Noah Schnapp is using his time away from the “Stranger Things” set to experience the less glitzy side of teenage life, like working a summer job.
The 17-year-old actor, who plays Will Byers on the smash Netflix series, told Flaunt Magazine in an interview published last week that he’s been working part-time as a lifeguard at a local swimming pool. He doesn’t reveal the precise location of his splashy side hustle, but nonetheless credited the gig with helping him to stay humble in spite of his global fame.
“It’s kind of a ‘just for fun’ thing,” he said. “I’ve kind of grown up with a normal life and normal friends and stuff outside of ‘Stranger Things,’ so it’s kind of kept me grounded.”
A New York City native, Schnapp graduated from high school this year. In a TikTok video last December, he revealed that he’d been accepted into the University of Pennsylvania, where he plans to study business.
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Schnapp’s college plans may come as a surprise to his fans, given the success he’s already achieved in Hollywood. Though he gave no indication that he’ll turn his back on acting, he told Flaunt that studying business offered a welcome challenge that film or theater would not.
“Acting was just kind of repetitive, and I wanted to try something new,” he explained. “I thought it would make more sense to do something different. And business was a pretty clear next thing for me.”
He’s already been putting his entrepreneurial skills to use after launching TBH, a vegan hazelnut spread similar to Nutella.
“I was just brainstorming all of my passions and what I care about, what I love, and I just kind of combined my favorite things,” he told Variety. “I love Nutella. It’s my favorite thing ever, but it’s so bad for you and so bad for the planet. And so I was like, there’s a gap in the market for that. I need to fix it.”
Schnapp isn’t the only “Stranger Things” star who is embarking on new endeavors outside of the film and TV industry. Actor Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, confirmed this month that she recently enrolled at Indiana’s Purdue University and is studying human services.