The rise and rise of Ellen Page

09-02-2008 08:15

Ellen Page is without question the woman of the moment in Hollywood right now. With a Best Actress Oscar nomination recently stacked up alongside a list of achievements for her turn in 'Juno', including being named the Breakthrough Actress of the Year at the Hollywood Film Festival, she is, to coin a lovingly overused tinseltown term, 'hot' right now. Piping hot.But this 20-year-old from the steadfastly unglamorous city of Nova Scotia, Canada, looks certain to prove herself much more than just the flavour du jour. The first thing that strikes you when you hear Page commenting on her burgeoning career is that she knows exactly what she is doing. No fuss, no fanfare. No giving in to the distractions inherent to Hollywood. No wasting her talents on big budget fare just for the pay packet, and certainly no exposing herself to the danger of becoming tabloid fodder first, and talented actress second. She is, essentially, the anti-Lohan.She elucidated: "You know, I still live in Nova Scotia in a small apartment with used furniture and that's just genuinely who I am. I'll never receive that kind of Lindsay Lohan attention because people will be like, 'Here's Ellen Page with her tent going camping!' I don't really think they'll do a story about Ellen Page eating a mooseburger in Newfoundland." This is a young woman who knows she controls her own destiny. It may be easy to be caught by a strong tide which has swept many fragile acting talents onto the rocky shorelines of excess and overexposure, but the way this sensible young woman sees it, everyone makes their own choices.In an implicit dig at those who have floundered before her, she points out: "I feel like if you really want that media attention you can have it, and if you really genuinely don't want it, it's something that can be avoided. I think there is an element of personal choice."Clearly the words of a strong-willed young woman, but cynics might mark such proclamations down as a sign of naivety, a contrasting set of character traits Page clearly shares with the character that has helped shoot her reputation into the stratosphere.Juno, a teenage girl who finds her self saddled with an unwanted pregnancy, is not only marked out by her strength of will, but also her innocence.