Noah Schnapp says journalists asked him “Are you gay?” when he was just 12 years old
It seemed like a casual decision when Noah Schnapp came out as gay in a 2023 TikTok video, although the Stranger Things star just admitted it was bigger than he made it out to be. As the Netflix show gears up for its fifth and final chapter, the 21-year-old actor will bid farewell to his […]
Mark
It seemed like a casual decision when Noah Schnapp came out as gay in a 2023 TikTok video, although the Stranger Things star just admitted it was bigger than he made it out to be.
As the Netflix show gears up for its fifth and final chapter, the 21-year-old actor will bid farewell to his character Will Byers, who was revealed to be queer in the previous season.
Your dose of fabulosi-TEA
Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
And while it seems his fictional counterpart’s coming out affected Schnapp’s decision — “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought,” he joked — the media speculation around both his character and his sexuality impacted him as well.
“When I was younger, I was obviously very scared of talking about it,” Schnapp explained to Time for a cover story around Stranger Things‘ epic conclusion.
“[Journalists] would pry and ask me, ‘Is he gay? Are you gay?’ I was 12, 13. I didn’t know what to say.”
The New York native was 18 when he officially came out, and told Variety at the time that Stranger Things fans’ theories about him and Will “made [him] hold it down deeper.”
“It was kind of being poked and prodded out of me in such a public way,” he explained, adding that he “rejected [the] idea” of being gay “for so long.”
Nevertheless, it was the viral celebration around Will’s sexuality that inspired him to share his own truth.
“There was not one bad thing about him being gay,” he said. “I was like, if he has all this support, then why should I worry about anything?”
Of course, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Schnapp, who’s set to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in entrepreneurship and innovation next year.
Between the backlash to his coming-out announcement and other political comments, the actor told Time that he had to reevaluate his relationship with social media and has since deleted TikTok and limited Instagram comments.
“I was one of the most in touch with my fan base,” he said. “I just welcomed them with open arms because that’s the way I am. It comes with pros and cons. I’m still a kid trying to figure it out. I’ll have a different answer for you in five years.”
Thankfully, he learned to handle the pressures of both fame and acting, thanks to some lessons from his co-star (and certified LGBTQ+ icon) Winona Ryder.
According to Schnapp, the Beetlejuice actress comforted him while filming the show’s first season, when he was just 11 years old, by teaching him breathing techniques to ground himself.
“She was also a child actor, so I think she understood the quirks of having to run to set, cry, then go take a biology test,” he said. “She was like, ‘Oh sweetie, I’ve got you.’ I still do this today.”
As for what saying goodbye to the show means to Schnapp, the actor wrote on Instagram that he was “so grateful to have grown up alongside this cast.”
“Here’s to closing this chapter the way we started it: a group of nerdy kids… just a bit older,” he said.
We’ll see just how Will Byers’ story ends when the first part of Stranger Things‘ final season premieres on November 26.
Sign up for the Queerty newsletter to stay on top of the hottest stories in LGBTQ+ entertainment, politics, and culture.
