In late 2020, Elliot Page, the Oscar-nominated Juno star and most powerful sibling on Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, came out as transgender and non-binary to an outpouring of love. Both The Umbrella Academy and Netflix Twitter accounts joined the party with the latter confirming that Elliot would definitely return to play Vanya Hargreeves in Season 3 of the wildly popular apocalyptic-superhero series. Season 3 is currently in production with actor Justin L. Min recently revealing a first look at the Sparrow Academy, which should annoy the hell out of the O.G. Hargreeves siblings, and all hell will break loose again. Page, too, posted a set photo while expressing excitement from the set, but how is his career doing otherwise
Fan-freaking-tastic. Page covers the new issue of TIME to reflect upon how things are going since publicly coming out as his authentic self. “With deep respect for those who came before me, gratitude for those who have supported me & great concern for the generation of trans youth we must all protect,” Page wrote on Twitter. “[P]lease join me and decry anti-trans legislation, hate & discrimination in all its forms.”
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) March 16, 2021
Within the expansive TIME cover article, this wonderful career nugget surfaces:
So what will it mean for Page’s career While Page has appeared in many projects, he also faced challenges landing female leads because he didn’t fit Hollywood’s narrow mold. Since Page’s Instagram post, his team is seeing more activity than they have in years. Many of the offers coming in—to direct, to produce, to act—are trans-related, but there are also some “dude roles.”
The full article is well worth reading, including a look at how Page’s expectations of “both applause and vitriol” came to fruition after his statement:
“What I was anticipating was a lot of support and love and a massive amount of hatred and transphobia,” says Page. “That’s essentially what happened.” What he did not anticipate was just how big this story would be. Page’s announcement, which made him one of the most famous out trans people in the world, started trending on Twitter in more than 20 countries. He gained more than 400,000 new followers on Instagram on that day alone. Thousands of articles were published. Likes and shares reached the millions. Right-wing podcasters readied their rhetoric about “women in men’s locker rooms.” Casting directors reached out to Page’s manager saying it would be an honor to cast Page in their next big movie.
There’s also a special mention of how Netflix updated Page’s film credits and landing page, but the coolest thing of all is this: once an episode of The Umbrella Academy concludes, the words “Elliot Page” immediately flash onto the screen as the credits and “rock violin music” start to roll. Yes, this looks seriously rad.
Read the full TIME interview here.