Stranger Things Star Noah Schnapp Credits Character for Helping Him Embrace His Sexuality
4 min read
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Noah Schnapp feels that if his Stranger Things character had not come out first, he would not have come out as gay. The 18-year-old revealed in a new interview with Variety that playing Will Beyers on the hit Netflix programme made him come to terms with his own sexuality. “It was just a constant speed towards embracing it for myself once I did completely realise that Will was gay,” Schnapp told the outlet. Will helped me embrace and accept myself, so I would be in a completely different state if I didn’t have him to portray. I think if I hadn’t played that character, I would probably still be closeted. Schnapp ‘came out’ in a TikTok video earlier this year, lip-syncing to the music, ‘You realise that it never was?
Noah Schnapp says playing Will Byers on ‘Stranger Things’ helped him come to terms with his sexuality:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 7, 2023
“Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself… I think if I never played that character, I probably would… pic.twitter.com/sXVIcqSyYh
That serious. To be honest, it won’t ever be that serious’. Schnapp wrote in the video’s text that when he finally came out to his friends and family despite being scared for 18 years, all they said was “We know.” ‘I suppose I’m a lot closer to Will than I imagined,’ he wrote in the caption. Schnapp discussed how he came out to Stranger Things co-star & best friend Millie Bobby Brown in the interview, which took place prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Will Byers’ character is yet to come out in the sci-fi series, but Schnapp said last year that he is gay and in love with his closest friend Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard).
Noah Schnapp on coming out to Millie Bobby Brown:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 7, 2023
“So then I just FaceTimed her one day in the middle of a Party City and I was like, ‘Millie, I’m gay.’ And she was like ‘Oh, Schnapper! You told me finally!’”
🔗: https://t.co/Ql6V4Wgw6n pic.twitter.com/FknFzFTivd
Noah Schnapp Says His Experience Playing The Character Of Will Byers In The Sci-Fi Show ‘Stranger Things’ Helped Him Come To Terms With His Sexuality
Noah Schnapp is speaking out about his coming-out experience. The Stranger Things actor chatted to Variety (pre-strike) earlier this year regarding his decision to open up about his sexuality with the public — as well as how his character Will Byers assisted him come to grips with his own sexuality. “It was just an exponential speed towards embracing it for myself once I did completely realise that Will was gay,” Schnapp told the newspaper. My life would have been very different if Will hadn’t portrayed, embraced, and helped me accept myself.” I believe If I haven’t played that character, I would have been closeted. Schnapp remarked in his TikTok coming-out video in January, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.” Schnapp told Variety that he composed the post while driving back from dropping his twin sister off at college and that he debated whether or not to post it. “I simply wanted to put it behind me & know that I didn’t have to be concerned with what people thought anymore,” he said. When I checked my phone after the ride, I was overwhelmed by the number of hearts, congratulations and rainbow flag messages… I was in tears.
‘I made it,’ I thought. I’m finished. I don’t have to be concerned.'” Schnapp stated that he would not have come out “any other way” than with the cheeky TikTok post he uploaded in January, which echoed some of his other work on the platform. It was only after 18 years of hiding that I finally revealed that I was gay to my family and friends they said, “We know,” he wrote onscreen while lip-syncing a viral TikTok sound: “You know what it was never? That serious. It was never taken seriously. To be honest, it will never be that serious.” According to Matt Duffer, one of Stranger Things’ creators, Schnapp’s character has always had a plotline about coming to grips with his sexuality. Schnapp also discussed how he come out to several of his friends, including Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown. “I continued to try to do it in person with her, yet it was too hard,” he explained. Then one day, during a Party City, I FaceTimed her and told her, “Millie, I’m gay.”. ‘Oh, Schnapper!’ she replied. ‘You finally told me!'” In spite of the fact that Byers’ character in the sci-fi series has yet to come out, Schnapp has revealed that he is gay and in love with his best friend Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard).
