Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp offered all child stars a solid piece of advice: get therapy.

Schnapp was just a child when he first landed the role of Will Byers. The actor explained how he was at summer camp when the hit Netflix science fiction show debuted. During that time, he was in the wilderness and disconnected from the rest of the world, especially social media. It wasn’t until his mom emailed him that he knew that he had become an overnight sensation.

In an interview with USA Today, he revealed that his mother told him that someone had made a fan page of him on Instagram, and he had surpassed 10,000 followers. Schnapp said that he was at a loss for words and absolutely stunned that he amassed that kind of following within such a short period of time.

While this was exciting for him, it was also an incredibly stressful situation to be in, especially at his age. Schnapp had to deal with a lot of invasive questions during interviews with the press. He said he felt uncomfortable when adult journalists asked him if he believed his character was gay in Stranger Things and other invasive questions about his own preference at 12 years old. The actor rightfully added that this was very inappropriate and crossed way too many lines.

Schnapp said that another stressful aspect of working on Stranger Things was that he pretty much had a demanding full-time job before he was even a teenager. All the publicity and time spent on the Netflix series forced him to grow up too quickly and didn’t allow him to just be a kid.

And, to top it all off, he had no privacy. During his freshman year in college, he said that there would be other students who just hung out in front of his dorm room waiting for him to either come in or out. As grateful as he is for his role on Stranger Things, it also took away his chance to have a normal college experience.

It’s hard to grow up in the public eye. You don’t know yourself, you haven’t figured anything out, and now you’re expected to know everything and have all the answers. I was constantly saying the wrong things or being embarrassed by not taking certain things seriously that I should’ve, and then that lives on forever. People grow and learn, and to do that publicly is not easy.

All these things combined are why Schnapp believes that all young actors should get therapy. Sometimes, being a successful actor at a young age will deprive them of a normal, stable childhood. He mentioned that ever since he sought professional help, he had become a far happier person.

Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 premieres on December 25, 2025.