The “Umbrella Academy” star opened up about feeling a “degree of joy” he never thought possible on Tuesday’s episode of “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” sharing that he’s learned to tune out people’s negative reactions.
“It’s improved my life drastically,” Page said about transitioning. “I hope, you know, I hope maybe people who do have an issue with me can maybe try and hear that, or embrace that on some level.”
“What I want to focus on right now and has been so extraordinary is the degree of joy that I feel, the degree of presence that I feel,” he added. “I feel a way that I really never thought possible for a long, long time.”
While Page’s loved ones have been supportive, the actor has previously spoken about the “hatred and cruelty” he’s received since publicly disclosing that he is a transgender man in late 2020, including being verbally accosted by a stranger on the street.
“I feel like it’s one of those things where it’s so unfortunate because it’s like, we’re all on the same team here, you know?” he told Meyers, adding that everybody faces “limits and constraints because of people’s obsession with the binary” regardless of their gender identity.
The actor added, “To me, 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.”
Ultimately, Page said transitioning “made me better” both as a person and as an actor.
Mirroring Page’s own real-life experience, his character on Netflix’s superhero series “Umbrella Academy,” who previously presented as female, comes out as transgender in the new season, which premiered on Wednesday.
The character’s transition has drawn praise from fans and critics alike with Page explaining that showrunner Steve Blackman was “really excited about incorporating it into the show” and remarking that he feels “proud of it and excited for people to see it.”
“It’s a beautiful thing to experience now,” Page said. “Because a lot of the time my life was just trying to move forward, so getting to embrace the experience as much as I get to now, I think it’s made me better in so many facets. As a person, as a friend, relationships.”
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