{"id":369737,"date":"2025-12-26T09:42:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T09:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/369737\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T09:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T09:42:10","slug":"noah-schnapp-on-will-coming-out-as-gay-in-stranger-things-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/369737\/","title":{"rendered":"Noah Schnapp on Will Coming Out as Gay in Stranger Things 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT:\u00a0This story contains spoilers from Season 5, Volume 2 of \u201cStranger Things<\/a>,\u201d now streaming on Netflix.<\/p>\n

\n\tEver since \u201cStranger Things\u201d first debuted on Netflix in 2016, it was evident that Noah Schnapp<\/a>\u2018s Will Byers was different from his friends. His own father derisively called him queer, as his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) recounts early in Season 1. And while he shared his friends\u2019 affinity for playing Dungeons & Dragons, biking around town and geeking out on the latest pop-culture, fantasy or scientific phenomenon of the show\u2019s 1980s setting, Will disappeared during the very first episode, setting the wide-eyed, bowl-cutted boy apart from the group.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite his friends rescuing him from the Upside Down at the end of the first season, Will only grew more distinctive as the series continued. As his friends came of age and found girlfriends, he remained outside the group, not only from his traumatic abduction, but from a more elusive feeling of isolation. In Season 3, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) snaps at Will for not liking girls, which further sparked fan speculation regarding the character\u2019s sexuality.<\/p>\n

\n\tThose speculations seemed to be confirmed, though never explicitly stated, in Season 4 when Will breaks down trying to profess his feelings toward Mike. However, it\u2019s not until Season 5, Episode 7, \u201cThe Bridge,\u201d when Will finally admits to his friends\u2014 \u201cI don\u2019t like girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe emotional monologue rounding out the series\u2019 penultimate episode is a powerful, touching and poignant delivery on Will\u2019s highly anticipated coming out. It pays off on Will\u2019s arc toward self-acceptance and assurance. While the character has spent much of the series as the victim, he takes center stage as a hero in Season 5, revealed to have sorcerer-like supernatural abilities<\/a> in the season\u2019s fourth episode that concluded Volume 1.<\/p>\n

\n\tThese triumphant moments also demonstrate Schapp\u2019s growth as an actor over his 10 years playing Will. The coming out monologue is Schnapp\u2019s most emotionally intense and verbose in the series. The performance is further accented by Schapp\u2019s real-world relationship to the topic, having publicly come out as gay in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tVariety spoke with Schnapp to unpack the distinguished scene, how he shaped it with series creators Matt and Ross Duffer and director Shawn Levy and his feelings about closing the book on his decade-plus role in \u201cStranger Things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

\t\tAt what point did you find out that Will was going to come out in Season 5, Episode 7?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYou know that it\u2019s coming. This season, we read the first six episodes together, and I was like \u201cOK, it didn\u2019t happen yet, so it\u2019s going to be in Episode 7 or 8,\u201d which hadn\u2019t been written yet. So then from January of filming on through the year, I kept texting the Duffers, \u201cIs it done? Did you write it? Is it in 7 or 8? How are you gonna write it?\u201d Eventually, they said they had it, and I read it by the end of the year in August or September. And I was just in tears. It was perfect.<\/p>\n

\t\tDid you get the opportunity to workshop the script with the Duffers or with Shawn Levy, who directed \u201cThe Bridge\u201d with the Duffers?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI was worried that I might need to, but honestly, it was perfect. I really had no notes about it.<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you recall your co-stars\u2019 reactions the first time that you rehearsed the scene, or did a table read? Shawn Levy told us that the reactions on camera were genuine.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tHonestly, I was so wrapped up in my emotions and what I was feeling that I kind of blocked out everyone around me. I kind of had to because it was so nerve-racking to know that the entire cast was there watching me. I had Winona next to me, and the boys and Maya [Hawke] around me. It was all a blur. I don\u2019t really remember anyone\u2019s reactions, but watching it back, it was nice to see. It did feel genuine.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow many takes did you do of the scene?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOh my God, it was endless. It was like a 12-hour day of just that monologue. And we weren\u2019t even done after the 12-hour day. We came back a week later to reshoot certain parts of the scene for another 12 hours. It was like, \u201cOh my God, how many more times can I do this scene?\u201d But it was also nice because it allowed me to try so many different things. I never felt stuck to anything. I got advice from Maya on how to prepare for it, because there were so many lines, more lines than I\u2019d ever had before. <\/p>\n

Maya speaks like a madman so I asked, \u201cHow do you learn all these lines and not think about it in the scene?\u201d She said, \u201cIt\u2019s not about how well you know it, it\u2019s how long you\u2019ve known it for, so just prep for months before.\u201d So I\u2019d just go through it morning and night every day for months before shooting, but I wouldn\u2019t prep how to say it or how to feel. It would just be plain saying the lines out loud with no emotion, just to sink it in. But then on the day, I was able to explore the feelings and emotions, and it was fun to have those 12 hours to play and feel. The cast was so gracious. I\u2019ll never forget how supportive they were on that day and how respectful and giving they were to me, because they had to sit there through an entire night just hearing me ramble. They were supporting me on all these angles where they weren\u2019t even caught on camera. They could have gone and sat in Video Village or hung out, but they all sat there in their spots through the whole day. It was really special.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

\t\tIn those 12 hours of takes, did you film versions of the scene that are different from what ended up in the final cut?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere were so many different choices in the different takes. I remember being asked, \u201cDo you want to do your close up first or do you want to do it at the end of the day?\u201d Because that was the most important shot. So I could either start with a wide and kind of explore it and feel out the scene and then go to the close up, or go straight into it. I was really struggling with whether I was ready to bang it out first or get comfortable before it. I decided last minute, \u201cLet\u2019s just start with the close up. I\u2019m ready to go and I just want to do it.\u201d And then it was like one of the first takes of the day, and that was most of the meat of the scene. It was so nice because it hadn\u2019t been exhausted yet. It was real and raw and I\u2019m glad I did it that way.<\/p>\n

\t\tWas there anything that surprised you in the final cut of the scene and the way it was edited?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tLiterally for every scene, I\u2019m like \u201cOh I didn\u2019t expect that.\u201d You don\u2019t realize the power of editing and how it can change a scene. For this scene, it was nice because there were moments where I tried the first paragraph of the monologue to the boys where it was a lot more sad, and then there were times when I was a lot more happy reliving the memories with them. I\u2019m glad that they edited it the way they did, where it\u2019s nice to see him not just sob through the whole scene, but kind of smile through the memories and give that lighter feel. It makes it hit harder.<\/p>\n

\t\tIt\u2019s interesting that Will says \u201cI don\u2019t like girls\u201d rather than \u201cI\u2019m gay.\u201d How was that wording decided on? Was there fear about being too explicit, or do you think Will is still sort of figuring out his identity?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I noticed that and I spoke to the Duffers about it specifically. We have to remember that its the 1980s. When I came out, I didn\u2019t say the word \u201cgay.\u201d It\u2019s hard, and it feels scary to say it. In the \u201980s, I can\u2019t imagine how much more pressure there was and how much more there was to lose. When Will is first coming to terms with it in front of his friends, he\u2019s probably scared to use that word, but there\u2019s nothing wrong with it. I think he just felt more comfortable phrasing it that way.<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you think discovering that he\u2019s a sorcerer has given Will the confidence to embrace what makes him different? How has discovering Will\u2019s newfound power changed your approach to the character?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think it helps him accept himself, and you totally see it from the beginning of the season. He\u2019s kind of more assertive and self-assured. It\u2019s nice to play that side of him, and not just play someone who\u2019s always walked all over. Even with the coming out scene, having that much dialogue and actually getting to express myself through my words, which this character has never really done until then, was so nice.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n

\t\tA lot of those scenes you share with Winona Ryder. What was it like working so closely with her this final season after having played her son for almost a decade?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was really special. I was kind of sad in Seasons 3 and 4 that I got separated from her, and I really missed working with her. She\u2019s one of my favorite scene partners and people, and it was so nice to be with her for most of this season. I feel so comfortable around her, and it was hard to say goodbye. I didn\u2019t expect to have such trouble letting go of her on that last day<\/a>. I didn\u2019t want to let her go, and I realized she really became this motherly figure to me at work during these 10 years.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou also share a lot of scenes with Maya Hawke this Season. How was collaborating with her?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe definitely got closer. I\u2019d barely spoken to Maya before then. I mean, I don\u2019t even think we were friends. Now, we spent the whole season together, and she\u2019s part of my little \u201cStranger Things\u201d family.<\/p>\n

\t\tLastly, you had the ability to collaborate with younger actors this season. For so long, you and the main ensemble were the youngest people on the show. What was it like to now have new rising actors on set who might have looked up to you?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt definitely helped me realize, \u201cWow, we\u2019ve come so far. We\u2019re not kids anymore.\u201d They\u2019re looking to us. You always feel like you don\u2019t know anything and you have so much more to learn, but then it makes you realize that we\u2019ve spent 10 years here, and we do have some experience now. It was nice to get to work with them and they were so cute. They just brought this childlike energy that reminded us that we were still kids too. I was making handshakes with them and I felt like I was 12 years old again. It was so fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2022 The Duffer Brothers<\/a> break down all the Volume 2 spoilers
\u2022 The Duffer Brothers <\/a>break down all the Volume 1 spoilers
\u2022 Noah Schnapp<\/a> on Turning Into the [SPOILER] in Volume 1
\u2022 Sadie Sink<\/a> on Max\u2019s Key Role in Volume 1
\u2022 Nell Fisher<\/a> on Playing Holly Wheeler in Season 5
\u2022 The Cast of \u2018Stranger Things\u2019<\/a> on the Show\u2019s Final Days
\u2022 Variety\u2019s \u201cStranger Things\u201d Oct. 15 Cover Story<\/a> About the Duffers
\u2022 Cara Buono<\/a> on Karen\u2019s Kick-Ass Hero Moment (At Last)
\u2022 The Duffer Brothers<\/a> on the \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Spinoff
\u2022 Linda Hamilton<\/a> on Being Millie Bobby Brown\u2019s \u2018Biggest Fan\u2019
\u2022 Shawn Levy<\/a> on \u2018Sticking the Landing\u2019 for Season 5
\u2022 David Harbour<\/a> on How \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Has Changed Him<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT:\u00a0This story contains spoilers from Season 5, Volume 2 of \u201cStranger Things,\u201d now streaming on Netflix. Ever…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75,157486,41882,138235],"class_list":["post-369737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-noah-schnapp","tag-stranger-things","tag-stranger-things-5"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}