The Oscar-nominated actor penned an essay for 'Esquire.'
Elliot Page is opening up about what it was like for him after he announced coming out as transgender. In an interview with Esquire, the Umbrella Academy star was asked what the reaction was like to his transition when he made the announcement back in December 2020.
The 35-year-old actor said he didn't expect the news "to be so big" but "in terms of the actual quality of the response, it was actually what" he expected.
"Love and support from so many people and hatred and cruelty and vitriol from so many others," he told the men's magazine. "I came out as gay in 2014, and it's different. Transphobia is just so, so extreme. The hatred and the cruelty is so much more incessant."
Page then proceeded to give an example of a time in L.A. when a man, out of nowhere, went on an expletive-laced and homophobic tirade.
"This really big dude, less than an arm's length away, was just screaming at me, 'You f****t! Don't look at me! You f****t, f****t!' I couldn't even just go, like, 'I'm not looking at you,'" Page explained. "It was the one time I'd left the hotel that whole day. I was just trying to cross the street, and I couldn’t because it was Sunset Boulevard and there’s traffic, so I decided in my brain -- because he was so tall -- that I couldn’t do anything physically. If I said something, he could retaliate. If I turned around, that could trigger something else. So I thought, 'I’m just going to have to bet on standing completely still and staring straight ahead.'"
Page continued, "And then eventually, after him yelling, 'F***t! F****t! F****t!' some more, he started to walk off and I started to cross the street. And then he just started screaming, behind me, 'I’m gonna kill you, you f**king f****t! I'm gonna gay-bash you!' So I ran -- I was alone -- I ran into a convenience store, and as I was opening the door he yelled, 'This is why I need a gun!' Yeah, I don’t think people really get it."
The actor also opened up about his Umbrella Academy character's on-screen transition. His character transitions in season 3 as Viktor Hargreeves. Previously, the character was known as Vanya and used she/her pronouns for the series' first two seasons. Now, the character will be referred to as Viktor and use he/him pronouns when the new season kicks off on June 22.
"I love making The Umbrella Academy," he said. "I’ve learned how special it is to play one character for so long, to evolve with a family of characters. All of us have gone through a lot. Years have gone by, and we’ve changed and grown in our own ways. I love watching the growth happen alongside the show, our personalities interweaving and all of us having our own moments. I’m just learning to love the whole journey of it."
Page also offered his thoughts on people thinking "he'll want to play cis male characters now." The actor said "the sensation I get is that the subtext is: They think that would be an accomplishment for me. Versus: I'm trans, I'm queer, and I want to play those roles."
He added, "When I get asked 'Are you worried about getting typecast?' You wouldn't say to [Jennifer Lawrence] or Rooney Mara or someone, are they worried about getting typecast as cis straight women? But at the same time, of course I want a space where trans people are getting cast as cis characters. Of course."
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