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Despite his recent announcement, Page will remain in the role of Vanya Hargreeves.

Yesterday, actor Elliot Page announced that he identifies as a non-binary transgender person, and will only use his male name and pronouns from now on. The response to Page’s announcement was mostly positive, with fans and fellow celebrities voicing their support. Page’s IMDB page has already been updated, and Netflix is in the process of updating their actor metadata. On the subject of Netflix, however, Page’s announcement has raised some questions about one of his major ongoing roles.


Page portrays Vanya Hargreeves in the live-action Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. Vanya is a cisgender woman, placing the character at odds with Page’s identity. Some commentators on Twitter have claimed the role should be recast to cisgender woman to match the character. However, according to several insiders on the show that spoke to Variety, neither Page nor the show’s producer have any intention of recasting the character.

In response to comments that the role should be recast, LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD stated that transgender actors can play whatever roles they feel comfortable with. “Trans actors can and do play both trans and cisgender characters. I’m sure Elliot will continue to be brilliant in Umbrella Academy and many different types of roles in the future,” Nick Adams, director of transgender media at GLAAD, told Variety.

Page, for his part, seems to have been uplifted by his announcement, offering words of praise and comfort for those like him. “I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive. To all the trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse, and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better,” he said on his Instagram.