Canadian actress Ellen Page (Juno, X Men, Inception) has reportedly taken a leading role as a lesbian in a forthcoming gay rights film, entitled Freeheld.
According to Deadline, the film will be based on an Oscar-winning documentary short about pension inequalities affecting gay couples. Page will play Stacie Andree, a lesbian who was denied the pension benefits of her partner, Laurel Hester, after Hester – a New Jersey police detective – became terminally ill.
The story follows Andree’s fight for representation alongside Hester’s police partner, Dane Wells – a staunch conservative who was previously unaware that Hester was gay. In August of last year Page came under pressure to come out as gay, after a number of websites claimed she was in a relationship with actress Clea Duvall. Freeheld recently secured funding through Incognito Pictures, and is reportedly due to start shooting soon.
By Chris McMurray