Child actors can’t stay young forever, which is especially obvious if a show goes on for multiple seasons. But it seems like not everyone got the memo as it was revealed that Stranger Things star, Noah Schnapp, was asked to speak in a higher pitch to “retain his season one innocence.” As if the bowl cut wasn’t enough punishment already.
In an interview with Flaunt, Schnapp said that he’s glad that he got to play Will, and was able to see them grow up. However, playing a lead character from a popular and ongoing series has its challenges. Despite Schnapp and Will Bryers being the same age when season one started, the actor aged up quicker than his character in the show. And the same can be said for the other cast members.
According to the actor, the producers and the directors tried to retain the characters’ original look from season one as the actors began to grow up. This led to odd requests like “talking in a higher pitch,” where Schnapp had to remind them that he was going through puberty and that his voice will be changing.
“It was the peak time of change, and puberty and growing up and just everything was changing with all of us, and the directors were just not loving it. And I remember one of the producers coming up to me and telling me, ‘Noah, is there any way you could just speak in a higher tone and just slouch a little bit? Like, we need you to keep that Season 1 innocence that you had.’ That was like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you. My voice is dropping. I don’t sound young anymore.’”
Schnapp starred in the hit Netflix series since it began in 2016. And since then, his character went from being a side, if pivotal role in season one, to being included in the main cast by season two. Sadly, season five of Stranger Things will be the last in the series. And the showrunners teased that Bryer’s coming of age will be one of the main focus points in the final season.
If you want to relive Will’s full story, seasons one through four of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix.