Noah Schnapp has confirmed that his character Will Byers is gay in Stranger Things and that hints about his sexuality have been there from the beginning.
The beloved Netflix show's fourth season has just come to an end and throughout the series, Will alluded to the fact that he is in love with his friend, Mike Wheeler (played by Finn Wolfhard).
"It was hinted at in Season 1. 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," the 17-year-old said in an interview with Variety.
"Now it's 100 percent clear he is gay and does love Mike."
Fan theories that Will is gay have long been circulating on social media and the character gives a touching speech in Season 4 that heavily hints at this when he explains how Eleven feels to Mike, but he is actually describing his own feelings.
This representation in Stranger Things has prompted a lot of appreciation from fans, Schnapp said.
"People have come up to me [and said,] 'This Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.' That just made me so happy to hear," he said.
"They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they're doing it so well."
As for what's next for Will, Schnapp said he hopes show creators the Duffer Brothers will include a coming out scene.
"Obviously, we hope for a coming out scene, and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how that fits into the world," he said.
Schnapp made headlines last week after he shared a private DM from singer Doja Cat, who then publicly called him out.
The "Say So" hitmaker slid into Schnapp's DMs looking to get in touch with his co-star Joseph Quinn, who played new series favorite, Eddie Munson.
Schnapp hadn't asked for Doja Cat's permission to share this information with the public, and in her own social media video, she called the move by Schnapp some "weasel s***."
Late on Wednesday, the actor posted an unrelated TikTok video featuring himself solving tough math equations. After being asked repeatedly about the Doja Cat feud by his fans, he replied in a comment on the video.
"Guys everything is all good I apologized and I still follow her and love her music no hard feelings," Schnapp wrote before adding two red heart emojis to his statement.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
