'Stranger Things' star Noah Schnapp says he's 'like' his character Will more than he thought

This LGBTQ+ horror film breaks with the usual Hollywood themes 1:30

(CNN) --

"Stranger Things" star Noah Schnapp has revealed that he has more similarities to his character on the series, Will Byers, than he previously realized.

The 18-year-old actor shared a TikTok video on Thursday in which he identifies as gay.

The text on the screen of the video relates: "When I finally told my friends and family that I was gay, after being scared without telling for 18 years, all they said was: 'We know.'"

Noah Schnapp in an image taken during the premiere of the fourth season of "Stranger Things" in New York City.

The actor shared some personal details in a recent TikTok video.

In the video, Schnapp smiles as he gestures to the words of a voiceover that says: “You know what never was?

So serious.

It was never that bad.

Frankly, it will never be that bad."

Beneath the video, Schnapp captioned the post: "I guess I'm more like Will than I thought."

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Schnapp's "Stranger Things" character, Will Byers, is a central figure in the hit Netflix series, and in season four, he professes his love for his friend Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard).

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Last July, Schnapp told

that "it's 100% clear that [Will] is gay" and that his character had been struggling with his feelings throughout the series (a feeling most viewers picked up on).

The TikTok comments Schnapp received Thursday included many messages of love and support.

Like his co-stars in "Stranger Things," which premiered in 2016, Schnapp has essentially grown up in front of the camera.

Due to the pandemic in particular, there was a huge gap between the airing of the third season of 2019 and the fourth season of last year, the latter of which featured the younger cast of the show clearly more adult.

“Stranger Things” will end with its fifth season, which will consist of eight episodes.

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