Elliot Page Challenges the Idea That Playing Cisgender Roles Is an 'Accomplishment' for Trans Actors

Elliot Page is speaking out about transgender hiring and representation on screen. Whether that means signing on for a trans role or playing a cisgender character, he believes he should be able to do it all.

The Umbrella Academy star, who transitioned in 2020, laid out his thoughts on how trans actors' work can be perceived — versus how they should — in a piece for Esquire. In short, he just wants to act.

"I think when people say, 'Oh, he'll want to play cis male characters now,' the sensation I get is that the subtext is: They think that would be an accomplishment for me," wrote Page, 35. "Versus: I'm trans, I'm queer, and I want to play those roles."

Addressing the notion that playing a trans character would be "typecasting," Page says that playing true to type isn't simply limiting — it can lend authenticity to a performance.

"When I get asked, 'Are you worried about getting typecast?' You wouldn't say to J-Law or Rooney Mara or someone, are they worried about getting typecast as cis straight women?"

Still, Page sees room for growth in Hollywood. "But at the same time, of course I want a space where trans people are getting cast as cis characters. Of course."

Page is best known for his roles in films Juno, Inception and X-Men: Days of Future Past. On the next season of The Umbrella Academy, he will be re-introduced as Viktor Hargreeves, one of a handful of people born with the potential to save the world.

In the Esquire essay, Page discussed about the importance of the role in his life. "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," he added. "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."

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Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy premieres June 22 on Netflix.