{"id":5054,"date":"2022-07-15T14:09:22","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T14:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/?p=5054"},"modified":"2022-07-15T14:11:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T14:11:16","slug":"stranger-things-star-noah-schnapp-on-doja-cat-season-5-and-wills-sexuality-he-is-gay-and-he-does-love-mike-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/?p=5054","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Star Noah Schnapp on Doja Cat, Season 5, and Will\u2019s Sexuality: \u2018He Is Gay and He Does Love Mike\u2019 (EXCLUSIVE)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“Now it\u2019s 100% clear,” the actor says.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the many thrills embedded in \u201cStranger Things\u201d has been watching each of the young cast literally grow into young adults before our eyes. That is perhaps especially true of its youngest original member, Noah Schnapp. His character, Will Byers, has been through<\/em> it over the years: Abducted into the Upside Down, then possessed by a demonic entity known as the Mind Flayer, and then \u2014 perhaps worst of all! \u2014 seemingly abandoned by his best friends as they discovered girls and matured beyond their days of playing Dungeons and Dragons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will never has, and throughout the recently concluded fourth season, he struggled to articulate to his best friend, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the start, it seemed clear that Will is gay and terrified of coming out. When Variety<\/em> asked Schnapp and his costar Millie Bobby Brown about it in May for Volume 1 of Season 4, however, Schnapp said instead that Will\u2019s sexuality was \u201cup to the audience\u2019s interpretation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a follow-up interview this week following the conclusion of Season 4, however, the 17-year-old actor is clear that he felt compelled to dodge the question to avoid spoiling Will\u2019s emotionally nuanced journey in the final two episodes of the season, as crafted by creators and executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer. He also talked about the standout scene from the season finale that wasn\u2019t in the original script, why he launched a vegan hazelnut spread, and, yes, the social media storm<\/a> around his TikTok post (since deleted) of DMs from Doja Cat about Schnapp\u2019s \u201cStranger Things\u201d costar Joseph Quinn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was your understanding of Will\u2019s arc for Season 4 when you started filming?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was kind of a different season for him. I was used to acting him [dealing] with the Mind Flayer, the supernatural aspects, and the darker, kind of non-personal stuff. This season was a new thing for me. I had to explore him navigating his personal identity issues and struggling with growing up and assimilating into high school. It was new for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What did you understand about what that personal journey would look like, what Will was going to be contending with?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean, it\u2019s pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike. They\u2019ve been intentionally pulling that out over the past few seasons. Even in Season 1, they hinted at that and slowly, slowly grew that storyline. I think for Season 4, it was just me playing this character who loves his best friend but struggles with knowing if he\u2019ll be accepted or not, and feeling like a mistake and like he doesn\u2019t belong. Will has always felt like that. All his friends, all have girlfriends and they all fit into their different clubs. Will has never really found anywhere to fit in. I think that\u2019s why so many people come up to me and tell me that they love Will and they resonate with him so much because it\u2019s such a real character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conversation that Will and Mike have in the van, where Will is essentially telling Mike how he feels about him, but through the prism of Eleven \u2014 that was so heartbreaking. What do you remember about shooting it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember it was just all day. We started in the morning and went straight through, past lunch, for hours and hours. I remember when I was doing the scene, I was bawling, like, going all out the whole day. And when I saw it on screen, it was actually more subtle. I liked how they edited it together. The day was a lot of fun. I love just playing with Will. This scene was really important for him, because it really solidified the truth, that he loves his best friend and he doesn\u2019t know how to tell him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of fans feel like Mike has been a pretty terrible friend to Will over the last couple of seasons. How do you feel about that relationship?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I\u2019ve seen that a lot too, actually. I think it\u2019s kind of Mike dealing with his own stuff. In Season 2, they were best friends and they were so close, and then obviously Mike has all his eyes on Eleven. Will is dealing with a little bit of jealousy there. He just wants his best friend back and wants it to be like what it was in Season 1 when they were playing D&D in his basement. But Mike\u2019s growing out of that and only cares about Eleven right now. I\u2019m interested just to see where the Duffers go with that in Season 5, and how they close out that storyline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shot of you crying through the van window has even become a meme. Have you seen that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I\u2019ve seen that picture everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any favorite memes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many. I can\u2019t think of anything specific, but it\u2019s awesome and honestly, it feels really good to get that recognition for that scene. Just that little turn told you so much. Everything was done so intentionally, like when I put my hand over my mouth. He\u2019s hiding it, and he doesn\u2019t want Mike to hear him. It\u2019s just really cool that people loved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s the follow-up<\/strong> scene between Will and his older brother Jonathan when Jonathan communicates to Will, basically, I know you\u2019re gay and I\u2019m always here for you \u2014 without ever using those words. What did the Duffers say to you about that scene when you shot it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So this scene was actually not originally written in the script. It was only after I did the scene of me in the van, that they saw me crying and the protectiveness that you see with Jonathan looking in the rearview mirror. They were like, we need a scene with that. So they wrote it as we were filming. It\u2019s also very important for people to see that Will is not alone \u2014 because all we ever see of him is struggling and feeling depressed and that he can\u2019t be himself. Jonathan is talking to him in code \u2014 it\u2019s just the perfect way to tell someone like Will that he cares about him and he accepts him no matter what. I think it was really wholesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As you alluded to earlier, the implication that people perceive Will as gay is baked into the very first episode of the show. But in past interviews, including one that you did with me for Volume 1 of Season 4, you\u2019ve talked instead about how you saw Will as still figuring out that aspect of his identity. Did it feel like it was a spoiler to say outright, \u201cYes, Will is wrestling with being gay and coming out\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I think it is. Obviously, it was hinted at in Season 1: It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he\u2019s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it\u2019s 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\u2019s so easy to make a character just all of a sudden be gay. People have come up to me \u2014 I was just in Paris and this, like, a 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, \u201cWow, 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.\u201d That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they\u2019re doing it so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has it been for you to be asked about this over the years of the show, especially since you\u2019re as young as Will is?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it has been tricky. Years ago in Season 1, I didn\u2019t know where the Duffers wanted to go with this character. So I was kind of figuring it out along with the audience. But now that I\u2019ve spoken to them and seen the show, I know what they want to do with it. They obviously don\u2019t tell me anything, either. I\u2019m always spoiling stuff, so they will never share anything with me. So it\u2019s a lot of figuring it out on my own. And kind of realizing later on, like, \u201cOh this makes sense and this was intentional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this line of inquiry is too personal, please tell me. But you\u2019re still young, and to have this much attention focused on this character while you are also figuring yourself out \u2014 has that been tricky for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it\u2019s all just part of the challenge of acting. Like, yes, it has been a challenge, but I think it\u2019s just been fun to be able to step into his shoes. Because I really have to take into account, like, this isn\u2019t just a single layer thing of he\u2019s struggling with coming out. It\u2019s 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\u2019s scared to come out and doesn\u2019t know if they\u2019ll accept him. And then Eleven is like his sister, but he doesn\u2019t want to hurt her because if he says he likes Mike, that\u2019s gonna hurt her feelings. There are all these things running in his mind. So I kind of just has to make sure that I\u2019m conveying the depth of all his traumas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You and a lot of the rest of the cast post a fair amount on social media, so you\u2019re living your life in front of a lot<\/em> more people than most kids your age. What is that like to navigate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s definitely fun. I\u2019d say I\u2019m the most active on social media [in the cast], and pretty engaged with my fans. Honestly, I love it. Everyone supports me so much. Social media, it\u2019s a great way to be able to connect with them and even though it can be super transparent sometimes and they know everything about me, it\u2019s okay, because my fans are amazing, and they\u2019re super protective. I mean, I was just, like I said, in Paris, and we went outside the hotel and they were mobbing [us]. I was with my mom and then I got in the car. My mom wasn\u2019t in there \u2014 she was lost in the crowd of fans. I was like, \u201cOh my God, where\u2019s my mom? Guys, like, we got to stop. I can\u2019t find her.\u201d And all of them cleared out and we’re like, \u201cNoah\u2019s mom! She\u2019s gotta get in the car! Everyone stop!\u201d They\u2019re so nice! They\u2019re just always looking out for me, and it\u2019s truly like a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You recently caused a bit of a stir when you posted your DMs with Doja Cat about your co-star. I saw your TikTok from yesterday<\/a> where you said in the comments that you apologized to Doja Cat and that there\u2019s no hard feelings. Is there anything more you want to say about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I mean, look, I\u2019m super unserious on social media and pretty goofy, so I posted that not thinking too much of it, but obviously it hurt her feelings. So, as I should, I apologized and she was totally okay with it, and was like, \u201cI\u2019m sorry how I reacted.\u201d It was all good. I love her. I\u2019m like the biggest fan of her music, and I told her that. I was like, you\u2019re literally my role model. It\u2019s all good. People make such a big deal out of everything when it\u2019s on the internet, but, like, in reality, it\u2019s like a two-minute thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve also launched your own vegan hazelnut spread, TBH. How did that come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always been super interested in entrepreneurship. It\u2019s always been something I\u2019ve wanted to tackle and be a part of and build a business. I was just brainstorming all of my passions and what I care about, what I love, and I just kind of combined my favorite things. I love Nutella. It\u2019s my favorite thing ever, but it\u2019s so bad for you and so bad for the planet. And so I was like, there\u2019s a gap in the market for that. I need to fix it. It\u2019s been such a fun journey. It\u2019s been a cool learning experience, too, building the package and taste testing what works and what doesn\u2019t and seeing the feedback. It\u2019s super fun. I\u2019m very excited to continue on that kind of entrepreneurship journey and see what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re 17 now \u2014 how old were you when you started doing this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing TBH? 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s just, you know when I was 15, I was lucky if I got the right shoes on in the morning.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, I\u2019m the same. Yeah. But it\u2019s cool to learn about that and I have a great team behind me who helps me do this kind of stuff. Obviously, I was so new to it at first. I didn\u2019t understand anything and was so confused. I had all these people who have helped market it and build it and finance it, and they all explained to me through the journey, \u201cThis is how this step works, and this is what comes next.\u201d They taught me that whole process and that\u2019s what kind of sparked my interest in college for entrepreneurship. Obviously, I\u2019m gonna study some film and stuff, but it\u2019s also a cool thing to learn about something different and I care a lot about my education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Are you thinking this is a parallel path with working in entertainment?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah. I love acting. It was a hobby. It\u2019s still a hobby. It\u2019s so fun. I love stepping into any character\u2019s shoes and just belting my heart out, whatever the scene is, so I\u2019ll never quit that. But it\u2019s fun to explore different things. I\u2019d love to direct and produce and write and be an entrepreneur and do all these different things. It\u2019s good, especially as an actor, to be well-rounded and know all these different things because at the end of the day, you are portraying all these different characters and you have to understand where it comes from. I mean, I love doing it all. If I\u2019m not busy, I\u2019m miserable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the \u201cStranger Things\u201d set, did you have jars of TBH that you were giving out to everybody else?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we were filming, it was still in development. So I will next season. Millie also has a business of her own and we want to do some type of collaboration. So we\u2019ll be handing that out on set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, what are you looking forward to for Season 5?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Duffers are saying for next season that they\u2019re going to focus more on Will and build that storyline. I think that\u2019s super exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, at the end of Season 4, the fact that Will can still feel Vecna and has that connection with him, means something, it seems to me!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Totally. I called them a few weeks ago and I was like, \u201cWhat\u2019s your plan with Will? Like, with his sexuality, but also with the Upside Down and all of that?\u201d They have a lot to get to. They\u2019re still working it out, but they have their end goal. There are 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. And I\u2019ve always been wondering, why was Will the first victim and the first one captured? I just want to see it all tie in and all workout. So I\u2019m excited to see what happens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Now it\u2019s 100% clear,” the actor says. One of the many thrills embedded in \u201cStranger Things\u201d has been watching each of the young cast literally grow into young adults before our eyes. That is perhaps especially true of its youngest original member, Noah Schnapp. His character, Will Byers, has been through it over the years: Abducted into the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,61,64,68],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"category-entertainment","9":"category-interview","10":"category-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}