Noah Schnapp appeared on the cover of Time magazine with his Stranger Things co-stars and recalled how, when he was a teenager, journalists would pry into information about his sexuality at press conferences. Schnapp announced in January 2023 that he was gay at the age of 18. His sexuality has been under intense public scrutiny for years, especially as Stranger Things grappled with Will Byers, his character, coming out as gay on the show.
“When I was younger, I was obviously very scared to talk about it,” Ms. Shapp told the publication. “They asked me pryingly, ‘Is he gay? Are you gay too?'” I was 12, 13 years old. I didn’t know what to say. ”
Schnapp confirmed that Will Byers is gay in a July 2022 interview with Variety magazine. At the time, Stranger Things 4 was dominating the Netflix charts, and the series brought Will’s sexuality to the fore. A few months later, when the actor came out publicly in a social media post, he wrote: “I guess I’m more like Will than I thought.”
“Once Will fully accepted that he was gay, his acceptance of it as himself really picked up speed,” Schnapp later told Variety in a cover story. “I would have been in a completely different place if I hadn’t played Will and had Will accepting me and accepting me. I think if I hadn’t played that role, I probably would have still remained closeted.”
Schnapp recalled that Will’s initial comments about being gay were “extensively publicized in the press” and that the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. That was very surprising to him. He added, “Everyone was like, ‘Oh, Will’s gay! Hooray!'” I saw all these comments on Instagram and TikTok. There was nothing wrong with him being gay. I thought that if he supported me this much, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. ”
Stranger Things 5, which debuts on Netflix in November, will be the first season of the show to feature Schnapp as an openly gay actor. Ahead of filming the final episode, the actor admitted, “Honestly, I think my performance in Season 5 might be a little different. I’m going to be fully aware of who I am. I know everything about myself and I get to invest that into my character, so I’m excited to be honest.”
Stranger Things 5 begins with Volume 1. November 26th.
