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KAOS Star Misia Butler Says Elliot Page Is His “Biggest Queer Role Model”

Butler plays the romantic lead in a new Netflix show that retells Greek mythology stories with a modern twist.

By Quispe López August 30, 2024

Misia Butler never thought that, as a tranmasc person, he would be cast as a romantic lead. And yet that’s exactly what happened. In an as-told-to essay for Yahoo U.K. for Queer Voices, Butler opened up about playing Caeneus in Netflix’s new show KAOS, which retells stories from Greek mythology with a modern twist. Among other topics, the young actor touched on the inherent queerness of Greek mythology and his biggest role model: Elliot Page.

Butler wrote in the essay that Page, the original transmasculine heartthrob, has been an important inspiration for breaking down boundaries for trans people in film. From his early roles in Juno and Whip It to his latest work on Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, Butler says Page has in many ways paved the way for trans actors like him to continue shattering onscreen stereotypes.

“Elliot Page is probably my biggest queer role model, him coming out was such a moving thing for me because I’ve always felt this draw to him ever since I was a kid,” Butler recalled. “When The Umbrella Academy came out I was bingeing that, so when he came out as trans that felt like an almost earth shattering moment.”

But when Butler was growing up, before there was fuller representation for transmasculine people in television and film, he said he felt resigned to never being cast as a romantic lead. Because he hadn’t seen any transmasculine people play characters who were romantically sought after, he didn’t think it would be possible for him.

“For a long time I never asked anyone out, I never talked to people I was attracted to, because I thought, ‘Well, they’re never gonna view me that way because why would they? I don’t exist in that sphere,’” the actor wrote. “So I really hope that seeing Caeneus in that light helps other people.”

Through his romance with Riddy (played by Aurora Perrineau), Caeneus will become the primary romantic interest in the show. The actor described how his character Caeneus will explore his transness with subtlety, as his identity is organically embedded in the plot. Butler noted that Greek myths are already so queer, making KAOS the perfect setting for this kind of nuanced storytelling.

“The Greek myths are such a queer group of stories, so KAOS’s approach to inclusivity is amazing and the fact that it’s so understated is a real power,” he wrote. “I think it just naturally brings in the diversity of us as humans and, especially as a Greek myths nerd myself, I love how it brings out the diversity of the original myths in such a natural way.”

Butler’s work on KAOS will only expand the ever-growing canon of transmasculine representation on screen (Queer Percy Jackson and the Olympians fans, rejoice!), this time with some romance and flair that only a Greek mythological backdrop can bring. For those of you who are scrambling to add the series to your watch list, it’s currently available to stream on Netflix.

https://www.them.us/story/misia-butler-elliot-page-netflix-kaos-role-model