Will Byers

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Will Byers
Stranger Things character
Will Byers.jpg
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers in season 3
First appearance
Created byThe Duffer Brothers
Portrayed byNoah Schnapp
In-universe information
Full nameWilliam Byers
NicknamesWill the Wise
The Spy
Zombie Boy
AffiliationAV Club
Family
  • Joyce Byers (mother)
  • Lonnie Byers (father)
  • Jonathan Byers (brother)
HomeHawkins, Indiana, United States

William Byers is a fictional character from the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things. Portrayed by Noah Schnapp, the character appears in a recurring capacity in the first season before being promoted to the main cast in the second season.

Characterization[]

Noah Schnapp was cast as Will Byers in August 2015.[1][2] Schnapp was promoted to series regular for the second season in October 2016, after recurring in the first.[3] Schnapp was revealed to be returning for the third season in a main role by February 9, 2018[4] The idea of having Will communicate with Joyce via lightbulbs was inspired by 1980s films, including Poltergeist.[5] In terms of the narrative in the third season, Levy said the season would be less about Will, saying, "We're not going to put Will through hell for a third season in a row. He'll be dealing with stuff, but he won't be at rock bottom... We're [going to be] dealing with forces of evil that are new."[6]

Fictional biography[]

Season 1[]

Main article: Stranger Things (season 1)

Will, the younger brother of Jonathan Byers and the son of Joyce Byers, is a shy, kind, and often timid boy. In the group's Dungeons and Dragons party, Will is the cleric, but later occasionally plays the role of Dungeon Master; he is referred to as "Will the Wise". In November 1983, he vanishes somewhere near "Mirkwood" after encountering the monster that escaped through a rift to the "Upside Down", an alternate dimension discovered by the Hawkins Laboratory scientists.[7] Will begins communicating with Joyce through lightbulbs, so Joyce arranges a setup so Will can light up lights next to letters to spell sentences. When Jim Hopper and Joyce venture into the Upside Down to find him all but dead, they revive him with CPR and bring him back to the real world, but he still has side effects from his time in the alternate dimension, including a slug emerging from his mouth, visions of the Upside Down, and a connection to the Mind Flayer.

Season 2[]

Main article: Stranger Things (season 2)

After returning he is harassed by local residents who dub him "Zombie Boy" after apparently returning from the dead hoax orchestrated by the people from Hawkins Laboratory. He has had regular appointments with Dr. Sam Owens who is examining any potential links he may still have with "The Upside Down". Eventually He is possessed by the Mind Flayer from the Upside Down, acts as it's spy, and conceals the existence of an invading force until he gets freed from the Mind Flayer through the efforts of his mother, brother, and Nancy Wheeler, who burn the Mind Flayer out of him, a deduction they surmised after comments Will made about wanting to stay cold.

Season 3[]

Main article: Stranger Things (season 3)

In season three, his friends' preoccupations with their girlfriends leads to Will feeling like the odd-man-out. This influences him to try harder to move on from his childish hobbies. He still has a distant mental link to the Mind Flayer, which helped his friends know when the Flayer was active. At the end of the season, he moves out of Hawkins with his mother, brother and Eleven after giving away his own Dungeons and Dragons set to Erica Sinclair.

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

Will was ranked the third best Stranger Things character by Screen Rant, behind only Eleven and Steve Harrington.[8]

Accolades[]

Schnapp received a total of two awards and six nominations for his role as Will Byers. Schnapp was nominated for an MTV Movie & TV Awards in the category of Best On-Screen Team with other cast members Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Sadie Sink in 2018, as well as in the category of Most Frightened Performance the same year, which he won.[9] Along with the rest of the main cast in the second season, Schnapp was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Awards in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2017.[10][11] For the third season, the main cast (including Schnapp) was once again nominated for the same award, however this time the cast did not win, and once again for the same result.[12] Finally, in 2017, Schnapp was nominated for the category of Best Performance in a Digital TV Series or Film – Young Actor.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 20, 2015). "Duffer Will Byers played by Noah Schnapp Bros. Netflix Supernatural Drama Series Sets Young Cast, Gets Title". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Petski, Denise (October 14, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Netflix Series Adds Two New Regulars, Promotes Two For Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  3. ^ Petski, Denise (October 14, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Netflix Series Adds Two New Regulars, Promotes Two For Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 16, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  4. ^ Ausiello, Michael (February 9, 2018). "Stranger Things Season 3 Episode Count (Finally) Revealed". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  5. ^ Leon, Melissa (August 6, 2016). "Inside 'Stranger Things': The Duffer Bros. on How They Made the TV Hit of the Summer". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Radloff, Jessica (January 24, 2018). "'Stranger Things' Season 3 Is Further Along Than You Think". Glamour. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Pedersen, Erik (June 9, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Trailer: First Look At Netflix's Supernatural Drama Starring Winona Ryder & Matthew Modine". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  8. ^ "Stranger Things: The Main Characters, Ranked By Likability". ScreenRant. July 26, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  9. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray; Ramos, Dino-Ray (June 19, 2018). "MTV Movie & TV Awards Winners: 'Black Panther', 'Stranger Things' Among Top Honorees – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "SAG Awards Nominations 2017: See the Full List". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "SAG Awards: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. January 29, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "Nominations Announced for the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ®". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Nominees – Young Artist Awards". February 2, 2017. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
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