WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things Season 4.
Noah Schnapp breaks down the closet door for his character Will Byers on Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things.
Previously, the 17-year-old actor had left Will’s preferences up to viewers’ interpretation. But after the season finale dropped on the streaming service, he revealed to Variety that Will is gay and has a crush on his best friend Mike Wheeler (played by Finn Wolfhard).
“It was obviously hinted at in Season 1,” he said of Will’s gradual comfort. “It’s always kind of been there, but you never really know, is it just that he’s growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they’ve made it a very real, obvious thing.
“Now it’s 100% clear that he’s gay and he really loves Mike,” Schnapp confirmed. “But it was a slow arc before that. I think it’s done so beautifully because it’s so easy to have a character just suddenly become gay.”
“Now it’s 100 percent clear that he’s gay and he really loves Mike,” Schnapp said of his character’s relationship with his friend. Courtesy of Netflix
He also revealed that the scene in which Will’s brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) non-verbally supports him on his way out was added to the script after executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer saw his already memorable scene in which he crying in a van
“It’s also very important that people see that Will is not alone – because all we see of him is struggling and feeling depressed and that he can’t be himself,” he said of Jonathan’s defence, seen in the rearview mirror.
“Jonathan talks to him in code — it’s the perfect way to tell someone like Will that he cares about him and accepts him no matter what,” he concluded. “I think it was really healthy.”
Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) sheds a few tears. Courtesy of Netflix Sadie Sink (from left), Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Millie Bobby Brown in a scene from Season 3 of Stranger Things. Netflix / Courtesy of Everett Collection
Schnapp also announced that he had made amends with pop star Doja Kat by infamously posting a DM exchange on TikTok in which the “Need To Know” singer asked Schnapp to meet her co-star Joseph Quinn. His part of their conversation drew Doja’s ire.
“I’m super frivolous on social media and pretty goofy, so I posted this without thinking too much, but it obviously hurt her feelings,” Schnapp said.
Noah Schnapp said “everything is fine” between him and Doja Kot after sharing their private conversation on social media. GC images
“So, as I had to, I apologized and she totally agreed with that and said, ‘I’m sorry for how I reacted,'” he said of Doja, who reportedly lost nearly 200,000 followers over her reaction, while Schnapp apparently gained nearly 2 million fans. “Everything was okay. I love her. I’m like the biggest fan of her music.
Season 4 of Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix.
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