After reading the scripts for the first six episodes of Stranger Things 5, the actor who plays Will Byers — the boy who was abducted to kickstart Netflix‘s megahit sci-fi series that is now coming to an end — knew that his character would finally be coming out as gay in one of the final two episodes of the series.
So when he got the script for the penultimate episode of the Duffer brothers‘ saga, “The Bridge,” which was co-directed by executive producer Shawn Levy and the show’s creators/showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer, Schnapp took a moment for himself to soak it all in.
“I read it alone and just cried and I was like, ‘It’s perfect,'” he tells The Hollywood Reporter about these final episodes. Then when he finally filmed the scene with the majority of his close-knit cast — during a 12-hour day of filming — he felt “a weight off my chest reading that scene aloud with everyone. I felt like, ‘Ok, I can do this.'”
The pivotal moment has received mixed reviews, as it closed out an action-packed seventh episode and leads Stranger Things into its epic, supersized series finale that will be simultaneously releasing in 500 theaters across the country when it streams on Netflix starting at 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve. Below, Schnapp brings THR inside the episode as he reflects on his personal feelings playing out Will’s evolution, shares his hopes for how Will’s story will connect with young viewers and teases an ending that he says leaves nothing more to be told. “I can say that you will be satisfied,” he promises.
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This seventh episode was such a pivotal Will episode, but really this is a pivotal Will season. At what point in the process of making this show did you understand how big a role Will would be playing in the end?
Really not until we read the scripts. I remember maybe a month or so before the table read, Shawn [Levy, co-director] and the Duffers were telling me it would be even more focused on Will, but I didn’t really understand until I read episodes one through six at the table read, and especially episode four, and then they wrote seven. It was so exciting.
You were more in the dark this season about what was coming, right?
It was the same as always. We didn’t really get anything in advance. We’d read the scripts. Usually, they would have most of the season written except for the end that they’re writing as we’re going. I didn’t know seven and eight [ahead of time].
Did your own personal predictions line up in the end, about what Will’s initial abduction would mean?
No, it’s crazy. The whole flashback in episode one [of season five] explaining what happened in the Upside Down [when Will was taken]? I knew he was mentally strong but the physical strength that he had, where he was climbing up the tree and jumping and shooting the gun; he was so agile and quick and athletic. We underestimated him. And the powers, I never knew that was coming. That was crazy. But such an honor and so fun. It was exciting to get to play this side of Will that’s not walked all over, who is triumphant and stronger and more powerful.
Did the Duffers give you a heads up that Will’s coming-out scene would be in episode seven?
I read one through six at the table read and thought, “OK, it’s not in here. So it’s going to be in seven or eight.” And then the rest of the year I just kept needling the Duffers like, “Did you write it? How did you write it? Is it Joyce [Winona Ryder] who I’m going to be speaking with?” And they were like, “Noah, relax, we got it.” They sent out the scripts mid-summer, and I read it alone and just cried and, oh my god, I was like, “It’s perfect.” Then I spent the rest of the few months of the year stressing about making it perfect; preparing and reading it over and over and over. And then we filmed it in October.
“In the coming-out scene, I never had so much dialogue to work with in a scene, so getting to express myself verbally was so nice. And getting to play the lighthearted side of Will was something I had never done before,” Schnapp says. Courtesy of Netflix
Viewers had been told that we would cry in this final season. Is this the episode everyone has been referring to the most?
There are so many [moments]. The whole thing is crying. But this is part of it, for sure.
What was the table read like for this seventh episode?
It was nice. One through six was in this room with all these cameras to film our reactions. Seven was a lot more relaxed. It was just us sitting on a couch, hanging out and reading it, which just felt really nice. It was a little but of a weight off my chest reading that scene aloud with everyone. I felt like, “OK, I can do this.”
How many times did you film the scene? What was that day like?
It was a 12-hour day. We spent the whole day filming that scene; nonstop, over and over. So many angles and shots. There are so many people in the room, so you have to redo it for Eleven’s [Millie Bobby Brown] reaction, Max’s [Sadie Sink] reaction, and for the teens and then the group; then the close-up and the wide. There are so many shots to this scene, and you are giving so much every time. I wanted to sleep for three years after I was done.
How do you get to such an emotional place so many times?
I listen to music. The cast was really respectful and gracious with me, and gave me the space to get in the zone. Millie sent me some songs she listens to to get into that headspace. I reread a lot of coming-out texts that I had sent when I was going through it myself, and scrolled in my camera roll, looking through pictures at that time of my life when I was coming to terms with that. But trying to stay in it was hard, and it was the middle of the night too, so it was exhausting.
How much of that scene transcended acting, because of how you can relate to Will and how close you all are as a cast?
No part of that scene felt forced or produced. Part of that was how much I spent preparing, and part of that was my cast and how gracious they were. But watching it back onscreen and getting to see everyone’s reactions was really sweet and emotional for me. Especially Jonathan [Byers’ reaction] got me teary. After we cut, I remember hugging Charlie [Heaton] for real and crying, and it all felt so real.
Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson and Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley in Stranger Things season five. Courtesy of Netflix
How did your expectations line up for Will and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) in this moment?
It was perfect for the scene. There was more to be told, and they will close it out for the rest of the story [in the finale]. But I think it was really well done.
You have spoken about how playing Will helped you to accept yourself. Now Will is coming into himself heading into this series finale, and everyone is relying on him. How did getting to this moment make you feel?
It’s such an honor. Reading the scripts for this season, I was just in shock with how much trust [they put in me]. In season two, they gave me so many opportunities to showcase my range and work, and they had never seen me do anything before. And then again with season five, just putting so much trust in me is so meaningful and such an honor.
What were your emotions when you read the finale and saw how it all ends?
I just remember crying a lot at the table read. They had us read it for the first time all together, and I just think it was perfect. They really left nothing more to be told. I can say that you will be satisfied.
What’s your finale night plan?
How exciting that we get to watch it in the movies among all the fans? I’m so excited. I got 10 tickets. I’m going to bring my friends and family and watch it with all the fans. I’m so excited to hear their screams and the crying and the reactions, and to be there.
Where are you now in the process of letting Will go, and what will always stay with you?
I think once I wrapped, I felt it was time to let him go. Now I’ve really made peace with it, and especially sharing these final episodes with the fans, the fact that these stories have been told and the journeys are done. Even though the story is over, I’ll take with me the lessons I’ve learned; the relationships I’m going to take with me forever. I just hope this show can have a lasting, positive impact.
What comes next for you in 2026?
I’m finishing college at the same time this show is wrapping, so it’s kind of a fresh start for me next year. I’m excited to see what comes. I’ve been reading a lot of scripts and I want to be very specific about what does come next. I want to try theater, and do things I’ve never done before. I don’t want to redo anything.
What is one thing the Duffers or a castmember has imparted with you that has stuck with you?
So many little tidbits. I guess I’ve learned myself to be as present as possible. It all goes so fast. All of this. You blink and you’re 21 and it’s all over, so just learning to take it all in.
What do you hope viewers take away from Will?
I hope all the young Wills out there feel empowered to be proud of who they are and not be scared, and to accept themselves and believe in themselves.
