Elliot Page On How His Transition Was Incorporated Into The Umbrella Academy Storyline
Image: Elliot Page in The Umbrella Academy.
Elliot Page came out as transgender in December 2020 and his real-life transition was mirrored on the latest season of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.
Note: Plot Spoilers Ahead.
In Season 3, viewers were introduced to his character Viktor Hargreeves in season 3. Page came out as trans weeks before production for season 3 was set to commence. The series show runner recruited trans writer Thomas Page McBee to aid in curating a storyline that felt authentic and sensitive to the trans journey of Page and his character, Viktor.
At the beginning of season 3, Page is seen portraying cisgender woman Vanya, the character who he’s known by in previous seasons. In episode two however, he is shown as Viktor and while grieving the loss of ex Sissy Cooper (Marin Ireland), tells his adoptive sister Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), “She saw me for who I really am. I’m not ready to give that up.”
One Scene Showed An ‘Awkardness’
Page praised the showrunner Steve Blackman and writer Thomas Page McBee for handling Viktor’s transition and the character’s storyline with care, stating that he believed the arc “ultimately, and in retrospect, has been really clear in so many ways.”
“Viktor’s discomfort and the walls that he puts up, I think without realising, he’s just so folded in on himself and meeting Sissy and getting to feel more embodied and self-assured, and it was really, really quite special to actually reflect on that.”
The actor added that he thought the conversations with McBee ensured that they were “really able to feel what that honest progression is.”
Page referenced Viktor’s siblings’ reactions as ones that echoed his own lived experience. One scene showed an ‘awkwardness’ which he had felt before.
“When Luther and Diego are coming down the stairs and Luther’s awkwardness… simultaneously I’m experiencing all that, because I’ve stepped into this moment where I’m a trans person and perceived that way and having all these new experiences I didn’t have before. We don’t see that when we’re not in control of our stories a lot of the time. So it felt really special,” Page said.
Viktor’s Journey Will Be Explored In Season 4
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Blackman stated that it was an active choice to not have Viktor’s transition become the focus of the show where the writers were still able to “craft something that felt very balanced and real, authentic. We want to continue to do that going forward.”
He added that they have plans to further explore Viktor’s trans journey in season 4 of the popular Netflix superhero show.
McBee explained that within The Umbrella Academy’s realm, Viktor’s transition is “a coming into focus, a sharpening of perspective that will only deepen the connection millions of viewers already have to Viktor and his family.”
