Noah Schnapp coming out: ‘Stranger Things’ actor shares he’s gay – USA TODAY
Actor Noah Schnapp joked he’s more like his “Stranger Things” character than he thought after publicly sharing he is gay.
The Netflix star, 18, shared a light-hearted TikTok video Thursday, in which he laid in bed with a text overlay that read: “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.’ “
“I guess I’m more similar to will than I thought,” he wrote in the caption, referencing his “Stranger Things” character, Will Byers, who Schnapp confirmed in an interview this summer is gay.
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He further poked fun at his video making headlines in another TikTok video posted to a friend’s account.
“Oh my God, guys: Noah Schnapp, gay at 18,” a friend feigns reading from a phone – referencing a current TikTok trend in which users prank family members or friends about a celebrity dying – as the whole room collectively freaks out – including Schnapp himself, sitting at the end of the couch. “Oh my God,” he yells while clutching the sides of his head in fake shock.
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Schnapp previously left his “Stranger Things” character’s sexuality for interpretation as the show had dropped hints. Speaking to Variety in an interview published last July, Schnapp said that producers Matt and Ross Duffers have implied that Will is gay since the first season.
“Now it’s 100% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike,” Schnapp said. “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.”
The actor said people have approached him to talk about how the character has connected to them, including a 40-year-old man in Paris.
“He was like ‘wow, this Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.’ That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well,” Schnapp said.
‘Stranger Things’:Noah Schnapp confirms Will is gay and ‘he does love Mike’
The actor said he tried to avoid spoiling the reveal in previous interviews, wanting to maintain the power of Will’s nuanced journey in the final two episodes of the season. Will’s sexuality has been a topic of discussion with fans since “Stranger Things” premiered in 2016.
Speculation over the character’s sexuality reignited after Season 3 Episode 3 when Will grew frustrated with his friend’s budding romances.
“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls,” Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) yells at Will, who wanted to play a game of Dungeons & Dragons instead talking about romance. In the fourth season, Will feels left out when Mike visits Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and primarily focuses on his romantic relationship with her.
Schnapp said he’s excited for the Duffers’ plan to focus on his character more in the fifth season.
“They have a lot to get to. They’re still working it out, but they have their end goal. There’s so many different things they have to address,” Schnapp said. “Obviously, we hope for a coming out scene, and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how that fits into the world.”
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, Cydney Henderson
