Noah Schnapp says child actors should have therapy, reflecting on growing up in public

Noah Schnapp has said that child actors should have access to therapy, describing life in the entertainment industry as “an abnormal life” and reflecting on the challenges he faced growing up in the public eye.

The actor, who rose to fame as a child on Netflix’s Stranger Things, spoke about mental health and the pressures of early success in a recent interview with USA Today.

Schnapp said he initially believed he did not need therapy when he was younger but later changed his view as he got older.

“It’s hard to grow up in the public eye,” he said. “You don’t know yourself, you haven’t figured anything out, and now you’re expected to know everything and have all the answers.”

Schnapp explained that being constantly visible can make personal development more difficult, particularly when mistakes are preserved online. “I was constantly saying the wrong things or being embarrassed by not taking certain things seriously that I should’ve, and then that lives on forever. People grow and learn, and to do that publicly is not easy,” he said.

He added that, over time, his perspective on the entertainment industry changed. “Through the years, it becomes like, ‘No, this is an abnormal life and you need some type of support system outside of your parents,’” Schnapp said.

The actor also discussed how his understanding of mental health evolved as he grew older. “Growing up, I never understood why people were depressed or turned to drugs or had eating disorders. As you get older, you understand how the pressures of Hollywood can create that,” he said. “I always tell my parents, ‘I could never live in LA. I think I would get lost.’”

Schnapp was 11 years old when he began filming the first season of Stranger Things, which premiered in 2016 and ran for five seasons. The final season is currently being released, with the remaining episodes scheduled to drop over the holiday period.