Elliot Page on ‘The Umbrella Academy’ incorporating his transition

Elliot Page has spoken about how The Umbrella Academy incorporated the actor’s own personal transition into the show’s third season, which premieres today (June 22) on Netflix.

The 35-year-old actor, who came out publicly as a trans man by sharing a written note in December 2020, told US talk show host Seth Meyers on Late Night last night (June 21) how the series’ “wonderful” showrunner, Steve Blackman, helped develop Page’s character – known as Vanya in the first two seasons, and Viktor in the new episodes.

“When we first talked about it, he seemed really excited about incorporating it into the show,” the Inception star explained, adding that the team hired an “incredible” writer to help tell the story, Thomas Page McBee, who Page met while working on a mini-series called Tales Of The City.

“He wrote an extraordinary book called Amateur, which I highly recommend everybody to read. He was the first trans man to box in Madison Square Garden. And his book and his work in general are so much about masculinity and what it means and exploring that.

“Thomas came on board and helped out and I feel proud of it and excited for people to see it.”

You can watch Page’s full interview on Late Night below:

Last year (April 21), Page – whose pronouns are he/they – addressed his decision to come out as transgender, saying that he had to be “selfish” and prioritise his wellbeing in making it public.

The Juno star said that there was “no way” he could hide his gender any longer, especially with anti-trans discourse running rife.

They told Oprah Winfrey: “I was expressing [my identity] to people in my life much before posting that letter and telling people for the first time and knowing I wanted a moment to become comfortable in myself and to be able to get to that point.”