Elliot Page of 'The Umbrella Academy' Talks About His Transition And The Importance Of Approaching Trans Discussions With Empathy On 'Seth Meyers'
The Umbrella Academy: back and better than ever
Elliot Page: came out as a trans man
Elliot Page: changed the future of the show
He explained last night in an interview with Seth Meyers:
"When we first talked about it, he seemed really excited about incorporating it into the show. And an incredible writer, journalist, author Thomas Page McBee...he was the first trans man to box in Madison Square Garden...came on board and helped out, and I feel proud of it. I'm excited for people to see it."
We've been speedrunning through season 3 of Umbrella Academy ourselves, and thus far (at the end of episode 4), the transition truly has been handled very beautifully and tastefully.
They don't try to explain it away with time travel, and they don't put too much stress on it - Viktor's journey feels genuine, and his siblings' reactions are each perfectly appropriate - not so staged it looks like an after school special, but carefully done enough that you know the creators wanted it to serve as a model for how to react to someone's transition. (Luther's reaction is our favorite.)
Of course, people sadly aren't as chill as the Hargreeves in real life - and while Page mostly wanted to stay on the subject of his own personal joy at his transition, he and Seth Meyers also discussed how he tends to approach those difficult discussions.
"You've probably had it forced on you to be an activist to some degree about this really important issue, and you've spoken about how you want to approach it with empathy, which I think is really beautiful - and probably more effective...does that come easy to you?"
"Um...not always," Page replied with a laugh. He continued:
"Yeah, I think in some ways, and...I reflect on certain difficult times in my life - certain struggles and obstacles - and I think, ultimately, getting through that, it really deepens your empathy. And I think of all the times in my life where I was the most uncomfortable, where I was the most unwell, and those are the times when I was the most angry, and I was the most unkind to myself and self-righteous...and so [coming out] has just improved my life drastically.
"I hope maybe people who do have an issue with me can maybe hear that, and try and embrace that on some level."
You can see Elliot Page and watch a rather joyful transition for yourself in Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy, out on Netflix now.
