually isn't a comparison. There's no point in trying to compare the two. X-Men is massive, like nothing I've ever experienced. But great in its own way. I'm grateful for that. ... It's a unique thing to experience and I think you just it's different and you have to understand that it's different. You have to look at it with a different perspective and know that one, yeah, it's a little more action orientated and the other is not so much. So in X-Men, yeah, I wear a leather suit and run through explosions. Who gets to do that? It's fun and I'm grateful for it. I don't know. It's just about changing your perspective and it's cool to do something that's the complete opposite or something that you never thought you'd be doing. It's kind of the only reason to do it.
Q: Have you seen the other two X-Men movies?
PAGE: No, I hadn't. But I did after I talked to Brett.
Q: Is it hard to do less in a movie?
PAGE: I don't know, I think the important thing is to not judge and everything has its place and it was a really cool experience. I worked with some really amazing actors and now have a whole bunch of opportunities, you know. I'm really grateful for that.
Q: What's up for you next?
PAGE: Well, I just shot a film in Toronto called The Tracy Fragments directed by a wicked Canadian director named Bruce McDonald. It's very, very small. It's very, very, very dark comedy. So dark. That was great. That's exactly what my heart needed. I didn't think you could do something more intense than Hard Candy but boys, oh joys.
Q: Difference between U.S. vs. Canadian filmmaking?
PAGE: I think I meant like Canadian and X-Men. I don't know. Canadian's all small. There's no big budget Canadian movie. Whatever movies are big budget in Canada come from the states. Or also have states financing. Everything's pretty small.
Q: Any reshoots?
PAGE: I think they called once but I was so busy so they managed to it was pretty short and they used the stunt double. Maybe I shouldn't be saying stuff like that.
Q: How much does Kitty have to do?
PAGE: That's a good question. I actually haven't seen the movie so as far as I know, I have no idea what just happened in the edit. Kitty's involved more and has a bit of a subplot with a certain other mutant and we'll see. It's all fun. I get to fight in the end.
Q: Are you signed for more?
PAGE: Yeah, kind of but it doesn't mean that there's going to be those films. Really, I know as much as anyone else does on the planet.
Q: Was it a big audition? Lots of competition?
PAGE: No, I didn't actually. I actually hadn't worked in ages. After Hard Candy I took the year off and went back to Halifax where I'm from and graduated from a wicked high school and had a great year of just chillaxin' and being myself and then I literally graduated high school, was like being a ridiculous teenager and then ended up getting the call. And then Brett Ratner ended up calling me because he saw Hard Candy and he really digs it. So he was like basically are you interested and I'm going to bring you out.
Q: What was your reaction to the first time you saw Hard Candy?
PAGE: The first time I saw it was the premiere at Sundance which is a really bad idea. I shouldn't have done that because I was just like I didn't know what to say. It's hard to even articulate it. I can't really explain. I'm not good at watching stuff that I'm in at all. I should stop. I shouldn't watch something for the first time with a room full of people at Sundance. It's not a good idea.
Q: Are you doing any stage work?
PAGE: It'd be really cool if somebody gave me the opportunity but other than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in grade five, I don't really have any experience. So if someone wants to give me the opportunity, yeah, that would be really cool. If things line up, I'm shooting a film, maybe the end of the summer called Jack and Diane with a really great director named Bradley Rust Gray, who directed a movie in Iceland called Salt. So anyway, we'll see if that happens.
Q: Are you recognized now for X-Men?
PAGE: Yeah, it's really crazy to think that it's happening already but it is and it's really freaky. I was on like the streetcar in Toronto and someone came up to me. And then I was in a Borders in L.A. and it just yeah, it blows my mind but I don't know, I'm not going to change because of it. I don't like think I'm cool because I'm an actor. If anything, it makes me more self-deprecating. So we'll see.
Q: So we can bug you without having publicists in our face?
PAGE: I don't think it's going to make that I think maybe for the first after it comes out for a bit it'll be, you know, a little bit of a circus but then I think it'll be totally fine. I think people over-exaggerate that. If you carry yourself like, 'Oh, I'm an actor' then yeah, you should expect people to bug you. But if you're just a friggin' person.
Q: Why does Canadian television offer a better picture of teens?
PAGE: Our government might be a little more lenient than yours. I don't know. It's a good question. Like Degrassi and stuff? I know you guys wouldn't air some abortion episode which is crazy and I heard abortion is now illegal in South Dakota, which makes me really scared inside.
Q: Any role in your sights for the future?
PAGE: A dream role? No, I just, to be honest, want to keep doing different things and challenging myself and keep passion if I lose passion then there's no point so if anyone wants to give me the life story of Patty Smith, that'd be dope but no, I have nothing specific. There's roles that I want that I'm pursuing but who knows if people will put me in their movies.
