Noah Schnapp

Intro

Noah Schnapp is an American actor best known for playing Will Byers in Stranger Things. His career also includes the voice of Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie, an early appearance in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies and leading roles in independent dramas and thrillers. These credits place him in several different traditions of storytelling: a familiar animated comic-strip world, historical drama and a long-running supernatural series. Will remains the role most closely associated with him, but it is not the only way to approach his work.

Career snapshot

The Peanuts Movie introduced Schnapp's voice as Charlie Brown in 2015. Disney's film record identifies the character and the performance, alongside the familiar ensemble created by Charles M. Schulz. Directed by Steve Martino, the animated feature follows Charlie Brown's hopes and setbacks while Snoopy pursues adventures of his own. Voice acting gives the performer a particular responsibility: the character's sound must support an animated expression and movement created by others. For Schnapp, it was an early leading assignment within a property already familiar to generations of viewers.

The entry point

In the same year, Bridge of Spies placed him in a live-action historical drama as Roger Donovan. Tom Hanks plays James Donovan, and Amy Ryan plays Mary Donovan, with Schnapp appearing as their son. Spielberg's film follows an attorney drawn into a Cold War prisoner exchange, but its domestic scenes also show how public tension reaches a family. The credit provides an early example of Schnapp working within an adult-led ensemble, with the scale of his role distinct from the central voice performance he supplied for The Peanuts Movie.

Screen identity and style

Stranger Things made Will Byers central to its story from the beginning: his disappearance sets the search in motion. Across the series, Will's relationship to his friends and to the Upside Down continues to shape the plot. In Netflix's interview about the fifth season, Schnapp described his interest in seeing Will become more confident and better understand his identity. The creators similarly explained their decision to bring the story back toward the boy whose disappearance began it. That development gives Schnapp a role that changes substantially as the character grows.

Collaborations and patterns

Waiting for Anya casts him as Jo Lalande, a young shepherd in wartime France. Producer Artemis identifies the role and Ben Cookson as the director, while the British Council's film record describes Jo helping a widow move Jewish children across the border into Spain. The film is based on Michael Morpurgo's novel. Its stakes are historical and human rather than supernatural: the danger comes from occupation and the risks of helping others. Working alongside performers including Jean Reno and Anjelica Huston places Schnapp within another multigenerational cast.

Era reflection

The 2023 thriller The Tutor offers a different use of his screen presence. Schnapp plays Jackson, the wealthy student taught by Garrett Hedlund's Ethan at a secluded waterfront estate. Vertical's synopsis describes the student's interest in his tutor becoming an obsession that threatens Ethan's life and reputation. Jordan Ross directed the film from Ryan King's screenplay. Here the relationship itself creates suspense, with uncertainty about motives replacing the shared mission of an adventure ensemble. It is a useful contrast with Will, whose vulnerability and loyalty are established over many episodes.

Legacy and rediscovery

The gallery combines a 2017 San Diego Comic-Con portrait by Gage Skidmore with Kevin Paul's photograph at a Newport Beach Film Festival event in October 2025. These are separate public appearances, not images claimed to represent Charlie Brown, Roger, Jo or Jackson. Seen together, the photographs mark different stages of a career that began while Schnapp was a child. A viewing path through the animated film, Stranger Things and the later thrillers shows how the same performer can occupy very different positions within a story's emotional and dramatic structure.

Selected screen roles

• The Peanuts Movie: Charlie Brown (voice) — 2015
• Bridge of Spies: Roger Donovan — 2015
• Stranger Things: Will Byers — Television series
• Waiting for Anya: Jo Lalande — 2020
• The Tutor: Jackson — 2023

A career in pictures

Separate public appearances in 2017 and 2025 document Noah Schnapp's screen career.

At San Diego Comic-Con (2017)

Noah Schnapp at a public panel

Photographed by Gage Skidmore on July 22, 2017.

Newport Beach Film Festival appearance (2025)

Noah Schnapp speaking at Fashion Island

Photographed by Kevin Paul on October 19, 2025, in Newport Beach, California.

Rewatch notes

• Schnapp voices Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie.
• He plays Will Byers in Stranger Things.
• Waiting for Anya casts him as Jo Lalande.