Stranger Things Star Comes Out As Gay
Noah Schnapp, star of Stranger Things as Will, has come out as gay, confirming he shares the same sexual orientation as his character.
Stranger Things turned the world upside down when it premiered on Netflix in 2016, and has continued to put up monstrous numbers in the world of streaming. When its record-breaking fourth season aired in Spring of 2022, the show dropped the strongest hints yet that Will Byers, played by actor Noah Schnapp, is gay. Noah Scnhapp later confirmed this to be the case, and now, as reported by TMZ, the 18 year old has taken to TikTok to inform followers that sexual orientation is something he and his Stranger Things character have in common.
“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,'” read the caption over Schnapp’s video, which showed him lip syncing to sound byte reiterating that it was “never that serious.” For years, Noah Scnhapp has been very close to his Stranger Things co-star, Millie Bobby Brown, which has caused speculation that the pair may be romantically involved. Schnapp’s coming out of the closet will surely put an end to those rumors, and it seems that the actor is quite relieved to have the secret off his chest.
Schnapp included a caption to the video that read, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.” The statement further confirms theories that Will Byers is gay, a plot point that is sure to take a front seat at some point in the show’s upcoming finale season, which Schnapp has described as ending “perfectly.”
Before Noah Schnapp starred in Stranger Things, he appeared in Steven Spielberg’s 2015 film Bridge of Spies, and then as the voice of Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie the same year. He rocketed into fame the following year with the premiere of Stranger Things, and though his character was of critical importance to the story, Schnapp was absent for most of the show’s first season. Will Byers has taken a more active role in seasons since, and Noah Schnapp has continued to evolve his performance as a young man haunted by internal and eternal demons.
Noah Schnapp has appeared in a handful of independent films over the course of his Stranger Things tenure, and now the actor has shipped off for college at the University of Pennsylvania. He’ll somehow have to find time between classes to wrap up Stranger Things, but it seems that is all the actor has on the horizon. A mystery thriller titled The Tutor, starring Schnapp, Victoria Justice, and Garrett Hedlund, is currently in post-production, though no release date has yet been announced.
When the Duffer Brothers cast the Stranger Things kids years ago, the budding actors were just that: kids. The Duffer Brothers will continue to try and bottle lightning for Netflix with their Stranger Things spin-off show, an adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Talisman, and more. Time will tell if future endeavors will lead the Duffer Bros to once again call upon Noah Schnapp and the rest of the Stranger Things gang, who have grown into adults before the world’s very eyes.
