Noah Schnapp says playing Will Byers helped him come to terms with his own sexuality

Noah Schnapp believes he wouldn't have come out as gay if his Stranger Things character hadn't come out first.

In a new interview with Variety, the 18-year-old said playing Will Beyers on the hit Netflix show helped him come to terms with his own sexuality.

"Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself," Schnapp told the publication.

He continued: "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 'came out' earlier this year in a TikTok, where he lip-synced to the audio, 'You know what it never was? That serious. Quite frankly, it will never be that serious'.

In text on the video, Schnapp wrote: "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'."

He also added in the caption 'I guess I'm more similar to Will than I thought'.

In the interview, which took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Schnapp recalled how he came out to his Stranger Things co-star and best friend Millie Bobby Brown.

"I kept trying to do it in person with her, and it was too hard," he said.

"So then I just FaceTimed her one day in the middle of a Party City and I was like, 'Millie, I'm gay.' And she was like. 'Oh, Schnapper! You told me finally!'"

The character of Will Byers is yet to come out in the sci-fi series but Schnapp confirmed last year that his character is gay and in love with his best mate Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard).

Will's coming out story will be explored in the fifth and final season according to show co-creator Ross Duffer.

"This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together," Duffer told Variety.

"Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that's being protected. So part of his journey, it's not just sexuality — it's Will coming into his own as a young man."

As for Schnapp, he believes his own coming out experience will just make his performance as Will even stronger.

"I think the way I act in season five, honestly, might be a little different," he said.

"Knowing all of that about myself and being able to invest that in my character, I'm honestly just excited."