Elliot Page spoke to Seth Meyers on Late Night last night how The Umbrella Academy incorporated the actor’s own personal transition into Season 3 of the show, which premieres today on Netflix.
“With Steve Blackman, the showrunner of Umbrella,” Page said, “When we first talked about it he seemed really excited about incorporating it into the show.”
The duo brought in some help to make sure the show transitioned Page’s character, who was known as Vanya in the first two seasons, to Viktor, as he becomes known in Season 3, in a respectful and smooth way.
Page told Meyers that they brought on “an incredible writer, journalist, author Thomas Page McBee, who I met doing a miniseries 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 interview on Late Night below.
Asked this morning about how viewers have responded to his turn as Viktor, Page told GMA, “So far it’s seemed really positive, which makes me feel happy in terms of the representation and hopefully it meaning something to people.”
On the flip side, Meyers last night asked the actor about enduring negative reactions to his transition.
“What I want to focus on right now, and [it] has been so extraordinary,” Page told the Late Night host, “is the degree of joy that I feel. The degree of presence that I feel. I feel a way that I really never thought possible for a long, long time.”
In March, Page revealed her character’s transition on social media.
“Meet Viktor Hargreeves,” Page wrote, along with a first-look photo.
Netflix followed up with a retweet of Page’s post, writing “Welcome to the family, Viktor — we’re so happy you’re here.”
