Elliot Page makes rare appearance after Odyssey backlash
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Elliot Page made a rare red carpet appearance with girlfriend Julia Shiplett at The Odyssey’s New York premiere on July 14, shortly after Christopher Nolan called casting backlash “irrelevant.” Page plays Sinon in Nolan’s Homer adaptation, reuniting after Inception, as the couple marked just over a year since going public in June 2025.
Key Takeaways
- Elliot Page and Julia Shiplett posed arm in arm at The Odyssey’s NYC premiere on July 14, 2026.
- Christopher Nolan told The Telegraph that pre-release casting debates are “always irrelevant.”
- Page portrays Greek soldier Sinon; false online rumors had cast him as Achilles.
- The couple went public in June 2025 and debuted on a red carpet at Milan Fashion Week that September.
- Shiplett, an Overcompensating star, also supported Page at the London premiere days earlier.
The outing mattered because it paired a scarce couple sighting with Nolan’s firm defense of his cast ahead of the film’s July 17 theatrical release. Page kept a classic look—an oversized navy suit, striped button-down, and black dress shoes—while Shiplett wore a chocolate-brown floor-length gown with a draped neckline, according to HOLA.
Why did Elliot Page and Julia Shiplett step out now?
Page and Shiplett have kept public appearances limited since confirming their romance. In June 2025, Page shared a selfie on a rainbow-painted street with a rainbow and heart emoji. Their official red-carpet debut came at a Gucci event during Milan Fashion Week later that year.
At the New York premiere, the pair smiled for photographers and posed with their arms around each other. Coverage of the night sits alongside other buzz desks such as Fintech & Crypto Alerts, where viral culture and market chatter often collide.
How did Christopher Nolan shut down The Odyssey backlash?
Some online critics attacked casting choices before Page’s role was confirmed, often leaning on trailer speculation and AI-fueled rumors. Nolan addressed the noise in comments published July 10, saying such talks “come with the territory.”
“These conversations that happen before people see the film—they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet,” he told The Telegraph. He compared the scrutiny to pushback during The Dark Knight trilogy, including early doubts about Heath Ledger as the Joker, and said filmmakers must honor the text by interpreting it as strongly as they can.
In Rolling Stone, Nolan called reuniting with Page—first after Inception—“really thrilling,” adding that Sinon helps “put a face on the tragedy of war” and that Page “did an incredible job.”
Who is Julia Shiplett, and what is Page’s Odyssey role?
Shiplett is a bisexual actor, writer, and comedian best known as Mimi in Benito Skinner’s Prime Video series Overcompensating, which recently finished filming season two. Her credits also include Love Life, Happiness for Beginners, Crashing, and voice work on American Dad!
She joined Page at the London world premiere on July 6 but did not walk that carpet with him; she later posted photos with a wry caption calling The Odyssey a “charming little indie.” In Nolan’s film, Page plays Sinon, a Greek soldier tied to Odysseus (Matt Damon)—not Achilles, despite viral misinformation.
For Page, the premiere doubled as a calm public answer to months of noise: show up, smile, and let the finished movie speak.