Ellen Page has an excellent cover interview in the new issue of Flare Magazine. First, let’s talk about the shoot – Ellen Page is pretty much the last actress I would expect to do a magazine cover in which she’s showing off a significant amount of skin. But instead of doing it in a cheesecake way, like a Cosmo shoot or something, these photos are so striking and beautiful. I actually love the cover shot. Her stomach is… damn, I wish I was that toned. Anyway, you can read the full Flare piece here, and here are some highlights:

She loves being part of the X-Men franchise: “I was interested in experiencing what that kind of filmmaking meant. The amazing thing about X-Men is that, despite the extremity of the circumstance and the superhero nature of it, the story is deeply human and deeply moving.”

Her character, Kitty Pryde (a.k.a. Shadowcat): “Kitty is rad and tough and strong, especially in this new one—she’s older and her abilities have evolved. She has more of an edge because of what she’s been dealing with. They’re essentially running for their lives in a decimated, post-apocalyptic future.”

Her coming out speech on V-Day: “The more time went by, the more something just happened, an Oh my god—I want to love someone freely and walk down the street and hold my girlfriend’s hand… I was very nervous. I was very nervous, yes. Yes. Very, very nervous. Yes. I was emotional, deeply, deeply emotional.”

Accepting who she is: “You think you’re in a place where you’re all I’m thrilled to be gay, I have no issues about being gay anymore, I don’t feel shame about being gay, but you actually do. You’re just not fully aware of it. I think I still felt scared about people knowing. I felt awkward around gay people; I felt guilty for not being myself.”

Coming out changed the way she dressed for the red carpet: “I felt happy and confident and the difference was huge.”

Girlfriends, past and present: Page is single—but would like her future girlfriend, if she’s reading, to know that she can’t wait to hang out with her. She won’t divulge details about past relationships and doesn’t plan to dish down the road, but, she says, she’ll “always be happy to talk about being gay.” It’s a far cry from just a few months ago, when stressors included not being able to refer to an ex without having to be careful about pronoun use. Speculation surrounding Page’s personal life isn’t likely to die down, though; alleged lady loves have included Clea DuVall and Drew Barrymore.

Being willing to talk about girlfriends: “You hear things like, ‘People shouldn’t know about your life because you’re creating an illusion on-screen.’ But I don’t see other actresses going to great lengths to hide their heterosexuality. That’s an unfair double standard.”

She expected the worst when coming out: “I expected so much more hate. It was just remarkably positive, which is beautiful, because it’s indicative of the change that’s happening.”

[From Flare]

You know what? I love the way she talks about all of it, coming out and how she expected it be worse and how she wants to be able to be in a relationship, out in the open. Ellen is such an inspirational young woman. Oh, and I can’t wait to see her in X-Men: Days of Future Past. I saw a Kitty Pryde-heavy clip a few weeks and I was sort of blown away by all of the stunts plus CGI plus whatever else. I feel like this X-Men movie is going to be incredible.

Photos courtesy of Flare.