Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Wil Wheaton
American actor (born 1972) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor and writer. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me, Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers, and Bennett Hoenicker in Flubber.
Wheaton has also appeared in recurring voice acting roles as Aqualad in Teen Titans, Cosmic Boy in Legion of Super Heroes, and Mike Morningstar/Darkstar in the Ben 10 franchise's original continuity. He appeared regularly as a fictionalized version of himself on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory and in the roles of Fawkes on The Guild, Colin Mason on Leverage, and Dr. Isaac Parrish on Eureka.
Wheaton was the host and co-creator of the YouTube board game show TableTop. He has narrated numerous audio books, including Ready Player One and The Martian.
Remove ads
Early life
Wheaton was born July 29, 1972, in Burbank, California, to Debra "Debbie" Nordean (née O'Connor), an actress who has appeared in television commercials,[1] and Richard William Wheaton Jr., a medical specialist.[2][3][4] He has a brother, Jeremy, and a sister, Amy,[5] both of whom appeared uncredited in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "When the Bough Breaks".[6] Amy appeared alongside Wil in the 1987 film The Curse.[7]
As an adult, Wheaton described his father as being emotionally abusive to him as a child and his mother as being an enabler of that abuse. He also stated that his parents forced him to become an actor; he is currently estranged from them.[8][9]
Remove ads
Acting career
Summarize
Perspective
Early work and Stand By Me
Wheaton made his acting debut with a small role in the television film A Long Way Home (1981), which starred Timothy Hutton and Rosanna Arquette.[10] He voiced the character of Martin in the animated film The Secret of NIMH (1982), the film adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1971).[11] Wheaton also appeared in Hambone and Hillie (1983), The Buddy System (1984) (opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon), and The Last Starfighter.[10] He had a few lines in Starfighter which were ultimately cut from the theatrical release, but Wheaton is still visible in several scenes.[12]
Wheaton first gained widespread attention for his work in Stand by Me (1986), the film adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body.[13][14][15] In Stand by Me, Wheaton played the lead role of Gordie Lachance, a 12-year-old storyteller mourning the loss of his elder brother.[15] In her review of the film, Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Wheaton makes Gordie's 'sensitivity' tangible, but not effete. He's a gem".[16] In addition to being successful at the box office,[17] Stand by Me was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama[18][19] and became known as a coming-of-age classic.[20][21]
Star Trek
Wheaton played Wesley Crusher, a "boy genius and Starfleet hopeful",[22] during the first four seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation.[23] He appeared in an additional four episodes of the remaining three seasons. The Wesley Crusher character is a "polarizing" character; while many Star Trek fans love him, others are vocal about their hatred for the character.[24][23] Wheaton commented about his critics in a 2004 interview for WebTalk Radio:
Later, I determined that the people who were really, really cruel – like the Usenet weenies – really are a statistically insignificant number of people. And I know, just over the years from people who've e-mailed me at my website and people who I've talked to since I started going to Star Trek conventions again in the last five years, that there are so many more people who really enjoyed everything about the show, including my performance, including the character.[25]
Wheaton left Star Trek: The Next Generation due to concerns over how the production team addressed a scheduling conflict related to his wish to appear in the 1989 film Valmont.[26][27]
Wheaton returned to Star Trek in 2002, 2022 and 2024, reprising his Wesley Crusher role in cameo appearances in Star Trek: Nemesis, the season 2 finale of Star Trek: Picard,[28] and as a voice actor in the second season of the animated show Star Trek: Prodigy.[29]
Post-Star Trek
Wheaton played Joey Trotta in the action film Toy Soldiers (1991). After leaving Star Trek, he moved to Topeka, Kansas, to work for NewTek, where he helped to develop the Video Toaster 4000 doing product testing and quality control[30][31] and later used his public profile to serve as a technology evangelist for the product.[32]
Afterward, he returned to Los Angeles, attended acting school for five years, and then re-entered the acting world.[33][34]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Wheaton appeared in several independent films, including the award-winning The Good Things (2001), in which he portrays a frustrated Kansas tollbooth worker.[35] For his performance in Jane White Is Sick & Twisted (2002) he received the award for Best Actor at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival.[36]
Wheaton regularly portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, becoming a recurring guest star and then side character on the show.[37][38]
In June 2024, Wheaton announced that he was retired from on-screen acting.[39]
Voice work
.jpg)
Wheaton is known for his voice acting career.[40] He voiced the role of Martin Brisby in The Secret of NIMH in 1981.[41] Wheaton voiced the villainous John Juniper in the 2021 video game, I Expect You to Die 2: The Spy and the Liar.[42]
Television and web
Wheaton appeared in 12 episodes in a recurring, guest-starring role on Eureka, playing Dr. Isaac Parrish, the head of the Non-Lethal Weapons Lab at Global Dynamics and a thorn in Fargo's side.[43] Wheaton also voices the character of the former scoutmaster and current sous-chef Earl Harlan in the popular dark, surreal-comedy podcast Welcome to Night Vale.[44]
Remove ads
Non-acting professional ventures
Summarize
Perspective
Hosting
From September 2006 to September 2007, Wheaton hosted a Revision3 syndicated video podcast called InDigital along with Jessica Corbin and Hahn Choi. He hosted a NASA video on the Mars Curiosity rover which landed on Monday August 6, 2012.[45] He has hosted "2nd Watch", interviews with cast members and producers of the science-fiction series Falling Skies that appears online after each episode.[46] On April 3, 2014, Wheaton announced on his blog that his new show called The Wil Wheaton Project would premiere on the SyFy network at 10 pm on May 27 for an initial projected run of twelve episodes.[47][48] However, on August 29, Wheaton blogged that SyFy canceled the show after only one season.[49] Wheaton has hosted Star Trek aftershow The Ready Room since the second season in 2020.[50]
Games
Wheaton is a Dungeons & Dragons player,[51] and played during the PAX 2010 event using the 4th edition rules. Wheaton, along with webcartoonists Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade, and Scott Kurtz of PvP, played in front of a live audience. The game was hosted and recorded by Wizards of the Coast with Chris Perkins as the dungeonmaster.[52]
Wheaton starred in the Kickstarter-funded game There Came an Echo by Iridium Studios.[53] In Dungeons and Dragons Online, he became the dungeon master of the Temple of Elemental Evil quests.[54]
Nintendo of America announced on Twitter that Wheaton would be voicing Abraham Lincoln in Code Name: STEAM.[55] Wheaton does the voice narration on the Secret Hitler companion app for the Secret Hitler social deduction game.[56]
Wheaton has spoken out against misogyny in video game culture,[57][58] and wrote a profile of Anita Sarkeesian for the 2015 Time 100.[59]
Comic book
A fictionalized version of Wheaton was included in the comic book PS 238, in which he harbors the power of telekinesis. Wheaton's debut comic book The Guild: Fawkes, which he wrote alongside Felicia Day, was released on May 23, 2012.[60]
Narrations
Wil Wheaton has been a narrator for dozens of audiobooks, including his own works. He has been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award multiple times, and received an Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine.[61]
Live shows
Wheaton has performed improvisational and sketch comedy at the ACME Comedy Theater in Hollywood.[80] He has a traveling sketch comedy/improv troupe called "EarnestBorg9" that performs science fiction-related comedy at conventions.[81]
Writing
Wheaton is the author of Dancing Barefoot (2004) and Just a Geek (2004). He released a revised follow-up, Still Just a Geek, in 2022.
Wheaton runs his own blog, Wil Wheaton Dot Net. In June 2005, he became that month's featured Tech writer for the SuicideGirls Newswire.[82]
In 2017, Wheaton wrote the short story "Laina" for the Star Wars anthology From a Certain Point of View.[83] The book features 40 short stories, each by a different author, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars.[84]
It's Storytime with Wil Wheaton
In March 2025, Wheaton launched a podcast titled It's Storytime with Wil Wheaton. The series includes Wheaton narrating selections of stories selected from Lightspeed Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Clarkesworld Magazine, and On Spec.[85]
Remove ads
Personal life
Summarize
Perspective
Wheaton married Anne Prince on November 7, 1999,[86] and lives in Arcadia, California, with her and her two sons from a previous relationship.[87] Wheaton legally adopted both sons at their request when they reached the age of majority.[88]
Wheaton was roommates with Chris Hardwick while Chris attended UCLA.[89] They met at a showing of Arachnophobia in Burbank, California.[33]
Wheaton has struggled with alcohol addiction.[90] In January 2021, Wheaton announced he had been sober from alcohol for five years.[91]
Wheaton lives with complex post-traumatic stress disorder,[92] generalized anxiety disorder,[92][93] and chronic depression.[92][93] He supports mental health nonprofit organizations in raising awareness for these conditions.[94][93]
In 2022, Wheaton participated in Celebrity Jeopardy!, playing for the National Women's Law Center. He reached the finals, defeating Troian Bellisario and Hasan Minhaj in the quarterfinals, and John Michael Higgins and Joel Kim Booster in the semifinals.[95] He finished in third place, behind winner Ike Barinholtz and runner-up Patton Oswalt, earning $100,000.[96]
Politics
Wheaton campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 general election.[97]
Immediately following the Sutherland Springs church shooting on November 5, 2017, Wheaton on Twitter stated in response to Congressman Paul Ryan's call for prayers for the victims that, "The murdered victims were in a church. If prayers did anything, they'd still be alive, you worthless sack of shit."[98] Wheaton subsequently clarified his opinion after receiving criticism, writing, "I apologize to those of you who are sincere people of Faith, who felt attacked by me," but accused "the right wing noise machine" of using his comments "to deflect attention and anger away from the role that unfettered access to weapons of mass murder played in the latest incidence of mass murder in America."[99][100][101]
In September 2024, Wheaton joined other actors from the Star Trek franchise on a livestream to support the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election.[102]
Remove ads
Honors
- Young Artist Awards: 1989 & 1987
- Melbourne Underground Film Festival: Best Actor (2002)
- International Academy of Web Television Awards: Best Host (Pre-Recorded) (2014)[103]
- Saturn Awards: Lifetime Achievement Award – The Cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation (2024)[104][a]
An asteroid was named after him: 391257 Wilwheaton.[105]
Filmography
Films and television films
TV shows and appearances
Web shows and series
Animation
Video games
Remove ads
Bibliography
- Dancing Barefoot (ISBN 0-596-00674-8) (2004)
- Just a Geek (ISBN 0-596-00768-X) (2004)
- Stories of Strength (ISBN 1-4116-5503-6) (2005; contributor)
- The Happiest Days of Our Lives (ISBN 0-9741160-2-5) (2007)
- Sunken Treasure (2009)
- Memories of the Future Vol. 1 (ISBN 0-9741160-4-1) (2009)
- Wil Wheaton's Criminal Minds Production Diary (2009)
- Clash of the Geeks (2010; contributor)
- The Day After, and Other Stories (2010)
- The Monster in My Closet (2011)
- Hunter (2011)
- Dead Trees Give No Shelter (2017)
- Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View (2017; contributor)
- Still Just a Geek (ISBN 978-0-06-308047-8) (2022)
Remove ads
Notes
- "The Lifetime Achievement Award is usually presented to an individual for their contributions to genre entertainment. Top luminaries like Stan Lee and Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock himself, have received this top honor. It's not new, but we extended this award to cover the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, due to its continued influence on the face of general television. It was originally doomed to failure since it was following in the footsteps of the original Star Trek, yet it carved its own identity, and its diverse cast was light years ahead of its time!" —Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films[104]
Remove ads
References
Further reading
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads