Is Noah Schnapp gay? Did Stranger Things star come out on TikTok - what did Will Byers actor say

Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp came out as gay in a recent TikTok video shared with his 31.7 million followers. The 18 year old has appeared in Stranger Things since it debuted on Netflix in 2016.

Schnapp appears alongside co-stars including Winona Ryder (Edward Scissorhands, Girl, Interrupted), David Harbour (Violent Night, Black Widow), Finn Wolfhard (Ghostbusters Afterlife, The Goldfinch), Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes, Godzilla), Gaten Matarazzo (Honor Society, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Caleb McLaughlin (Concrete Cowboy, Becoming), Natalia Dyer (Yes, God, Yes, Velvet Buzzsaw), Charlie Heaton (The New Mutants, Shut In) and Joe Keery (Death to 2021, Free Guy).

What did he say on TikTok?

Schnapp came out as gay in a TikTok video posted on Thursday (5 January). The clip that Schnapp shared of himself included the text: “When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was “we know”.”

In the caption, Schnapp added: “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”

Schnapp is referring to his character from Stranger Things, Will Byers, who he confirmed was “100%” gay after season four of the Netflix series aired.

In an interview with Variety, Schnapp said: “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. Now it’s 100% 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. People have come up to me — I was just in Paris and this, like, 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, “Wow, 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. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well.”

Who is Noah Schnapp?

Schnapp is an American actor who is best known for the role of Will Byers in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. He was born in New York City on 3 October 2004, and his interest in acting began at a young age, after seeing a broadway production of Annie.

In an interview with Scarsdale News, Schnapp said: “I came out [of the show] crying because I wanted to be on that stage.”

His dad said: “I was an athlete, that was my thing. So I had him in all the football and soccer activities, and he was picking daisies in the outfield. It just didn’t look like it was his thing. My wife had the common sense to suggest steering him to something else, and he really liked to perform.”

His parents enrolled him in an acting program at Westchester’s Star Kidz, with coach Alyson Isbrandsten who referred him to MKS&D Talent Management.

Schnapp made his acting debut in the 2015 film Bridge of Spies, directed by Steven Spielberg. He also voiced Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie. Following his breakout role in Stranger Things, Schnapp has also starred in films like Abe, Waiting for Anya and Hubie Halloween. In April 2022, he also joined the cast of The Tutor.

Outside of acting, Schnapp also launched To Be Honest, known as TBH, in November 2021, which is a sustainability focused snack company which launched a palm-oil free and vegan alternative to Nutella.

On the TBH website, under the “our founder” section, Schnapp says: “I’m going to be honest, my favourite snack used to be ‘that’ chocolate hazelnut spread. You know the one. And I ate it on everything. It was my comfort food, my snack of choice and my breakfast staple.

“I was shocked and brutally bummed out when I peeked behind the curtain and learned about what went into the product and even worse, what it took away from us. Hazelnuts aren’t the main ingredient and the amount of sugar alone made me realise I wasn’t doing myself any favours. And ultimately, palm oil is responsible for mass deforestation and that was something I couldn’t support.

“I refused to imagine a world without my favourite snack so I started working on TBH, an honest hazelnut cocoa spread that is better for you and better for the planet… oh and it’s frickin delicious.”

Schnapp currently attends the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in entrepreneurship and innovation. He is set to graduate in 2016. In an interview with Teen Vogue in 2022, he added that he was “probably going to minor in film as well just to learn a little bit more in that field, obviously, you know why”.

Talking about starting university, Schnapp said: “I love it here and it’s great to be meeting new people, meeting new faces and building a new network and becoming a part of a new community. It’s such a big transition, probably the biggest transition I’ll ever have to make in my life, but it’s very exciting.”

He added: “I’m just looking forward to learning a lot… [and] becoming more independent. I feel that’s a huge part of college. Learning how to live separately from your parents and as your own person. I’m excited to become an adult a little bit. I did my own laundry yesterday and I sorted all my clothes and [I’m] just becoming more organised… learning how to manage myself.”