Matt Adcock meets Ellen Page

"She's cool"


"She's almost 21"


"and generally gorgeous..."

Matt Adcock meets Ellen Page

So there I am in this swish London hotel and suddenly I’m joined by the cutest, coolest, shortest and possibly ‘most likely to be mistaken for a pixie-est’ actress ever – Ellen Page. Almost 21, fresh from bagging an Oscar nomination and riding the wave of positive buzz around her new Oscar nominated film Juno (which is excellent by the way), Ellen radiates a beguiling mixture of shyness and confidence, for a minute I don’t quite know what to say.


MA: Ellen hey, I’m a fan. You’ve already played some incredible characters, what attracted you to the role of a pregnant teenager Juno?

EP: I was blown away when I read the screenplay and just wanted to be that girl. I love this character because she’s so interesting. She is honest; she stays true to herself and it’s so refreshing to find someone like that in a movie. I just feel really passionate about this film. I think it is appealing to play someone who is outside the typical teen stereotypes that you see on film.


MA: What can you say about Juno herself, what kind of girl is she?

EP: Juno says what she thinks and listens to her own kind of music, she is not influenced by fashion or trends. She likes what she likes and wears the clothes she wants to wear. She could not care less about the way people are judging her or what anyone thinks of her and I really respect that.


MA: The Music is a real feature in the film, did you have a say in picking it?

EP: I did. Early on I was in Jason Reitman’s office with him and he asked me what kind of music I thought Juno would listen to and I said instantly ‘The Moldy Peaches.’ I went onto his computer and played him some songs by them and he liked it and decided to them.


MA: You’ve played some dark roles, was it a conscious decision to choose a comedy at this point in your career and are there any film genres you wouldn’t consider?

EP: It just made sense for me to do this comedy after my film An American Crime. It was a very hard film to shoot, especially because it was based on a true story about a teenager that was very dark and disturbing and upsetting. I remember just thinking at the end of that film: ‘oh my God I have to do comedy next, I have to laugh’. So I was delighted to do Juno. And I’m pretty interested in whatever good roles come along whatever the genre – although I may not do any porn.


MA: If you don’t mind me saying – you look a lot younger than you are, - which is handy for playing a sixteen year old, but do people generally treat you as younger?

EP: I can’t even begin to tell you, it’s a daily thing. I really believe that ageism exists and I suffer from it. I am sometimes treated really badly because I do look young. People always think I’m younger than I am and I’m often asked for my driving license.


It’s true though – Ellen might have played a paedophile hunting vigilante in Hard Candy and an iconic X-men super heroine in Xmen: The Last Stand but it’s her smart, left field role as a young teenage mother-to-be Juno that has really ignited her career. And although she’s only just over 5 foot, I predict she’s going to be huge.





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