‘Stranger Things’ Star on the Need for Therapy, the Pressure of Fame, Social Media, and Life After the Show

Actor Noah Schnapp, who played Will Byers in Stranger Things, has said that child actors working under constant public scrutiny need mandatory psychological support.

Schnapp recalled that when the first season of the series premiered in 2016, he was at a summer camp without access to phones or social media and didn’t immediately realize the scale of the show’s popularity. According to him, the abrupt shift from a normal childhood to global fame was an experience whose consequences he only truly understood years later.

The actor is now 21 years old. Behind him are five seasons of one of Netflix’s most successful series and nearly 24 million followers on Instagram. The story of Stranger Things is nearing its end, with the series finale set to air by the end of the year. At the same time, Schnapp is preparing to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies film.

He admits to having mixed feelings about the show ending — ranging from anxiety to a sense of a fresh start. At the same time, he believes the project is concluding at the right moment and avoids the risk of overstaying its welcome.

Schnapp also spoke about the difficulties of growing up under constant public attention and admitted that for a long time he didn’t take this pressure seriously, seeing himself as a “carefree kid” who didn’t need professional help.

He supported Ariana Grande’s view that child actors should be assigned therapy on a mandatory basis, noting that he himself eventually began working with a psychologist.

Schnapp added that he used to spend a lot of time on social media, reading comments and tracking public reactions, but has since consciously reduced his presence on platforms for the sake of his mental health.

Speaking about the future, the actor said he does not expect to repeat success on the scale of Stranger Things, and feels at peace with that. He plans to focus on acting education, indie projects, and theater, and in the long term hopes to try his hand at screenwriting and directing.

For reference, Stranger Things became the most-watched series in Netflix history, reaching 1.2 billion views. The first part of season five collected 102.6 million views in 25 days, and within a week of its premiere the show set a new internal record with 8.46 billion minutes watched. The second part of the finale arrives on December 26, with the final episode airing on January 1.