WIL WHEATON
Name: Richard William Wheaton III
Born: 29 July 1972 Burbank, California, U.S.A.
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American writer and
actor. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the
television series Star Trek: The Next Generation ("ST:TNG"), as Gordie LaChance
in the film Stand By Me, and as prep-school rebel Joseph 'Joey' Trotta in Toy
Soldiers.
Wheaton was born in Burbank, California, to Debbie O'Connor and Richard William
Wheaton, Jr. He has a brother and a sister. Like many actors who were
popular from their work in the Star Trek franchise, much of Wheaton's career has
been limited to Trek-oriented appearances. During his youth, he was a
prominently featured guest at Star Trek conventions and very popular in teen
magazines.
After leaving Star Trek, Wheaton quit acting altogether. He moved to Topeka,
Kansas, to work as a programmer for Newtek, where he helped develop the Video
Toaster 4000. Due to his public profile, he later served as a technology
evangelist for the product.
In the late 1990s, he embraced work in independent film, appearing in a number
of roles. Several of his independent films have won awards: The Good Things, in
which Wheaton portrays a frustrated Kansas tollbooth worker, was selected
Best Short Film at the 2002 Deauville Film Festival. He also received the Best
Actor award at the 2002 Melbourne Underground Film Festival for his performance
in Jane White is Sick and Twisted. He was also a contestant on a Star Trek-themed
episode of The Weakest Link, and performs improvisational and sketch comedy at
the ACME Comedy Theater in Hollywood. He has a travelling sketch comedy/improv
troupe called "EarnestBorg9" that performs Sci-Fi and geek-related comedy at
conventions.
Although his character, and by extension Wheaton himself, was loudly hated by a
large and vocal group of Trekkers (see Usenet group alt.ensign.wesley.die.die.die
or alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die) during TNG's first run, Wheaton himself
explains that as an actor, he was required to speak the lines written by others
in the scripts, and that he dislikes his Star Trek character. He did enjoy
working on the show and praises the other actors for their talent, especially
Patrick Stewart.
Wheaton has emerged as a vocal member of the geek/nerd community and runs his
own weblog, Wil Wheaton Dot Net. The issue of Wheaton's popularity amongst
fandom is covered in a number of web comics. ArcaneTimes of Friday, March 25,
2005 offers a sympathetic position. Something Positive presents a range of
opinions as part of the storyline Mike's Kid: September 28, 2006 - September 30,
2006.
The majority of his present popularity comes from Wil Wheaton Dot Net, the books
it has spawned, and from fans who admire his earlier work. Wheaton also
contributes regularly to the Los Angeles-based Metroblogging site. His work as a
voice actor can be found in such diverse places as Aqualad of the cartoon Teen
Titans and, most recently, as the voice of radio newsman Richard Burns in the
popular Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game.
Wheaton married Anne Prince in 1999. He lives with his wife and two stepsons in
Pasadena, California.
Wil Wheaton (left) meets Tim O'Reilly at the 2003 booksigning of Dancing
Barefoot at Powell's in Portland, Oregon
In the spring of 2003, Wheaton founded the independent publishing company
Monolith Press and released a book of his memoirs, entitled Dancing Barefoot.
Monolith Press was "founded on the idea that publication should not be limited
by opportunity." Most of the entries are extended versions of his online blog
entries. Wheaton sold out three printings in four months, and in the winter of
2003, the book's success caught the eye of publisher Tim O'Reilly, who signed
Wheaton to a three book contract. O'Reilly acquired Dancing Barefoot, and
published Wheaton's extended memoirs, Just A Geek, in summer of 2004. The book's
sales were apparently rather disappointing, and Wheaton has since written about
his bitterness regarding how the book was marketed, believing it was pitched as
a Star Trek book when he intended it as more of a personal memoir.
Wheaton had a monthly column entitled "Wil Save" in the Dungeons & Dragons-based
magazine Dungeon, where he related anecdotal tales of his life in relation to
the famous fantasy RPG. He ceased writing the column in May 2005.
In January 2005, Wheaton began a column about early video games called Games of
Our Lives in The Onion, but has not written new material for that column since
October 2006. Nevertheless, the column remains posted on the website as a
regular feature, despite more than a year having passed without new material.
In June 2005, he became the feature Geek editor for the SuicideGirls Newswire. A
column that Wheaton wrote for Salon.com in 2005, The Real War on Christmas,
attacked conservative commentators like Bill O'Reilly and detailed his arguments
with his conservative parents over current political matters. Wheaton's
parents were very offended by the article, and Wheaton posted a lengthy apology
on his site and an interview in which his parents gave their version of events.
In 2003, Wheaton began noting on his blog his love for the game of poker. The
following year, Wheaton began writing more extensively about his poker-playing
experiences, including stories about playing Texas hold 'em tournaments locally
and in Las Vegas. Eventually, Wheaton worked up to regular play, including a
notable run at the 2005 World Poker Tour Championships. On June 23, 2005,
Wheaton accepted an invitation to join Team PokerStars. He went on to play
in that year's World Series of Poker. In June 2007 Wheaton announced he will no
longer be on Team Pokerstars due to changes in the U.S. legal system that would
cause poker sites to have to focus on European and Asian markets and held a
farewell Pokerstars tournament on June 5, 2007, which he titled So Long and
Thanks for All the Chips.
In April 2006, Wheaton signed on to voice the role of Kyle in the Nickelodeon
cartoon, Kyle + Rosemary. The show is scheduled to debut in Summer 2008.
In late September of 2006, Wheaton began hosting a Revision3 syndicated video
podcast called InDigital along with Jessica Corbin and veteran host Hahn Choi.
In July 2007, Wil revealed the title of his third book, The Happiest Days of Our
Lives.
Though never one to shy away from politics (he describes himself as a
libertarian) in September 2006 Wheaton very stringently clarified his anti-Bush
beliefs in a blog posting regarding congressional debate over whether to permit
torture of unlawful combatants, stating: "Shame on President Bush. Shame on his
Republican allies in congress."
On August 24, 2007, Wheaton gave the keynote for the yearly Penny Arcade Expo,
which was made available online on the 27th.
Wheaton stepped in to the keynote opportunity following a public battle between
the formerly-scheduled keynote debate participants, noted anti-games activist,
Jack Thompson and Hal Halpin, the president of the Entertainment Consumers
Association (ECA). Much of Wheaton's address focused on the violence in
videogames debate, endearing him to the audience and winning him widespread
acclaim for expressing his views.
On September 18th, 2007, Wheaton announced via his website that he will be
providing a voice for an upcoming episode of Family Guy.
On October 23, 2007, Wheaton announced via his website that he will make a guest
appearance in an upcoming episode of Numb3rs. The episode aired 2007-11-23.
On December 14, 2007, he made a cameo in an LRR comedy sketch entitled "Lock
Out".
Name: Richard William Wheaton III
Born: 29 July 1972 Burbank, California, U.S.A.
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American writer and
actor. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the
television series Star Trek: The Next Generation ("ST:TNG"), as Gordie LaChance
in the film Stand By Me, and as prep-school rebel Joseph 'Joey' Trotta in Toy
Soldiers.
Wheaton was born in Burbank, California, to Debbie O'Connor and Richard William
Wheaton, Jr. He has a brother and a sister. Like many actors who were
popular from their work in the Star Trek franchise, much of Wheaton's career has
been limited to Trek-oriented appearances. During his youth, he was a
prominently featured guest at Star Trek conventions and very popular in teen
magazines.
After leaving Star Trek, Wheaton quit acting altogether. He moved to Topeka,
Kansas, to work as a programmer for Newtek, where he helped develop the Video
Toaster 4000. Due to his public profile, he later served as a technology
evangelist for the product.
In the late 1990s, he embraced work in independent film, appearing in a number
of roles. Several of his independent films have won awards: The Good Things, in
which Wheaton portrays a frustrated Kansas tollbooth worker, was selected
Best Short Film at the 2002 Deauville Film Festival. He also received the Best
Actor award at the 2002 Melbourne Underground Film Festival for his performance
in Jane White is Sick and Twisted. He was also a contestant on a Star Trek-themed
episode of The Weakest Link, and performs improvisational and sketch comedy at
the ACME Comedy Theater in Hollywood. He has a travelling sketch comedy/improv
troupe called "EarnestBorg9" that performs Sci-Fi and geek-related comedy at
conventions.
Although his character, and by extension Wheaton himself, was loudly hated by a
large and vocal group of Trekkers (see Usenet group alt.ensign.wesley.die.die.die
or alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die) during TNG's first run, Wheaton himself
explains that as an actor, he was required to speak the lines written by others
in the scripts, and that he dislikes his Star Trek character. He did enjoy
working on the show and praises the other actors for their talent, especially
Patrick Stewart.
Wheaton has emerged as a vocal member of the geek/nerd community and runs his
own weblog, Wil Wheaton Dot Net. The issue of Wheaton's popularity amongst
fandom is covered in a number of web comics. ArcaneTimes of Friday, March 25,
2005 offers a sympathetic position. Something Positive presents a range of
opinions as part of the storyline Mike's Kid: September 28, 2006 - September 30,
2006.
The majority of his present popularity comes from Wil Wheaton Dot Net, the books
it has spawned, and from fans who admire his earlier work. Wheaton also
contributes regularly to the Los Angeles-based Metroblogging site. His work as a
voice actor can be found in such diverse places as Aqualad of the cartoon Teen
Titans and, most recently, as the voice of radio newsman Richard Burns in the
popular Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game.
Wheaton married Anne Prince in 1999. He lives with his wife and two stepsons in
Pasadena, California.
Wil Wheaton (left) meets Tim O'Reilly at the 2003 booksigning of Dancing
Barefoot at Powell's in Portland, Oregon
In the spring of 2003, Wheaton founded the independent publishing company
Monolith Press and released a book of his memoirs, entitled Dancing Barefoot.
Monolith Press was "founded on the idea that publication should not be limited
by opportunity." Most of the entries are extended versions of his online blog
entries. Wheaton sold out three printings in four months, and in the winter of
2003, the book's success caught the eye of publisher Tim O'Reilly, who signed
Wheaton to a three book contract. O'Reilly acquired Dancing Barefoot, and
published Wheaton's extended memoirs, Just A Geek, in summer of 2004. The book's
sales were apparently rather disappointing, and Wheaton has since written about
his bitterness regarding how the book was marketed, believing it was pitched as
a Star Trek book when he intended it as more of a personal memoir.
Wheaton had a monthly column entitled "Wil Save" in the Dungeons & Dragons-based
magazine Dungeon, where he related anecdotal tales of his life in relation to
the famous fantasy RPG. He ceased writing the column in May 2005.
In January 2005, Wheaton began a column about early video games called Games of
Our Lives in The Onion, but has not written new material for that column since
October 2006. Nevertheless, the column remains posted on the website as a
regular feature, despite more than a year having passed without new material.
In June 2005, he became the feature Geek editor for the SuicideGirls Newswire. A
column that Wheaton wrote for Salon.com in 2005, The Real War on Christmas,
attacked conservative commentators like Bill O'Reilly and detailed his arguments
with his conservative parents over current political matters. Wheaton's
parents were very offended by the article, and Wheaton posted a lengthy apology
on his site and an interview in which his parents gave their version of events.
In 2003, Wheaton began noting on his blog his love for the game of poker. The
following year, Wheaton began writing more extensively about his poker-playing
experiences, including stories about playing Texas hold 'em tournaments locally
and in Las Vegas. Eventually, Wheaton worked up to regular play, including a
notable run at the 2005 World Poker Tour Championships. On June 23, 2005,
Wheaton accepted an invitation to join Team PokerStars. He went on to play
in that year's World Series of Poker. In June 2007 Wheaton announced he will no
longer be on Team Pokerstars due to changes in the U.S. legal system that would
cause poker sites to have to focus on European and Asian markets and held a
farewell Pokerstars tournament on June 5, 2007, which he titled So Long and
Thanks for All the Chips.
In April 2006, Wheaton signed on to voice the role of Kyle in the Nickelodeon
cartoon, Kyle + Rosemary. The show is scheduled to debut in Summer 2008.
In late September of 2006, Wheaton began hosting a Revision3 syndicated video
podcast called InDigital along with Jessica Corbin and veteran host Hahn Choi.
In July 2007, Wil revealed the title of his third book, The Happiest Days of Our
Lives.
Though never one to shy away from politics (he describes himself as a
libertarian) in September 2006 Wheaton very stringently clarified his anti-Bush
beliefs in a blog posting regarding congressional debate over whether to permit
torture of unlawful combatants, stating: "Shame on President Bush. Shame on his
Republican allies in congress."
On August 24, 2007, Wheaton gave the keynote for the yearly Penny Arcade Expo,
which was made available online on the 27th.
Wheaton stepped in to the keynote opportunity following a public battle between
the formerly-scheduled keynote debate participants, noted anti-games activist,
Jack Thompson and Hal Halpin, the president of the Entertainment Consumers
Association (ECA). Much of Wheaton's address focused on the violence in
videogames debate, endearing him to the audience and winning him widespread
acclaim for expressing his views.
On September 18th, 2007, Wheaton announced via his website that he will be
providing a voice for an upcoming episode of Family Guy.
On October 23, 2007, Wheaton announced via his website that he will make a guest
appearance in an upcoming episode of Numb3rs. The episode aired 2007-11-23.
On December 14, 2007, he made a cameo in an LRR comedy sketch entitled "Lock
Out".