Page is proud to portray a transgender character with a journey similar to his own.

Earlier this week, actor Elliot Page appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers to discuss his role in the new season of Netflix’s superhero action-drama, The Umbrella Academy. Not long after the second season released back in December of 2020, Page came out as transgender, which cast a bit of a question on his role as the female Vanya Hargreeves. It was then revealed in March that Vanya would transition to male as well, going by Viktor, and Page was proud to portray the character.

“I reflect on certain very difficult times in my life, certain struggles and obstacles and all that. And I think, ultimately getting through that, I think it really deepens your empathy.” – @TheElliotPage pic.twitter.com/qPZcb4r9LV

— Late Night with Seth Meyers (@LateNightSeth) June 22, 2022

“What I want to focus on right now and has been so extraordinary is the degree of joy that I feel,” Page said. “I feel a way that I really never thought possible for a long, long time. … But of course, moments can be overwhelming.”

“It’s so unfortunate because it’s like, we’re all on the same team here. Whether you’re trans, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, cis — we all have these expectations and these limits and constraints because of people’s obsession with the binary … It’d be so special for us to all be able to connect and talk about how similar we are in all of our journeys.”

Page reflected on both the positivity he received for his transition from fans and friends, as well as the blowback. “I reflect on certain very difficult times in my life and certain struggles and obstacles and all that, and ultimately getting through that — I think it really deepens your empathy,” Page said.

The actor also said that he hopes the people who make nasty comments about his transition can “embrace” the fact that his life has been “drastically” improved by it. https://t.co/ZOqtPCU0Q4

— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) June 22, 2022

“I think of the times in my life where I was the most uncomfortable, where I was the most unwell, and those are the times when I was the most angry, and that I was the most unkind to myself or self-righteous or all of those things. [Transitioning has] improved my life drastically, and I hope maybe people who do have an issue with me could maybe try and hear that or embrace that on some level.”