‘Stranger Things’ star Noah Schnapp says he’s ‘more similar’ to his on-screen character than he thought

By Dan Heching, CNN

“Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp has revealed that he shares more similarities with his on-screen character Will Byers than he previously thought.

The actor, 18, shared a TikTok video on Thursday in which he identifies himself as gay.

The text on screen in the video reads, “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.'”

In the clip, Schnapp smiles as he lip syncs to a voice over that says, “You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, it will never be that serious.”

Underneath the video, Schnapp captioned the post, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought”.

Schnapp’s “Stranger Things” character, Will Byers, is a central figure in the hit Netflix show, and in the most recent fourth season, he professes his love for his friend Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard).

Last July, Schnapp told Variety that “it’s 100% clear that [Will] is gay” and his character had been struggling with his feelings throughout the show (a feeling most viewers had picked up on).

Comments on Schnapp’s TikTok on Thursday included many messages of love and support.

Like his costars on “Stranger Things,” which debuted in 2016, Schnapp has essentially grown up on camera. Due to the pandemic in particular, there was a large gap between the airing of 2019’s third and last year’s fourth season, the latter of which showed the younger actors in the show clearly more grown up.

“Stranger Things” will end with its fifth season, which is set to be comprised of eight episodes.

The-CNN-Wire
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