Noah Schnapp: the actor who plays Will Byers in Stranger Things
Actors · Noah Schnapp · Will Byers
Noah Schnapp spent season 1 hidden in the Upside Down, with a few minutes on screen. Nine years later, Will Byers is at the center of the last season. Portrait of the actor who played the missing boy from ten to twenty.
The essentials
- Born: October 3, 2004, New York
- Role: Will Byers, seasons 1 to 5
- Before: the voice of Charlie Brown, Spielberg's Bridge of Spies
- Elsewhere: a University of Pennsylvania graduate
Contents
Noah Schnapp: Charlie Brown and Spielberg
Noah Schnapp grows up in Scarsdale, north of New York, and takes acting classes after seeing Annie on Broadway. At ten, he shoots Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, in the role of Tom Hanks's son, and voices Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie (2015). He is therefore, with Millie Bobby Brown, the only one in the group with a real film résumé before the show.
He auditions for Mike, then for Will. The Duffers keep him for Will Byers, a role almost absent from Season 1: the boy everyone is looking for.
The Will T-shirt, for those who waited for him.
In the shopMen's long-sleeve Will Byers T-shirt47,90 €See the product
The missing boy who became the heart of the show
Noah Schnapp barely appears in season 1: the first episode, a few visions, the final scene. Season 2 gives him his real role, that of a child possessed by the Mind Flayer, and his crisis scenes, lying down, eyes empty, screaming numbers, earn him his first glowing reviews. Seasons 3 and 4 put him in the background, while the character grows up.
Season 5 puts him back at the center: Will's link with the Upside Down, set since 1984, becomes the stake of the ending. For the actor, it is the conclusion of a role held from ten to twenty.
The van monologueSeason 4: in the Surfer Boy van, Will talks to Mike about “someone” who loves him without daring to say it, looking out the window. The scene, played in tears, is the one that made Will one of the most discussed characters in the show.
The coming out and school
In January 2023, Noah Schnapp announces on social media that he is gay, a few months after the show confirmed that Will was too. He has said the character helped him, and that his friends' reaction was “you already knew.” He continued his studies in parallel with filming, at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated.
He launched a spread brand, TBH, and acts in independent films between seasons: Abe, Hubie Halloween with Adam Sandler, The Tutor.
| Year | Project | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bridge of Spies | Roger Donovan |
| 2015 | The Peanuts Movie | Voice of Charlie Brown |
| 2019 | Abe | Abe, the young cook |
| 2020 | Hubie Halloween | Tommy |
| 2023 | The Tutor | Jackson |
Markers
| Year | Step |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Born in New York |
| 2015 | Bridge of Spies; Charlie Brown's voice; Will's casting |
| 2016 | Season 1: the missing boy |
| 2017 | Season 2: the possession, his first great scenes |
| 2022 | Season 4: the van monologue |
| 2023 | Coming out |
| 2025 | End of the show |
After Hawkins
Noah Schnapp is the youngest in the cast and the one whose next step is the least mapped out: a graduate, an entrepreneur, he has said he wants to keep acting without rushing. Will Byers, for his part, will remain the boy whose disappearance launched the whole story, and whose return closed it.
The Will figure, 1983 version.
In the shopLego Will Byers mini figure on a bike14,90 €See the product
What you know less about him
Noah Schnapp has a twin sister, Chloe. His parents, both originally from Montreal, gave him dual American and Canadian nationality. It was seeing Annie on Broadway, at five, that made him want to act; at eight, his drama teacher advised his parents to make it a career. He first auditioned for Mike Wheeler before being chosen for Will, like Gaten Matarazzo.
Between seasons, he led an almost ordinary student life: a YouTube channel launched in 2019, followed by more than four million subscribers, a summer as a lifeguard before college, and studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He cofounded in 2021 a spread brand, TBH, then in 2023 a fried-chicken delivery brand operated by a restaurant chain.
Will in 1987: the boy who stops being afraid
The last season is Noah Schnapp's. Will sees through Vecna's eyes there, serves as a receiver to find Holly, discovers in episode 4 that he can command the hive's creatures, comes out to the whole group in episode 7, and tears off Henry's arm in the finale. The Duffers explained that his powers had been planned “all along,” but that they depended on one thing: that Will finally accept himself.
The actor rehearsed the coming-out scene's text for almost a month, which he described as “liberating” and close to his own experience. Winona Ryder said she had been “caught off guard” by his work in the episode 5 scenes. For the 1983 prologue, he also directed, in his own way, the eleven-year-old child who lent his body to young Will.
After the show: the stage
For life after Hawkins, Noah Schnapp chose theater. He has been announced for his stage debut in London, in a play by Andy Sandberg titled Affluenza, inspired by an American court case and set in the Hamptons, where he plays two roles. A film, a thriller titled Stealing From Pablo, has also been announced, of which he is an executive producer.
These are exit choices from the show: no blockbuster, but a London scene and an independent film. Will Byers, for his part, leaves Hawkins in the epilogue and feels, for the first time, that he belongs; his performer has said he wants to “keep acting without rushing.”
Five Will scenes to rewatch
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The shed, 1983
The bulb that goes out: the first disappearance in the show.
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The “memories of today”, 1984
Possessed Will describes what he sees; Joyce writes it on the walls.
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Castle Byers in the rain, 1985
Will destroys his fort after the fight with Mike.
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The van, 1986
The monologue about Eleven's feelings, written as a disguised confession.
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The frozen Demogorgons, 1987
Three creatures hanging in the air: Will stops being afraid.
The Byers keychain, to hang on the lights.
In the shopWill Byers jacket66,90 €See the product
TakeawayBorn in 2004 in New York, the youngest of the party. Voice of Charlie Brown and a Spielberg actor before the show. Will Byers, almost absent in Season 1, central in Season 5. Came out in 2023, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Will Byers?
Noah Schnapp, American actor born in 2004 in New York, across the five seasons.
Is Noah Schnapp in a Spielberg film?
Yes, Bridge of Spies (2015), where he plays the son of Tom Hanks's character.
Did Noah Schnapp come out?
Yes, in January 2023, a few months after season 4 confirmed Will's orientation.
How old was Noah Schnapp in season 1?
Ten years at filming, in 2015. He was twenty at the end of the season 5 shoot.
Does Noah Schnapp have a twin?
Yes, a twin sister, Chloe. He has dual American and Canadian nationality through his parents, originally from Montreal.
Did Noah Schnapp audition for Mike?
Yes, like Gaten Matarazzo. The Duffers finally chose him for Will Byers, the boy everyone is looking for.
Does Noah Schnapp have a YouTube channel?
Yes, launched in 2019 and active a year and a half, with vlogs and everyday-life videos: more than four million subscribers at its peak.