Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp has revealed his character Will Byers is gay.
After previously addressing fan speculation around Will’s sexuality and saying it was “up to the audience’s interpretation”, Schnapp has since confirmed rumours.
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“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 actor told Variety.
“Now it’s 100 per cent clear that he is gay and he does love Mike [Finn Wolfhard]. 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.”
In terms of his experience taking on the role as a young actor, Schnapp continued: “It has been a challenge, but I think it’s just been fun to be able to step into his shoes. Because I really have to take into account, like, this isn’t just a single layer thing of he’s struggling with coming out.
“It’s this multifaceted trauma that goes years back, because he was taken by the Demogorgon and then his friends, they never acknowledged him, and now he’s scared to come out and doesn’t know if they’ll accept him. And then Eleven [Millie Bobby Brown] is like his sister, but he doesn’t want to hurt her because if he says he likes Mike, that’s gonna hurt her feelings.”
Schnapp had previously called Will “a zebra in a field of horses,” saying he appreciates fans being able to “connect and relate” to the character.
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