Noah Schnapp, the interpreter of Will Byers in the hit Netflix series, confirmed that his character was gay… and even in love with his best friend.
Warning, spoilers! The following article reveals important information about Season 4 of “Stranger Things”.
Since Stranger Things debuted in 2016, audiences have gotten to watch – literally – each of the young lead actors grow. And it is perhaps even more true for the youngest of them, Noah Schnapp.
His character, Will Byers, will have seen it all: after being held prisoner on the Upside Down and then possessed by the Mind Flayer, he finally felt neglected by his best friends as they discovered the girls and matured in the world. beyond their days playing Dungeons & Dragons. Will didn’t take the same path, and throughout the recently concluded 4th season, he struggled to explain why to his best friend, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard).
While speculation regarding the character’s sexual orientation has swirled for several years, some viewers recently criticized the creators for not going all the way on this point.
Stranger Things 4 on Netflix: the series accused of not assuming Will’s homosexuality?
Noah Schnapp finally spoke on the subject in an exclusive interview with Variety. Interviewed last May, alongside his co-star Millie Bobby Brown, the young actor initially said that Will’s sexuality was “up to the public’s interpretation”. But in a new interview on July 14, he finally confirmed the rumor.
“It’s pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike.” He adds : “Obviously it was hinted in season 1: it was always kinda there, but you never really knew it, is it just that he’s growing slower than his friends? Now that he’s aged, they’ve made it a very real and obvious thing. Now it’s 100% clear that he’s gay and loves Mike. But before, it was a slow arc. I think it’s done so well, because it’s so easy to make a character suddenly be gay.”
The actor thus described the character created by the Duffer brothers as “real”. “All of his friends have girlfriends and they all fit into their different clubs. Will never really found where to fit in. I think that’s why so many people come to me and tell me that‘they love Will and identify with him so much, because he’s such a real character.”
He particularly remembers a particular encounter that made him proud. “I was in Paris and this 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, ‘Wow, that Will character made me feel so good. And I identified so much. That’s exactly what I was when I was a kid.’ It just made me so happy to hear that. They write this real character, and this real journey, and this real fight, and they do it so well.”
Netflixx
Noah Schnapp also returned to the famous conversation that Will and Mike have in a van, in episode 8 of season 4, where Will almost confides his feelings to his friend, but through the prism of Eleven. “This scene was really important to him because it really solidified this truth, that he loves his best friend and he doesn’t know how to tell him.”
Another key sequence of the season for Will is of course when his older brother, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), makes it clear to him that he will always have his support, a scene that was not in the original script. It wasn’t until they filmed that shot of Jonathan watching his brother cry in the rearview mirror that the Duffer brothers felt the need to dig deeper.
netflix
“They wrote it while we were filming. It is also very important that people see that Will n‘isn’t alone – because all we see of him is that he’s struggling and feeling down and he can’t be himself. Jonathan speaks to him in code – it’s just the perfect way to tell someone like Will that he cares and accepts him no matter what. I think it was really healthy.”
It must be admitted, the experiences lived by Will have not made things easier for the young man: he is still traumatized, an aspect of the personality of the character that Noah Schnapp wishes to interpret with accuracy.
“It’s this multi-faceted trauma that goes back years, because he was taken by the Demogorgon and then his friends never recognized him and now he’s afraid to come out and don’t know if they’ll accept him. . And then Eleven is like his sister, but he doesn’t want to hurt her because if he says he loves Mike, it’s going to hurt her. There are all these things swirling around in his head. So I kind of have to make sure that I convey the depth of all his trauma.”
Regarding the rest of the show, the Duffer brothers should start writing it in the coming months, and just like us, Noah Schnapp is eagerly awaiting the sequel. “I called them a few weeks ago and said, ‘What’s your plan with Will? With his sexuality but also with the‘Upside Down and all that? They have a lot to do. They are still working but they have their end goal.”
He also confides in his own expectations for the upcoming season 5. “Obviously we’re hoping for a coming out scene and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how it fits into the world. And I’ve always wondered why Will was the first victim and the first captured… I just want it all to come together and work out. I’m excited to see what will happen.”
Season 4 of Stranger Things, as well as its previous seasons, are available on Netflix.