- The duo first met when Brown was 11 and Schnapp was 9
- Schnapp wanted to come out to Brown in person
- Did Schnapp attend Brown’s wedding?
Ever since Stranger Things debuted in 2015, co-stars Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp have built a real-life best friends forever bond.
The two actors, who play Will Byers and Eleven on the Netflix show, grew close behind the scenes despite having limited on-screen time together.
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When Brown first auditioned for Stranger Things, she was 11 years old. Schnapp was 9 years old at the time. Now, as fans anticipate the release of the fifth and final season of the show, Brown is 21 and happily married, and Schnapp is 20.
Read more: Sadie Sink on “embarrassing” Stranger Things 5 wrap pics
Fans of the show have branded the besties “Nillie”, because of their history of posting one another on their Instagram and TikTok accounts.
Here’s a look back through the years of the Brown and Schnapp’s blossoming friendship.
When Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp first met
The pair were first brought together in the cast of Stranger Things back in December 2015. Schnapp posted a photo on Instagram of himself and co-stars Brown, Finn Wolfhard and Caleb McLaughlin looking incredibly excited on the first day of filming. He simply wrote “Day one here we go”, but their faces said it all.
Attending the Stranger Things season 1 premiere together
In July 2016, Brown and Schnapp joined fellow cast members Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine, McLaughlin and Matarazzo on the red carpet at the Stranger Things season 1 premiere.
Schnapp posted a…snap of the moment on his Instagram.
Taking a selfie with Timberlake
Brown and Schnapp attended the annual BAFTA Tea Party event in Beverly Hills in January 2017. The duo were showbiz newbies at the time, but managed to grab a selfie with pop megastar Justin Timberlake.
Beaming at the afterparty
The Stranger Things cast won the award for outstanding ensemble in a drama series at the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards in January 2017. Brown and Schnapp partied together afterwards and celebrated their success with cones of french fries. Schnapp took to Instagram with a photo of himself and Brown looking overjoyed, writing “Winners🏆”.
Holding each other close
At the 70th Annual Emmy Awards in 2018, Brown and Schnapp were all smiles at the afterparty, posing closely for a photo. Brown was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series that year but lost to Thandiwe Newton for her role as Maeve Millay in Westworld. Despite the loss, she and Schnapp still made the most of the night.
Schnapp fixes Brown’s dress
In June 2019, Schnapp adjusted the tulle train on Brown’s dress at the Stranger Things Season 3 premiere as they playfully posed for the cameras. The duo always have fun on the red carpet – just a year earlier, they struck a series of silly poses together at Netflix’s FYC event. Schnapp later shared a carousel post on Instagram featuring the playful moments, also expressing his appreciation for his best friend, writing, ‘Always have my back @milliebobbybrown.’
Lottery challenge TikTok dance
Schnapp posted a video of him and Brown doing the Lottery (Renegade) TikTok dance challenge at the SAG Awards in January 2020. Fans recognized and appreciated how much their friendship means to them, @MiH43210 commented “Love that they seem like more than just coworkers. Always nice to have real friends you meet through your job. Makes your job, less of a job.”
From the same night, Schnapp also posted images of the pair looking glamorous on his Instagram and asked fans to “name a more a elite duo… i’ll wait”.
Brown pranks Schnapp
As reported by People, when filming wrapped on Stranger Things 4 in 2021, Brown pulled a prank on Schnapp that resulted in staff having to blow dry his whole costume. Schnapp revealed “On our last day of filming season 4, Millie, she got the whole crew together and she bought like, 2000 water balloons. She called me back to our base camp to give her a hug goodbye. I got there and I was like, ‘Where is she at? Let me go say goodbye.’…Her and 30 other crew members came out behind the trailers with each, like, 100 water balloons, just chucking them at me! The whole night, I was soaked. Dripping”.
True confessions with Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp
In October 2022, Brown appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the release of Enola Holmes 2. During a segment called True Confessions, Schnapp made a surprise appearance. Together with Fallon, they played a game where each took turns confessing a random fact before interrogating one another to determine who was telling the truth.
Schnapp also posted a photo of him and Brown backstage by their dressing room on Instagram, with the caption “⚠️Time to BeReal.⚠️”lifted from Fallon’s BeReal.
More birthday wishes for partner in crime
In February 2023, Schnapp wished Brown a happy birthday on his Instagram with a heartfelt post that had the caption “Happy birthday to my partner in crime for life. I love you so much❤️ @milliebobbybrown.”
Schnapp comes out to Brown
In an August 2023 interview with Variety, Schnapp revealed his attempts to come out to Brown in person. ‘I kept trying to do it in person with her, and it was too hard. So then, I just FaceTimed her one day in the middle of a Party City and said, “Millie, I’m gay.” And she was like, “Oh, Schnapper! You told me finally!”‘
Schnapp publicly came out as gay in a TikTok video posted on 5 January 2023.
Schnapp reportedly attends Brown’s wedding
Brown married her fiance Jake Bongiovi in a private ceremony in May 2024. They tied the knot in Tuscany, Italy, after being engaged for a year. Brown posted a selection of wedding photos to her Instagram in October with the caption “forever and always, your wife.” Her Stranger Things co-star, Matthew Modine, who played Eleven’s “Papa” in the show officiated the wedding. It has been reported that Schnapp was also in attendance at the wedding, but there’s no evidence to confirm it.
When Brown’s engagement was announced in April 2023, fans were quick to dig up an Instagram live video between Brown and Schnapp from August 2022. In the video, as reported by the Daily Mail, Schnapp said to Brown “If you have a kid I want to be the godfather.” To which Brown enthusiastically replied “100 per cent you’re the godfather to my kids.” She then added “And the maid of honour to my wedding.”
Let’s hope the dynamic duo were together on Brown’s special day. One thing’s for sure, they’ll definitely be on screen together when Stranger Things season 5 hits Netflix in 2025. Until then…
