Noah Schnapp recalled growing up in the spotlight as a child actor, where the media often questioned him about his sexuality. During the interview, members of the Stranger Things cast were present as they discussed the final season. They also opened up about the questions they faced when they were younger. Schnapp revealed that he had no idea how to tackle such questions at the time.
Noah Schnapp on being questioned about his sexuality
The Stranger Things cast, including Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Millie Bobby Brown, and Gaten Matarazzo, along with Noah Schnapp, attended an interview with Time. There, they discussed a wide variety of topics, including the hit Netflix series’ final outing and navigating tricky media questions at a young age. At the time, Schnapp revealed that he struggled to answer journalists’ questions about his and his character Will Byer’s sexuality.
He said, “When I was younger, I was obviously very scared of talking about it. They would pry and ask me, ‘Is he gay? Are you gay?’ I was 12, 13. I didn’t know what to say.” In January 2023, Schnapp publicly came out as gay. In another interview with Variety, he spoke about being a part of the LGBTQ+ community and how he doesn’t want to be nervous but confidently embrace his sexual orientation.
He added, “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.”
Revealing how the people around him reacted to the news, he said, “When I opened my phone at the end of the car ride, 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.’”
