“We’re not in control of our stories a lot of the time.”
During the show’s recently released third season, Elliot’s character Viktor also transitions, which he shares within the first few episodes.
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Elliot played a big part in decisions about Viktor’s storyline, working alongside showrunner Steve Blackman and writer Thomas Page McBee, who is also trans.
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“I think one of the most special things about this is how it’s handled,” Elliot shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
He continued, “It’s not void of emotional moments with the siblings, of course. I think they’re each individually special and in relation to their specific relationship.”
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Elliot went on to cite one of Viktor’s scenes with Luther that includes a bit of “awkwardness” on Luther’s end — something that Elliot experienced in real life.
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“Simultaneously I’m experiencing all that, because I’ve stepped into this moment where I’m a trans person and perceived that way, and having all these new experiences I didn’t have before. Then these scenes were resonating with that, which was really incredible,” Elliot said.
He added, “We don’t see that when we’re not in control of our stories a lot of the time. So it felt really special.”
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Meanwhile, Steve explained that while they purposely didn’t let Viktor’s transition become the main focus of the show, they have plans to explore the topic more in season four.
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“What I thought was nice is that it didn’t become the storyline of the show…We were able to craft something that felt very balanced and real, authentic. We want to continue to do that going forward,” Steve said.
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While season four hasn’t been announced just yet, the new season of The Umbrella Academy is now streaming on Netflix.
