Noah Schnapp recently opened up about his early experiences with fame and the invasive questions he faced while promoting Stranger Things. In a new interview, the actor reflected on being asked about his sexuality as a young teenager and how those encounters shaped his personal growth and public journey.
Noah Schnapp on journalists asking about his sexuality when he was ‘younger’
Noah Schnapp spoke to TIME about the challenges of growing up in the public eye during the early years of Stranger Things. He recalled being just 12 or 13 when journalists began pressing him about his sexuality during press junkets. “They would pry and ask me, ‘Is he gay? Are you gay?’ I didn’t know what to say,” Schnapp said. At the time, he was still figuring out his identity and admitted feeling scared to discuss it publicly.
Schnapp publicly came out as gay in January 2023 at age 18, after years of public speculation about both his character, Will Byers, and himself. He previously confirmed in a 2022 interview with Variety that Will was gay, a revelation that aligned with his personal journey. “Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself,” he said in a Variety cover story. “If I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted.”
The actor described how the public response to his comments about Will’s sexuality was overwhelmingly supportive. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh, Will’s gay! Hooray!’ I saw all these comments on Instagram and TikTok,” Schnapp said. “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?”
Now 21, Schnapp will appear in Stranger Things Season 5 as an openly gay actor for the first time. Reflecting on how that awareness shapes his performance, he said, “I think the way I act in Season 5 might be a little different. I will be fully aware of who I am. Knowing all that about myself and being able to invest that in my character, I’m honestly just excited.”
Stranger Things Season 5 premieres with Volume 1 on November 26.
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.
