"Stranger Things" star Noah Schnapp has confirmed what fans have speculated for several years — that his character, Will Byers, is gay and in love with Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard).
The show has hinted at Will's queerness, but, for the most part, has left the character's sexuality up for interpretation. Now Schnapp has revealed in an interview with Variety that producers Matt and Ross Duffers have implied that Will is gay since the first season.
"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," he 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."
Schnapp said he had been approached by people in the past who felt like they could connect with his character. Among them was a man from Paris whose comments stood out to the actor.
"I was just in Paris and this, like, 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, 'Wow, this Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.' That just made me so happy to hear," he said. "They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they're doing it so well."
Looking ahead, Schnapp said he is excited about the fifth season, which will have more of a focus on his character's development.
"They have a lot to get to," he said of the Duffers. "They're still working it out, but they have their end goal. There's so many different things they have to address. Obviously, we hope for a coming-out scene, and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how that fits into the world."