Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on
the Netflix drama Stranger Things, has confirmed that his
character is gay.
The series, created by the Duffer
Brothers, recently released its fourth season.
Speaking with Variety, Schnapp,
17, said that it's “100 percent clear” that Will is gay and in
love with Mike Wheeler (played by Finn Wolfhard).
“Now that he’s gotten older, they
made it a very real, obvious thing,” Schnapp
said. “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.”
“It’s pretty clear this season that
Will has feelings for Mike. They’ve been intentionally pulling that
out over the past few seasons. Even in Season 1, they hinted at that
and slowly, slowly grew that storyline.”
Will "loves his best friend but
struggles with knowing if he’ll be accepted or not, and feeling
like a mistake and like he doesn’t belong. Will has always felt
like that,” he said.
Schnapp has previously avoided
confirming Will's sexuality, saying it was up to the “audience's
interpretation.”
Netflix renewed Stranger Things
for a fifth and final season in February.