“I will never forget that last day and how that last scene felt — it was just so surreal,” said Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers in the Netflix sci-fi drama Stranger Things. Elaborating on the final season of the career-defining show, the 21-year-old American actor confessed it has been tough. In his own words, “The goodbye was hard. I grappled with this feeling like my life is over and I’m in a crisis; this is my whole identity and all I’ve ever known, and now it’s ending.”
**WARNING: Minor plot reveals, spoilers ahead**
With the two-hour-long finale of Stranger Things streaming not just on Netflix but also in select movie theatres across the US, Noah Schnapp is reportedly steering clear of online reactions. Although his friends have started texting him, declaring that they loved it so much they have been moved to tears, the young actor has no misconceptions that there will also be negative comments. "My friends are texting me already, like, ‘Oh my God, I loved it,’ or ‘Oh my god, I’m sobbing right now.’ But no, I haven’t checked anything online," he told the Los Angeles Times in an exclusive interview.
After the powerful reveal—which few saw coming—Will Byers’ sexuality became the most discussed aspect of the plot. Noah Schnapp told the media outlet that he used to hide the fact that Will was homosexual because of a personal connection with the character. He used to say Will was not queer but was instead heavily affected by trauma. During his younger years, the pressure around the character was tougher to handle, he recollected.
“When I was younger, I always felt this pressure — like interviewers would ask me, ‘Do you feel a personal connection? Anything personally close to the character?’ I would always kind of deflect. And I would say, ‘Well, no, he’s [Will] not queer. He’s just growing up slower, and he’s suffering from his trauma.’ I felt defensive over Will, almost to make sure that he wasn’t gay because I felt it personally," he reportedly told the LA Times.
As he became older, he gained further clarity. "Our stories there were intertwined and, eventually, as I got older, I noticed how people really dive deeper into that sexual identity for him. And I saw people with such positive reactions to it. It definitely had an impact on me, like, ‘Oh, people don’t care as much as I used to think they did.’ It helped me in my own journey. I think having accepted it publicly before having filmed this scene changed everything for me. It allowed me to be fully vulnerable and feel all the real emotions as much as possible in that scene, which was my goal—to make it feel just like I was living it. If I was still hiding, I wouldn’t have been able to authentically show that."
(The context is being purposefully omitted to avoid further spoilers)
Will Byers of 'Stranger Things'
Will Byers, aged 11, being dragged to the alternate dimension of the Upside Down while returning from a friend’s house was crucial to the series' plot. Will thus became the 'Zombie Boy' — as he made it back alive while most believed he had died that night. Until the first volume of the final season, Will was tormented by the beasts and dangers of the Upside Down, before he decrypted the secret to his suffering to emerge as a superhero — just like his good friend, Eleven.
