Gerard Way reveals how his own body issues inspired Luther in The Umbrella Academy

27 February 2019, 16:08

By Sam Prance

The Umbrella Academy creator based Luther (Number 1) on his own experiences...

If you've not seen The Umbrella Academy yet, what are you doing? Ever since the new superhero series first aired this month (Feb 15), we've been obsessed with it. The Netflix drama has everything. A brilliant cast? Check. A dynamic plot? Check. An iconic script? Check. It may have come out in 2007 as a comic book series but it's still incredibly exciting to see it brought to life on screen for old fans and new ones.

Plus the characters are so well-developed. Number 5 (Aidan Gallagher) is a complex king, Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) has such an interesting backstory and Vanya (Ellen Page) is compelling from start to finish. And now, Gerard Way, the creator of The Umbrella Academy and My Chemical Romance star, has opened up about the inspiration behind Luther (Tom Hopper) and it's actually really moving.

Taking to Instagram, Gerard wrote: "I feel like there is a real sadness to Luther that the show captures wonderfully. To me he represents isolation and innocence. There are bits of other people and me in him, sometimes finding myself in a leadership role, sometimes unsuited for the role, and always making tough and sometimes unpopular decisions. Trying to do what’s best not for a single individual but for the whole. I failed at this many times, and it’s not an easy gig."

He then added: "One of the things the show tackled more than the comic was body horror, and I think they did a great job with that. Also a feeling that I have had and I know some of us have had where we aren’t comfortable in your own skin, or you are unhappy with your body or how it will be judged, or finding yourself covering up (I spent years doing this)."

Gerard ended post writing: "But I’ve learned to let go of that over the years, and got more comfortable in my body. I think, with people in Luther’s role, the wish is that you can make everyone happy, but unfortunately the way you feel you can achieve that is if everyone does what you say, and that doesn’t always work out."

Check out Gerard's full post below.

View this post on Instagram

I’d like to try and do series of posts where I discuss each of the main characters of The Umbrella Academy, since so many of you are watching it now. It seems fitting to go through them in numerical order so I’ll start with Number 1 AKA Luther Hargreeves AKA Spaceboy (these characters have so many names, and it’s great fun to try and watch everyone, including the press, keep them straight). I feel like there is a real sadness to Luther that the show captures wonderfully. To me he represents isolation and innocence. There are bits of other people and me in him, sometimes finding myself in a leadership role, sometimes unsuited for the role, and always making tough and sometimes unpopular decisions. Trying to do what’s best not for a single individual but for the whole. I failed at this many times, and it’s not an easy gig. One of the things the show tackled more than the comic was body horror, and I think they did a great job with that. Also a feeling that I have had and I know some of us have had where we aren’t comfortable in your own skin, or you are unhappy with your body or how it will be judged, or finding yourself covering up (I spent years doing this). But I’ve learned to let go of that over the years, and got more comfortable in my body. I think, with people in Luther’s role, the wish is that you can make everyone happy, but unfortunately the way you feel you can achieve that is if everyone does what you say, and that doesn’t always work out. I think a good leader knows when to listen, and how to inspire, not manipulate. @tom.hopperhops did an amazing job with Luther, and like the others, added a lot to the character. I think my favorite scene with Luther is the surreal out of body dance he shares with Allison (the amazing @emmyraver) Choreographed by the incredible @emmaportner! #numberone #lutherhargreeves #spaceboy #umbrellaacademy #darkhorsecomics #ucp #netflix

A post shared by Gerard Way (@gerardway) on Feb 26, 2019 at 12:19pm PST

So many of us suffer or have suffered from body confidence issues and it's great to see Gerard be so open about his. Not to mention, The Umbrella Academy does such a brilliant job with Luther. It may be in extreme circumstances (he has the upper body of an ape) but throughout the show he gradually accepts and becomes more confident in his body and it's beautiful to see.