Elliot Page explains why he feels ‘lucky’ to be a trans man

The Umbrella Academy actor Elliot Page has shared the reasons why he feels lucky to be a trans man, and how the experience has made his life richer.

Speaking to “Unholy” singer Sam Smith on their new podcast The Pink House, Page got candid talking about how he feels in himself now, almost four years on from coming out as a trans man publicly. 

“I love being trans because I love trans people. I feel so lucky to have had this experience in my life, what it’s offered me and what it’s given me, how much it’s taught me, and the community it’s allowed me to connect to,” he said.

Page, who most recently starred in as trans man Sam in indie film Close To You, jokingly suggested that being trans is “an awesome life hack” because things he used to find “intolerable” before coming out, are now “thrilling”.

The star has previously expressed how, after receiving gender-affirming healthcare, simple things such as being topless in the sun bring him huge amounts of joy.

“I get to have this whole brand new experience, where it could be something that would just be trivial to people, that to me is just so thrilling and exhilarating.”

The Canadian actor admitted that, with anti-trans rhetoric still rising around the world, there are “difficult days” ahead and he still experiences “trans rage”, “trans anxiety” and “trans fatigue”, but, on the whole, he’s at peace.

“I was really worried in the sense that I never thought I’d get to feel the way I feel now. I feel very lucky about being trans. It does make you do painful but important and crucial work on yourself, sitting in the discomfort, the pain, asking difficult questions. All these things that I know have made my life richer.”

After accessing gender-affirming surgery and diving back into the acting world – Page will star in the fourth and final season of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, which is due to drop in August – he is now excited to just live his life.

“Sometimes it is just about living life, getting time to hang out with my friends, having the queer trans karaoke night, having feelings for someone,” he said.

He pointed to one particular recent experience, when he headed to the Portuguese capital Lisbon to meet trans filmmaker Ary Zara, with whom he worked on the history-making short film An Avocado Pit.

“I remember I got emotional at one point, started to cry because I thought: ‘This is how people feel when they go travelling’. This is how people feel. They are present and it’s stunning and they’re connected to their surroundings.”