Elliot Page said Tuesday his character in the Netflix show “The Umbrella Academy” will come out as transgender during its third season, mirroring the actor’s own experience after coming out himself in 2020.
Page’s character, one of seven siblings with supernatural powers, will be known as Viktor Hargreeves moving forward. The show, based on a popular comic book series, will see Page’s character come out as part of his story arc rather than as part of its time travel or multi-dimensional elements, Gamespot reported.
The third season premiers June 22.
“Welcome to the family, Viktor — we’re so happy you’re here,” Netflix wrote on Twitter after the announcement.
LGBTQ representation is growing on television, but Page’s role will be just one of a few dozen across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. GLAAD found there were just 42 regular and recurring characters across the platforms it monitored, saying “cultural institutions like television [can] take on the crucial role of changing hearts and minds through diverse and inclusive storytelling.”
Page came out as transgender in late 2020, saying he felt “lucky … to have arrived at this place in my life” while vowing to do “everything I can to change this world for the better.”
“I love that I am trans,” Page wrote at the time. “And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive.”
Page has since used his celebrity to fight against the spate of anti-trans laws pushed by Republican legislatures around the nation. In January, he was part of an amicus brief filed against a law in Arkansas that would limit health care for trans youth.
“I couldn’t believe the amount of energy I had, ideas, how my imagination flourished, because the constant discomfort and pain around that aspect of my body was gone,” Page wrote of his experience seeking medical care during his transition.
The actor plans to release a memoir next year about his journey.