Noah Schnapp has a fictional crush — adding himself to the long line of fans who have a thing for Heartstopper lead Nick Nelson.
“Where do I find a nick nelson,” Schnapp, 18, tweeted on Friday, August 11, referring to Kit Connor‘s role on the hit Netflix series. In response, Netflix’s official Twitter account replied with a photo of Nick covering boyfriend Charlie’s (Joe Locke) eyes and a still of Nick from season 1 with romantic pink lighting around him.
Season 2 of Heartstopper premiered on Netflix earlier this month. The hit series, which is based on graphic novels by Alice Oseman, focuses on high school athlete Nick as he starts to question his sexuality after developing a friendship with fellow student Charlie. In the new episodes, Nick and Charlie navigate the next chapter of their relationship while facing homophobia, mental health issues and more.
Ahead of the season premiere, Connor, 19, addressed his sexuality for the first time after fans accused him of queerbaiting while being spotted out with actress Maia Reficco.
“Back for a minute. i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. bye,” he tweeted in October 2022.
Connor has since opened up about feeling pressured to publicly come out.
“I just felt like it wasn’t something I was ready to talk about. I wasn’t angry. I was just slightly disappointed by this reaction,” he told British Vogue in July. “I think there’s almost a feeling that because I’d been in the industry for a little while, there was almost this understanding that it’s like, ‘Oh, well, he can take it.”
Connor continued: “I think ‘forced’ isn’t the right word I would use, but I would say that I would have preferred to do it another way. I also don’t know if I would have ever done it. But at the end of the day, I don’t regret it. In many ways, it was really empowering.”
Meanwhile, Schnapp has been outspoken about his more positive experience of playing Will Byers on Stranger Things, which inspired his own coming out journey. Schnapp came out as gay via a TikTok video in February.
“When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was ‘we know,'” he lip-synched before adding in the caption, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”
Earlier this month, Schnapp discussed how Will’s sexuality helped him understand himself more.
“Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself,” he told Variety on August 7. “I would be in a completely different place if I didn’t have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself. I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted.”
