Noah Schnapp, best known for his role as Will Byers on Stranger Things, has come out as gay.
In a video posted to his 30 million TikTok followers, the 18-year-old actor can be seen lip-syncing, “You know what it never was. That Serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, it would never be that serious.”
Schnapp revealed further details on his coming out journey in the caption, in which he 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'”.
“I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought,” he added, referencing the sexuality of his breakout Stranger Things character.
Schnapp’s video immediately went viral, attracting more than – as of writing – 33 million views. Fans showered the star with support, with one writing: “This is the most iconic coming out ever.”
Another said: “This is such a king way to come out to the internet.”
In an interview with Variety earlier this year, Schnapp addressed fan speculation surrounding Will’s sexuality.
“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?” he explained.
“Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. 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 also revealed that he’s approached by fans and commended for his portrayal of a teenager coming to terms with their sexuality.
“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 so much. That’s exactly who I was when I was a kid,”” he said.
“That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle, and their doing it so well.”
Stranger Things has aired four seasons on Netflix to universal critical acclaim. The Emmy Award-winning sci-fi drama, created by The Duffer Brothers, has been confirmed to return for a fifth and final season.
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