Noah Schnapp, best known for his role as Will Byers in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, has come out as gay via social media.
The 18-year-old actor took to social media to share the news with fans opening up about his sexuality in a TikTok reel.
In the reel, Schnapp writes, “When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years, and all they said was ‘we know’.” while lip-syncing to a voice saying, “You know, it never was that serious, it was never that serious, quite frankly we will never be that serious…”
@noahschnappI guess I’m more similar to will than I thought♬ original sound – princessazula0
Schnapp also added in the caption: “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.” referencing the strong suggestion (while not explicitly stated) that the character of Will is gay and secretly in love with his best friend, Mike.
Speaking with Variety in January last 2022, Schnapp also confirmed his theory that the character he plays is gay.
“It was always kind of there, but you never really knew. Is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing,” he said.”
“Now it’s 100% clear that he is gay, and he does love Mike. But before, it was a slow arc. I think it is done so beautifully because it’s so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay,” Schnapp added.
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer has since promised that Will’s journey will be a significant feature in the series’s upcoming fifth and final season.
“Will’s going to be a big part and focus, is really all I can say of season five, in his journey,” Matt Duffer told Collider.
“We’re starting to see his coming of age, really. Which has been challenging for a number of reasons, some of which are supernatural. But you’re starting to see him come into his own.”
