Noah Schnapp Says He 'Would Still Be Closeted' If His 'Stranger Things' Character Will Byers Wasn't Gay
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"Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself," Schnapp said of his 'Stranger Things' role
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Noah Schnapp is grateful for his Stranger Things character's role in helping him come out as gay.
In a new Variety profile, Schnapp opened up about how having his Stranger Things character Will Byers embrace his sexuality on the series eventually allowed him to do the same.
"Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself," said Schnapp, 18. "I would be in a completely different place if I didn’t have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself."
The TBH founder then admitted: "I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted."
Though Schnapp initially was hesitant to confront his sexuality and address it with the world, publicly confirming that his character was gay helped shift his perspective.
"It kind of blew up in the press, and everyone was like, ‘Oh, Will’s gay! Hooray!'" he recalled. "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?'"
Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
In January, Schnapp came out as gay in a TikTok video featuring the caption, "I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought." At the time, he also lip-synced to an audio clip that said, "You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, will never be that serious."
Over the video, the Peanuts Movie star wrote: "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'"
Of that moment, Schnapp — who has since received love and support from his family, costars and fans — told Variety that he "would not want to have done it any other way."
Related: Noah Schnapp Celebrates 'First Pride' in New York City Nearly 6 Months After Coming Out
Since sharing his truth, Schnapp was able to celebrate his first Pride Month in New York City. He shared a glimpse of his celebrations on Instagram, including photos of him rocking a rainbow-colored "Straight Out of the Closet" T-shirt.
"First pride❤️," he captioned the post.
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Now, going into the upcoming fifth and final season of Stranger Things, Schnapp believes the way he acts "might be a little different" now that he is out.
"I will be fully aware of who I am," he also explained to Variety. "Knowing all of that about myself and being able to invest that in my character, I’m honestly just excited."
The first four seasons of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix.
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