SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from Season 5, Volume 2 of “Stranger Things,” now streaming on Netflix.
Ever since “Stranger Things” first debuted on Netflix in 2016, it was evident that Noah Schnapp‘s Will Byers was different from his friends. His own father derisively called him queer, as his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) recounts early in Season 1. And while he shared his friends’ affinity for playing Dungeons & Dragons, biking around town and geeking out on the latest pop-culture, fantasy or scientific phenomenon of the show’s 1980s setting, Will disappeared during the very first episode, setting the wide-eyed, bowl-cutted boy apart from the group.
Despite his friends rescuing him from the Upside Down at the end of the first season, Will only grew more distinctive as the series continued. As his friends came of age and found girlfriends, he remained outside the group, not only from his traumatic abduction, but from a more elusive feeling of isolation. In Season 3, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) snaps at Will for not liking girls, which further sparked fan speculation regarding the character’s sexuality.
Those speculations seemed to be confirmed, though never explicitly stated, in Season 4 when Will breaks down trying to profess his feelings toward Mike. However, it’s not until Season 5, Episode 7, “The Bridge,” when Will finally admits to his friends— “I don’t like girls.”
The emotional monologue rounding out the series’ penultimate episode is a powerful, touching and poignant delivery on Will’s highly anticipated coming out. It pays off on Will’s arc toward self-acceptance and assurance. While the character has spent much of the series as the victim, he takes center stage as a hero in Season 5, revealed to have sorcerer-like supernatural abilities in the season’s fourth episode that concluded Volume 1.
These triumphant moments also demonstrate Schapp’s growth as an actor over his 10 years playing Will. The coming out monologue is Schnapp’s most emotionally intense and verbose in the series. The performance is further accented by Schapp’s real-world relationship to the topic, having publicly come out as gay in 2023.
Variety spoke with Schnapp to unpack the distinguished scene, how he shaped it with series creators Matt and Ross Duffer and director Shawn Levy and his feelings about closing the book on his decade-plus role in “Stranger Things.”
Courtesy of Netflix
At what point did you find out that Will was going to come out in Season 5, Episode 7?
You know that it’s coming. This season, we read the first six episodes together, and I was like “OK, it didn’t happen yet, so it’s going to be in Episode 7 or 8,” which hadn’t been written yet. So then from January of filming on through the year, I kept texting the Duffers, “Is it done? Did you write it? Is it in 7 or 8? How are you gonna write it?” Eventually, they said they had it, and I read it by the end of the year in August or September. And I was just in tears. It was perfect.
Did you get the opportunity to workshop the script with the Duffers or with Shawn Levy, who directed “The Bridge” with the Duffers?
I was worried that I might need to, but honestly, it was perfect. I really had no notes about it.
Do you recall your co-stars’ reactions the first time that you rehearsed the scene, or did a table read? Shawn Levy told us that the reactions on camera were genuine.
Honestly, I was so wrapped up in my emotions and what I was feeling that I kind of blocked out everyone around me. I kind of had to because it was so nerve-racking to know that the entire cast was there watching me. I had Winona next to me, and the boys and Maya [Hawke] around me. It was all a blur. I don’t really remember anyone’s reactions, but watching it back, it was nice to see. It did feel genuine.
How many takes did you do of the scene?
Oh my God, it was endless. It was like a 12-hour day of just that monologue. And we weren’t even done after the 12-hour day. We came back a week later to reshoot certain parts of the scene for another 12 hours. It was like, “Oh my God, how many more times can I do this scene?” But it was also nice because it allowed me to try so many different things. I never felt stuck to anything. I got advice from Maya on how to prepare for it, because there were so many lines, more lines than I’d ever had before.
Maya speaks like a madman so I asked, “How do you learn all these lines and not think about it in the scene?” She said, “It’s not about how well you know it, it’s how long you’ve known it for, so just prep for months before.” So I’d just go through it morning and night every day for months before shooting, but I wouldn’t prep how to say it or how to feel. It would just be plain saying the lines out loud with no emotion, just to sink it in. But then on the day, I was able to explore the feelings and emotions, and it was fun to have those 12 hours to play and feel. The cast was so gracious. I’ll never forget how supportive they were on that day and how respectful and giving they were to me, because they had to sit there through an entire night just hearing me ramble. They were supporting me on all these angles where they weren’t even caught on camera. They could have gone and sat in Video Village or hung out, but they all sat there in their spots through the whole day. It was really special.
Courtesy of Netflix
In those 12 hours of takes, did you film versions of the scene that are different from what ended up in the final cut?
There were so many different choices in the different takes. I remember being asked, “Do you want to do your close up first or do you want to do it at the end of the day?” Because that was the most important shot. So I could either start with a wide and kind of explore it and feel out the scene and then go to the close up, or go straight into it. I was really struggling with whether I was ready to bang it out first or get comfortable before it. I decided last minute, “Let’s just start with the close up. I’m ready to go and I just want to do it.” And then it was like one of the first takes of the day, and that was most of the meat of the scene. It was so nice because it hadn’t been exhausted yet. It was real and raw and I’m glad I did it that way.
Was there anything that surprised you in the final cut of the scene and the way it was edited?
Literally for every scene, I’m like “Oh I didn’t expect that.” You don’t realize the power of editing and how it can change a scene. For this scene, it was nice because there were moments where I tried the first paragraph of the monologue to the boys where it was a lot more sad, and then there were times when I was a lot more happy reliving the memories with them. I’m glad that they edited it the way they did, where it’s nice to see him not just sob through the whole scene, but kind of smile through the memories and give that lighter feel. It makes it hit harder.
It’s interesting that Will says “I don’t like girls” rather than “I’m gay.” How was that wording decided on? Was there fear about being too explicit, or do you think Will is still sort of figuring out his identity?
Yeah, I noticed that and I spoke to the Duffers about it specifically. We have to remember that its the 1980s. When I came out, I didn’t say the word “gay.” It’s hard, and it feels scary to say it. In the ’80s, I can’t imagine how much more pressure there was and how much more there was to lose. When Will is first coming to terms with it in front of his friends, he’s probably scared to use that word, but there’s nothing wrong with it. I think he just felt more comfortable phrasing it that way.
Do you think discovering that he’s a sorcerer has given Will the confidence to embrace what makes him different? How has discovering Will’s newfound power changed your approach to the character?
I think it helps him accept himself, and you totally see it from the beginning of the season. He’s kind of more assertive and self-assured. It’s nice to play that side of him, and not just play someone who’s always walked all over. Even with the coming out scene, having that much dialogue and actually getting to express myself through my words, which this character has never really done until then, was so nice.
Courtesy of Netflix
A lot of those scenes you share with Winona Ryder. What was it like working so closely with her this final season after having played her son for almost a decade?
It was really special. I was kind of sad in Seasons 3 and 4 that I got separated from her, and I really missed working with her. She’s one of my favorite scene partners and people, and it was so nice to be with her for most of this season. I feel so comfortable around her, and it was hard to say goodbye. I didn’t expect to have such trouble letting go of her on that last day. I didn’t want to let her go, and I realized she really became this motherly figure to me at work during these 10 years.
You also share a lot of scenes with Maya Hawke this Season. How was collaborating with her?
We definitely got closer. I’d barely spoken to Maya before then. I mean, I don’t even think we were friends. Now, we spent the whole season together, and she’s part of my little “Stranger Things” family.
Lastly, you had the ability to collaborate with younger actors this season. For so long, you and the main ensemble were the youngest people on the show. What was it like to now have new rising actors on set who might have looked up to you?
It definitely helped me realize, “Wow, we’ve come so far. We’re not kids anymore.” They’re looking to us. You always feel like you don’t know anything and you have so much more to learn, but then it makes you realize that we’ve spent 10 years here, and we do have some experience now. It was nice to get to work with them and they were so cute. They just brought this childlike energy that reminded us that we were still kids too. I was making handshakes with them and I felt like I was 12 years old again. It was so fun.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
• The Duffer Brothers break down all the Volume 2 spoilers
• The Duffer Brothers break down all the Volume 1 spoilers
• Noah Schnapp on Turning Into the [SPOILER] in Volume 1
• Sadie Sink on Max’s Key Role in Volume 1
• Nell Fisher on Playing Holly Wheeler in Season 5
• The Cast of ‘Stranger Things’ on the Show’s Final Days
• Variety’s “Stranger Things” Oct. 15 Cover Story About the Duffers
• Cara Buono on Karen’s Kick-Ass Hero Moment (At Last)
• The Duffer Brothers on the ‘Stranger Things’ Spinoff
• Linda Hamilton on Being Millie Bobby Brown’s ‘Biggest Fan’
• Shawn Levy on ‘Sticking the Landing’ for Season 5
• David Harbour on How ‘Stranger Things’ Has Changed Him
