It’s a big day for Noah Schnapp, one of the young stars of the hit series Stranger Things. The actor took to TikTok to reveal himself as gay, sharing a video with his more than 31 million followers in which he used the famous soundbite “You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious” while adding on-screen text that reads, “After hiding my sexual orientation for 18 years out of fear, I eventually informed my family and friends and all they could say was, “We know.”
Schnapp, who has played Will Byers on Stranger Things since the show premiered in 2016, confirmed last July that his character is also gay and has feelings for Mike Wheeler, played by Finn Wolfhard. In a recent interview with Variety, Schnapp said that Will’s sexuality has been hinted at since the show’s beginning but was made more explicit in the most recent season. “It was hinted at in Season 1: It was always kind of there, but you never really knew. Is it just him growing up slower than his friends? They’ve made it a genuine, evident thing now that he’s older. Now it’s 100% clear that he is gay and loves Mike,” he said.
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“I think the way the creators have handled Will’s story on ‘Stranger Things’ is beautiful,” Schnapp told Variety, discussing the intentions of the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer. “It would have been easy to make a character gay suddenly, but they took the time to build his story and make it feel real. People have come to me, like a 40-year-old man in Paris who said, ‘Wow, the Will character resonated with me. It made me feel good, and I related to it so much. That’s exactly who I was as a kid.’ Hearing that just made me so happy because they’re writing a real character with a real journey and struggle and doing it so well.
As soon as Schnapp posted the TikTok video, his followers showed overwhelming support. Some users wrote messages like “So proud of you!!” and “Can we all appreciate that Noah came out to the whole world and realize how much courage it takes to do that when you’re a literal celebrity.
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As for Schnapp’s next project, he’ll star in the thriller film The Tutor alongside Garrett Hedlund and Victoria Justice. At the same time, a fifth and final season of Stranger Things is in the works, but there is no word about the release date. Regardless of the future, it’s clear that Schnapp is comfortable in his skin and isn’t afraid to share that with his millions of fans.
