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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Entertainment
Alexandra Del Rosario

'Stranger Things' star Noah Schnapp's loved ones weren't that shocked when he came out

Actor Noah Schnapp has more in common with his "Stranger Things" character, Will Byers, than meets the eye.

In an eight-second TikTok posted Thursday, the 18-year-old star seemingly came out as gay to his followers. Lip-syncing to a viral TikTok sound while lying in bed, he called his coming out "never that serious."

"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,'" he wrote in his TikTok.

The actor's coming-out video comes months after he clarified for "Stranger Things" fans that his character is gay and has feelings for his friend Mike Wheeler (played by Finn Wolfhard).

"I mean, it's pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike," Schnapp told Variety in July. "I think for Season 4, it was just me playing this character who loves his best friend but struggles with knowing if he'll be accepted or not, and feeling like a mistake and like he doesn't belong. Will has always felt like that."

He added that Will's feelings were "always kind of there."

With his sexual orientation now public, Schnapp says the commonalities between him and his character aren't lost on him.

"I guess I'm more similar to will than I thought," he captioned his TikTok video.

In the comments section, followers are voicing their support for the "Hubie Halloween" actor.

"LOVE YOU NOAH," commented content studio Flighthouse Media.

"Slay," replied TikTok user Amanda Diaz.

The official TikTok page for Netflix Brasil had lots of love for Schnapp, with its heart-filled reply.

The supportive notes also made their way to Instagram, with MTV among the Instagram accounts populating Schnapp's latest post with heart and pride-flag emojis.

And Twitter is no different, as Schnapp's fans celebrate his news.

"So proud of as a bisexual girl I look up to you even more keep being you " @noah_schnapp," wrote one user.

"i'm so happy for noah schnapp, it's gotta be such an insane feeling to come out to millions of people," said another fan.

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