If you’ve spent any time on Netflix over the past decade, you already know Noah Schnapp — even if you only know him as Will Byers, the kid who spent most of Season 1 trapped in a nightmare dimension while everyone else scrambled to find him. But here’s the thing: Will Byers is just one chapter of a career that started when Schnapp was barely ten years old, and now that Stranger Things has officially wrapped up, a lot of people are wondering — what exactly has this guy been in, and what’s coming next?

So let’s go through it from the very beginning.

The Early Days: 2015

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Most kids don’t land a Steven Spielberg film as their first acting credit. Noah Schnapp did. He earned the role of Roger Donovan in Spielberg’s Oscar-winning Cold War thriller, playing opposite Tom Hanks. It’s a small role, but it’s the kind of early credit that tells you right away this wasn’t a kid who just happened to get lucky — someone was paying attention to him early, and for good reason.

The Peanuts Movie (2015)

That same year, Schnapp voiced Charlie Brown in the animated Peanuts Movie. Voicing one of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time at age 10 is a pretty remarkable thing to have on your résumé. He later reprised the voice for the tie-in video game The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, which honestly makes sense. Once you nail Charlie Brown, you nail Charlie Brown.

The Breakthrough: Stranger Things (2016–2025)

Everything changed in July 2016 when Netflix dropped Stranger Things.

Schnapp played Will Byers across all five seasons and became one of the most recognizable young actors in the world as a result. What’s funny is that he originally auditioned for the role of Mike Wheeler, not Will. In hindsight, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in that role. The character demanded something quiet, emotionally raw, and inward — and Schnapp delivered it consistently from age 11 all the way through his early twenties.

The show became a cultural phenomenon, racking up award nominations, record-breaking streaming numbers, and one of the most loyal fanbases in recent television history. For Schnapp specifically, the role earned him a Youth Impact Award from Variety and solidified his reputation as one of the more genuinely talented young actors of his generation.

Will Byers wasn’t always the easiest character to play, either. He was physically absent for most of Season 1 (missing the entire time), then had to carry increasingly complex and emotional storylines as the show progressed — including Will’s coming-out arc, which Schnapp handled with a maturity that surprised a lot of people. By the final season, it was clear he’d grown into one of the show’s most quietly powerful performers.

Branching Out: The Films in Between

We Only Know So Much (2018)

While Stranger Things was taking off, Schnapp quietly slipped into a small indie feature, playing Otis Copeland in this film based on the Elizabeth Crane novel. It didn’t make big waves, but it showed he was already interested in character-driven work outside the franchise — which matters more than people realize for an actor his age.

Abe (2019)

This one is genuinely underrated. Schnapp starred as the lead in Abe, an indie drama about a 12-year-old boy with a passion for cooking who has never known a family dinner without arguments. It’s a personal, intimate film — the kind of project that doesn’t get mainstream attention but says a lot about an actor’s instincts. Schnapp carried the whole thing on his shoulders, which for a kid still primarily known for playing Will Byers, was a real statement.

Hubie Halloween (2020)

A bit of a pivot. Schnapp appeared in this Netflix Halloween comedy alongside Adam Sandler, playing a character named Tommy and the film became the top-streamed title on Netflix in its first two weeks of release. It’s a fun, silly movie, not the kind of prestige project he usually gravitates toward, but it clearly connected with audiences. Sometimes you just want to watch Adam Sandler cause chaos on Halloween, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Waiting for Anya (2020)

Back to serious territory. Schnapp played Jo, a 13-year-old shepherd who helps smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain during World War II — based on the popular YA novel by Michael Morpurgo, the author of War Horse. It’s a quiet, affecting film, and Schnapp’s performance is one of the better things about it. This one flew under the radar far too much.

The Tutor (2023)

Schnapp joined the cast of this psychological thriller as Jackson, a troubled teenager who becomes increasingly unsettling as the story unfolds. Critics weren’t kind — it sits at 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, his lowest-rated film to date — but it showed Schnapp willing to take risks and play genuinely dark, uncomfortable characters. That kind of willingness to go somewhere uncomfortable is actually a good sign for where his career could go.

TV and Specials

Liza on Demand (2018)

A brief guest appearance in one episode of this YouTube Premium comedy series. Easy to miss, worth noting for completeness.

Who Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021)

Schnapp appeared in this Apple TV+ documentary special celebrating the Peanuts characters and their creator, Charles M. Schulz — a nice callback to one of his earliest roles, and a reminder that the Peanuts chapter of his career wasn’t just a one-off.

One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 (2026)

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the final season, for anyone who wants to see how it all came together — and probably needs a good cry about the whole thing being over.

Music Videos

Before social media turned actors into full-time content creators, music videos were the side gig of choice. Schnapp appeared in Panic! at the Disco’s “LA Devotee,” Drake’s “In My Feelings,” and Johnny Orlando’s “See You.” The Drake one, in particular, got a lot of attention at the time — which is the kind of surreal cultural moment that only really happens when you’re a 13-year-old Netflix star in 2018.

Noah Schnapp Upcoming Projects: Movies and TV Shows

Here’s where things get genuinely interesting and also a little complicated.

As of mid-2026, Noah Schnapp is one of the only major Stranger Things cast members without a publicly announced next project. His castmates have moved quickly: Millie Bobby Brown is returning for Enola Holmes 3, David Harbour is in Avengers: Doomsday, Sadie Sink is joining Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Maya Hawke is in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and Joe Keery is starring opposite Liam Neeson in Cold Storage. Schnapp’s calendar, publicly at least, looks empty.

There are a few explanations for this, and none of them necessarily signal trouble.

The first is the most straightforward: he’s been finishing his degree. Schnapp enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania‘s Wharton School, majoring in entrepreneurship and innovation, and is graduating in May 2026. Balancing Ivy League coursework with a major television production is not a small thing, and it would make sense that he’s been deliberate about not overcommitting to new projects while finishing that chapter.

The second explanation is that he’s being selective. In interviews with SFX magazine, Schnapp has said he’s “so ready to play another character” after nine years as Will Byers — which suggests he’s actively thinking about what comes next, not coasting. Being selective after a long franchise run is actually a smart move. Jumping at the first offer isn’t always the right call.

The third explanation — and the one that’s harder to ignore — is that the 2023 controversy around a social media post related to the Israel-Gaza conflict left some lasting damage to his public profile. Social Blade data noted he lost a significant number of followers across platforms shortly after the fallout, and boycott campaigns were organized around the Stranger Things finale. Schnapp addressed it in a TikTok in early 2024, saying his thoughts had been “so far misconstrued” and that he only wanted peace for all innocent people affected.

As for rumors: Noah Schnapp and Heated Rivalry showrunner Jacob Tierney recently started following each other on Instagram, which immediately set fan accounts buzzing about a possible Season 2 connection. The mutual follow fueled speculation that Schnapp might be involved in Heated Rivalry Season 2 or one of Tierney’s other upcoming projects.

The honest answer to “what’s Noah Schnapp doing next?” in May 2026 is: we don’t know yet. And that’s actually kind of fascinating. He’s 21, just finished one of the longest runs any young actor has had on a major franchise, and he’s about to graduate from one of the best business schools in the country. That’s not a person running out of options. That’s someone who gets to decide, for the first time in his career, what he actually wants to do next — with no script already written for him.

Whatever it is, it’ll be worth paying attention to.

Noah Schnapp Full Filmography at a Glance

Last updated: May 2026