Did You Know? Will's Coming Out Scene in "Stranger Things" Took 12 Hours to Shoot

Stranger Things just dropped its fifth and final season to mixed reviews from viewers. One polarizing part of the recent installment was Will Byers’ coming out moment. The scene, which the story has been working towards since the first season, was praised for its emotional delivery. Other fans, however, criticized it for simply having too many characters present, some of whom Will’s never even spoken to.

According to Noah Schnapp, the number of actors contributed to the scene’s lengthy filming process: two twelve-hour shoots to be exact.

In an interview with Variety, Noah opened up about the grueling work put into capturing the five-minute sequence. He called it “endless,” revealing that they spent a 12-hour day just getting his monologue right and capturing his audience’s reactions, consisting of family, friends, and complete strangers. “And we weren’t even done after the 12-hour day. We came back a week later to reshoot certain parts of the scene for another 12 hours,” he added.

While it might have sounded like a draining ordeal, Noah took the opportunity to approach the scene in different ways, opening himself up to some emotional exploration. Prior to filming day, Noah, who had never delivered a monologue that long in the show before, was given the script in advance to memorize his lines and prepare for the pivotal moment.

“He just worked it and worked it,” series co-creator Ross Duffer told Deadline. “I remember him telling us…he wanted to not even have to think about the words on the day, because it would just allow him to sort of access this part of himself where he’s not thinking about the language of it all, he’s just letting the emotion come through.”

Noah also credited his colleagues for the scene’s success. He revealed that all of the actors present during Will’s coming out stayed at the shoot for the whole 12 hours. “They were supporting me on all these angles where they weren’t even caught on camera. They could have gone and sat in Video Village or hung out, but they all sat there in their spots through the whole day. It was really special.”

You can watch the fifth season of Stranger Things exclusively on Netflix.