‘Stranger Things’ star Noah Schnapp confirms Will is gay and ‘he … – USA TODAY
“Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp is confirming a popular theory about his character’s sexuality.
After Will Byers’ heart-wrenching speech in the Season 4 finale, Schnapp officially said his character is gay in an interview with Variety published Thursday.
Schnapp previously left his character’s sexuality for interpretation as the show has hinted toward Will’s queerness. Now, he says 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.”
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The 17-year-old 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.
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.
Previous comments: Noah Schnapp says Will Byers’ sexuality is ‘up to interpretation’
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“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.”
Schnapp also addressed his recent social media stir after he posted a screenshot of messages between him and Doja Cat, where she expressed interest in the love life of his “Stranger Things” co-star Joseph Quinn. Doja Cat on a livestream later said she was upset with his actions.
After he apologized, the two squashed any tension between them, Schnapp said.
“I’m super unserious on social media and pretty goofy, so I posted that not thinking too much of it, but obviously it hurt her feelings. So, as I should, I apologized and she was totally okay with it,” Schnapp said. “I love her. I’m like the biggest fan of her music, and I told her that. I was like, you’re literally my role model. It’s all good. People make such a big deal out of everything when it’s on the internet, but, like, in reality, it’s like a two minute thing.”
Season 5 will conclude “Stranger Things,” which received an Emmy nomination Tuesday for best drama series.
