The Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page recently discussed his character's transition arc in Season 3.
Page opened up about Viktor Hargreeves' journey in the Netflix superhero series' third season, during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. "[Showrunner Steve Blackman] seemed really excited about incorporating [my transition] into the show... I feel proud of it and I'm excited for people to see it," he said. The actor added that The Umbrella Academy also recruited trans author and journalist Thomas Page McBee to "help out" with the way Viktor's arc was handled.
Page revealed that The Umbrella Academy had renamed his character in May 2022, when he tweeted a still from Season 3 along with the caption "Meet Viktor Hargreeves." The still showcased Viktor's new short haircut, which debuts in Episode 2, "World's Biggest Ball of Twine." This episode also sees the Umbrella Academy's most powerful member come out as trans, after he explains to siblings Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda) and Five (Aidan Gallagher) that his name is Viktor, not Vanya (as it was in the previous two seasons).
Page previously spoke out about the joy he felt after coming out in real life, including the "wonderful" experience of wearing a suit to the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. "In more specific ways, it's wearing a suit last night [at the Oscars]," he said. "All those things are really special, wonderful, joyful moments where you're looking at a photograph and it's really cool to see yourself for the first time -- or the person you already saw but here they are, like, they're finally emerging."
The Umbrella Academy's ensemble cast is even bigger this time around, which required Blackman and his writers to split their focus between multiple intense emotional arcs like Viktor's and establishing Season 3's overarching threat. The showrunner described writing the season as "a struggle," however, he also insisted he's happy with the balance it strikes between plot and character development. "It was hard at times because we found [that] some episodes, for me, we weren't doing enough of the [season's overarching threat]. So we had to remind the audience that this thing is growing, and evil is coming. At the same time, we didn't want to shortchange any of the storylines of the intrapersonal relationships. So it took a lot of drafts and redrafting," he recalled.
Seasons 1-3 of The Umbrella Academy are currently streaming on Netflix.
Source: Late Night with Seth Meyers, via USA Today