In every season of Stranger Things, Noah Schnapp’s Will Byers always goes through a lot. In Season 4, his story centered primarily around his friendship with Mike, and there was speculation that Will was gay, and later it was confirmed. Following those episodes being released, the 18-year-old actor also came out as gay, and after announcing it on TikTok, Schnapp spoke about the sweet responses he recived from fans.
On January 5, Noah Schnapp posted a TikTok of himself lying on his pillow with a textbox above him saying, “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.’” He also lip-synced in the clip to a popular sound saying, “You know what it never was? That serious.” While speaking to Variety six months after coming out, he admitted he posted that video during the long drive home to New York after dropping his sister off at college in Boston, and he never looked at his phone for responses.
I just wanted to put it away and be confident in who I am and know that I don’t have to care what people think anymore. When I opened my phone at the end of the car ride, it was, like, a thousand texts of hearts and congratulations and rainbow flags. I was crying. I was like, ‘I made it. I’m done. I don’t have to worry.’
It’s incredibly heartwarming to hear about all of the positivity Noah Schnapp received after coming out. Revealing your sexuality can be very scary when you don’t know what the feedback will be. But, the Stranger Things star's experience can be joyful and empowering. When you watch the TikTok video, you can see the young actor’s confidence shine through in telling his fans he’s gay, and I love it.
Noah Schnapp was 11 years old when he started playing Will Byers on Stranger Things. Ever since Season 1, there have been theories about Will’s sexuality, because of moments like when his mother told Hopper people would call her son “queer” or the time her ex-husband used an anti-gay slur when talking about him. Then in Season 3, the speculation really took off when Mike yelled at Will who was growing jealous of his obsession with Eleven -- “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”
Everything became very clear in the latest season when Schnapp's character spends a lot of time struggling with his feelings for Mike. Your heart couldn’t help but break for Will as he was still trying to make things better between Mike and Eleven despite his romantic feelings for his friend.
You can actually thank Will Byers for Noah Schnapp coming out. The Charlie Brown voice actor saw that when Stranger Things fans were dying for Will to eventually have a queer love interest, which gave him all the assurance he needed to post that TikTok. He said:
Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself. I would be in a completely different place if I didn’t have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself. I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted.
The weekend before Noah Schnapp made his TikTok video, he knew it was time for him to come out after he moved to college, and girls were hitting on him. Once he was aware he wasn’t attracted to girls, he had to make sure everyone else knew. One of the first people he came out to before his TikTok video was his best friend and co-star Millie Bobby Brown through FaceTime, and she wasn’t at all surprised. Another co-star of his, Finn Wolfhard, also had a supportive reaction to Schnapp coming out, noting his bravery and how proud he was of him.
With all of the positive responses Noah Schnapp received after coming out on TikTok, now he can embrace who he truly is. As the Bridge of Spies actor establishes his identity, his character probably will too in Stranger Things' final season. As the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have put the final season of Stranger Things on hold, you can still watch all four seasons of the streaming series with a Netflix subscription to see how both Noah Schnapp and Will Byers have grown up.
