Noah Schnapp is opening up about his sexuality, and how his role on Stranger Things helped him accept that he is gay.
The 18-year-old Stranger Things star, who plays fan-fave Will Byers on the hit Netflix show, got candid for Variety’s first Power Of Young Hollywood cover. He spoke about coming out and how his experience actually mirrored his character’s on the series.
He shared that embracing Will’s orientation helped with his own acceptance, saying:
“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.”
He said that after coming out, he did not check his phone:
“I didn’t want to sit there waiting nervously to see what people were going to say. 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.”
He revealed what he saw once he finally did check:
“When I opened my phone… 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.’”
He said this about playing a kid struggling with his sexuality at the beginning:
“I was so young, I barely even knew what that word meant. And I don’t even think I knew myself that I was gay.”
He also touched on the public’s reaction to Will being gay:
“It kind of blew up in the press, and everyone was like, ‘Oh, Will’s gay! Hooray!’ I saw all these comments on Instagram and TikTok. There was not one bad thing about him being gay. I was like, if he has all this support, then why should I worry about anything?”
Noah talked about his experience telling family and friends that he was gay:
“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.’”
And he also spoke about attending his first Pride parade this year in NYC:
“It was truly such a liberating feeling, just seeing my parents cheer me on. I’ve never felt so supported and loved.”
