Noah Schnapp is setting the record straight — or gay, for that matter!
In a new Q&A with Variety, the 17-year-old actor confirmed what fans have been speculating for a long time — Will Byers is gay! He explained that the Stranger Things character’s sexuality has been “hinted at” since season 1, but since then it’s become a “very real” thing:
“Obviously it was hinted at in season one: It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing.”
Not only did Noah confirm his character’s sexuality, he also said it’s “100% clear” that Will is in love with Mike Wheeler, who you already know is played by Finn Wolfhard:
“Now it is 100 percent clear that he is gay and he does love Mike. But before, it was a slow arc. I think it is done so beautifully, because it’s so easy to make a character just, like, all of a sudden be gay.”
HUGE news for Byler shippers! And such an authentic portrayal of a kid growing up and finding out who they are — bravo!
Related: Some Of The BEST Unscripted Stranger Things Moments From Season 4 Volume 2!!!
Schnapp went on to say how “happy” it makes him that LGBTQ+ fans of the show relate to Will. He also praises the show’s writers, the Duffer Brothers, for being so genuine with the storyline:
“That just made me so happy to hear. [The Duffer Brothers] are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle, and they’re doing it so well.”
The Abe actor even revealed that the Stranger Things showrunners are writing scenes on the fly! During a pivotal moment in season 4, Will’s older brother Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) has a heart-to-heart with his sibling. Through a conversation about growing up together, Jonathan hints that he knows his little brother is gay, but reassures that he wants to be there for him no matter what. According to Noah, this scene was never “originally written in the script”!
“This scene was actually not originally written in the script. It was only until after I did the scene of my in the van, where they saw me crying and the protectiveness that you see with Jonathan looking in the rearview mirror. They were like, we need a scene with that. So they wrote it as we were filming.”
Wow!
Great writing, and even better for representation! The Netflix star explains how “important” it is for viewers to see that Will “is not alone”. Will is often seen struggling and hiding his true self — and Noah believes a scene like this is good to show that even at your lowest, you’re still cared about:
“It’s also very important for people to see that Will is not alone. Because all we ever see of him is struggling and feeling depressed and that he can’t be himself. Jonathan is talking to him in code — it’s just the perfect way to tell someone like Will that he cares about him and he accepts him no matter what. I think it was really wholesome.”
How sweet! Everyone needs to be reminded now and again that they’re never alone!
Among the questions, however, the Hubie Halloween star addressed something else that’s had his name in the spotlight lately — his drama with rapper Doja Cat!
As Perezcious readers know, 17-year-old Noah leaked DMs between himself and the Planet Her musician via TikTok, where she asked him to set her up with his co-star Joseph Quinn — who plays the fan-favorite of the season, Eddie Munson. Doja was hurt by the leak of their private conversation, even going as far as calling it “borderline snake s**t”. Yikes!
Luckily, the teen has confirmed that he and the Need To Know rapper are “all good” and that he “loves her”:
“I posted that not thinking too much of it, but obviously it hurt her feelings. So, as I should, I apologized and she was totally OK with it, and it was like, ‘I’m sorry how I reacted.’ It was all good. I love her. I’m like the biggest fan of her music and I told her that. I was like, ‘You’re literally my role model.’ It’s all good.”
He went on to say how it wasn’t a big issue, after all, and that “the internet” made it more of a problem than it was “in reality”:
“People make such a big deal out of everything when it’s on the internet, but, like, in reality, it’s like a two-minute thing.”
Whew! What a relief! We’re so glad to hear they’re still getting along!
Reactions to all of this juicy info, Perezcious readers?
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Avalon/YouTube/Netflix]