Friendship was not the only thing Will Byers really struggled with in Stranger Things. By the time they grew up, as early as season 3, fans started getting the feeling there was something more to him than we realized.
Here's how the Netflix series helped the character and actor Noah Schnapp come to terms with his sexuality on TV and in real life.
How Did the Stranger Things Star Realize His Sexuality on the Netflix Show?
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Despite the young ages at which the cast of Stranger Things joined the Netflix series, Schnapp told Time magazine in a recent interview how he was practically pressured by the press about his sexuality, even though he was still a minor at the time.
"When I was younger, I was obviously very scared of talking about it," Schnapp said to the publication, "They would pry and ask me, 'Is he gay? Are you gay?' I was 12, 13. I didn't know what to say."
It wasn't until later in January 2023, when Schnapp was 18 years old, that he publicly came out as gay. One of the earliest times was when he confirmed in a July 2022 interview with Variety that Will Byers was gay in Stranger Things season 4.
When Schnapp came out publicly in a social media post months later, he wrote: "I guess I'm more similar to Will than I thought."
"Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself," Schnapp later told Variety, "I would be in a completely different place if I didn't have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself. I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted."
If anything, the audience's positive reception of Will's coming out encouraged Schnapp to accept his own, as well: "There was not one bad thing about [Will] being gay. I was like, if he has all this support, then why should I worry about anything?"
What to Expect From Stranger Things' Last and Final Season
The fifth and final season will kick off in the fall of 1987 before continuing where season 4 left things off: their mission to find and kill Vecna once and for all.
Season 5 is set to debut three volumes: four episodes on November 26, three episodes on Christmas Day, and the finale episode on New Year's Eve.
"I think the way I act in Stranger Things season 5, honestly, might be a little different," Schnapp added when asked how his finale moments will be, "I will be fully aware of who I am. Knowing all of that about myself and being able to invest that in my character, I'm honestly just excited."
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