‘Stranger Things’ Star Noah Schnapp Credits Will Byers With Giving Him the Courage to Come Out: “If I Never Played That Character, I Probably Would Still Be Closeted”

Stranger Things not only put Noah Schnapp on the map for his role as Will Byers, but also helped him come to terms with his own identity and sexuality.

The 18-year-old star credited his character’s storyline for inspiring him to publicly come out as gay earlier this year. His announcement was met with overwhelming fan support and love.

“Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself,” Schnapp told Variety of his character on the Netflix smash hit Stranger Things. “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.”

Schnapp initially “rejected the idea” that Will was gay and in love with his best friend Mike (Finn Wolfhard), but eventually confirmed as much last July. The joyful reaction from fans made Schnapp more confident and comfortable with his own sexuality, he said, but he had not yet come out publicly — even though his Stranger Things character had.

“It kind of blew up in the press, and everyone was like, ‘Oh, Will’s gay! Hooray!’” he explained. “I saw all these comments on Instagram and TikTok. There was not one bad thing about him being gay. I was like, if he has all this support, then why should I worry about anything?”

After crafting a list of loved ones to come out to first — including his twin sister Chloe and his Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown — Schnapp eventually came out in real life on Jan. 5 via TikTok while driving to drop his sister off at college. In a nod to his Stranger Things character, he captioned his video, “I guess I’m more similar to will than I thought.”

@noahschnapp

I guess I’m more similar to will than I thought

♬ original sound – Privacynbling

“When I opened my phone at the end of the car ride, it was, like, a thousand texts of hearts and congratulations and rainbow flags,” Schnapp shared. “I was crying. I was like, ‘I made it. I’m done. I don’t have to worry.’”

Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy told Variety it was “incredible” that playing Will helped “actualize” Schnapp.

“How rarely does that happen for any of us?” he asked. “If this job helped Noah become his truer self — well, that may be one of the most beautiful outcomes of Stranger Things that I’ve heard.”

Stranger Things has been renewed for Season 5, but does not have an official release date just yet. The first four seasons are currently available to stream on Netflix.