Editorial
The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman ‘rewrote the entire script’ following Elliot Page’s gender transition.
The Canadian TV writer opened up to ET about finishing the third season after the actor came out as transgender.
He told the news outlet: “I had already finished the season, the writers were gone, scripts were finished and I got a call from Elliot one day saying, ‘I’m transitioning’. I was very happy for him.”
Find out more about the third season of The Umbrella Academy in the clip below…
Discussing the effect on the Netflix series, Blackman continued: “To his credit, he didn’t demand that I write it into the story. He said, ‘Do what you want. I trust you. Write it in, don’t write it in, whatever you want to do’. Elliot is very kind like that.”
The showrunner went on to say that he got in touch with GLAAD’s Nick Adams and trans author Thomas Page McBee, as he wasn’t sure ‘how to tell that story’.
Together, they rewrote Page’s script, keeping in mind how it would affect both the actor and the character.
Recalling showing the Inception star the rewritten script, Blackman added: “I just sent the pages to Elliot and I said, ‘What do you think?’ and he said, ‘They’re beautiful’. They had a few thoughts and that was it.
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“He was so kind to me, he didn’t make any demands on it. He just said, ‘Craft the story you want to tell,’ and that was really wonderful. You can’t get better as the showrunner, as a writer, from someone like that.”
Page has also opened up about his character’s transition and his thoughts on the script.
Appearing on Good Morning America, he said: “Yeah, it was such an incredible experience with Steve Blackman, our amazing showrunner and incredible writer Thomas Page McBee.
“I’m really proud of what we came up with.”
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