Elliot Page on How His Acting Career Impacted His Gender Dysphoria

Elliot Page’s coming-of-age experience was already complicated enough — then his career compounded his struggles. In a recent interview with ABC News, the actor discussed the layering impact his gender dysphoria had on him as he began encountering more terminology that accurately described his experience. “The experiences I had in regards to bullying only encourages the shame that literally makes you sick,” he explained. “The hiding, the self-disgust, the ‘I’m wrong, there’s something wrong with me,’ that narrative.”

Thinking back to when he was much younger, prior to coming out as transgender, the 36-year-old actor recalled the discomfort that came with his changing body. “My body started to change and clothes sat on me differently,” Page added. “And all of that just was, really was the beginning of really sort of disconnecting from myself and feeling a degree of discomfort that was very erosive and damaging.”

Page’s earliest credits as an actor date back to the late nineties, so there was an overlap between his career milestones and the bullying he encountered at school — where he says the only time he really heard anything about transgender topics was when other students in health class were mocking them. And when acting fully shifted to the forefront, it didn’t become any easier.

“It especially became complicated as an actor because people would just go, ‘You’re an actor, just put on the fucking clothes,’” he shared. “But needless to say, it was so much more than that.”

Page’s transition, which he announced in late 2020, was integrated pretty seamlessly into his role on The Umbrella Academy, at least. Instead of leaning into fantastical explanations, the series used a moment between siblings in its third season to allow his character to redefine himself with a simple, straightforward declaration.

When one character refers to his using the name he boasted at the conclusion of the second season, pre-transition, he gently corrects him. “It’s, uh, Viktor,” Page’s character began nervously before leaning into his confidence when asked, “Who’s Victor?”

“I am,” he declared. “It’s who I’ve always been. Uh, is that an issue for anyone?”

From Rolling Stone US.