This was originally written for WWdN, and hasn't been significantly updated since 2002. Most of the things you'd want to know about me are answered in my blog in one place or another, including the obligatory bio.
When I eventually merge WWdN and WWdN:iX, this document will be updated and substantially re-written, but until then, it's an amusing and (for me) nostalgic look back at where I was when I started this whole blogging thing so many years ago.
THE WWDN FAQ
or, How do you pronounce "FAQ?"
I was recently asked if I have gotten tired of the same old questions from fans.
The truth is, I really haven't, because even if it's the thousandth time I've been asked a question, it's the first time the person asking it has ever heard the answer.
Having said that, even though I've been asked the same questions thousands of times, I can't remember what any of them are!
I do not maintain this FAQ very well. As a matter of fact, since WWdN went live, I think I've only made significant updates to it two or three times. If you don't find your answer here, search around in the weblog. It's probably there. Or behind the couch.
The FAQ is broken down into categories. Enjoy.
STAR TREK
Why'd you quit?
The following is reprinted from the best interview I ever did:
Here's the absolute truth why I left Star Trek. I left Star Trek because it was seriously interfering with my career in feature films. I was in a situation where I was constantly having to pass on really good movie roles because I was on the series. I had a film career before Star Trek. People knew me before Star Trek. As a matter of fact, at Comic Con, a lot of people came up to me and said, "I started watching Star Trek because you were on it and I was fan of yours from Stand By Me and I stopped watching it after you left." I had a lot of people say that to me.
After something like this had happened a lot of times, this was finally the last straw: I had been cast by Milos Foreman to be in Valmont. I had gone through lots and lots of callbacks, I had met Milos personally a number of times and he was really supporting me and telling me, "I want you in my movie." I was going to go to Paris and I was going to be in this movie and stuff and what happened was we were going to shoot it during the hiatus and the shooting schedule for Valmont would have carried me over about a week into the regular season schedule into Star Trek. I would have had to sit out the first episode of the year, right. That's not a big deal, it's not like I'm the fuckin' Captain, you know. At that point, I was the guy who pushed buttons and said, "Yes, sir!" So, I said to the people on Star Trek, "I need to be written out of this particular episode, because I'm going to do this movie and my film career's going to take off." This is after Gene Roddenberry had died. Had Gene been alive, it would have been no problem at all, because Gene was that kind of guy. Gene would have said, "Great! Go ahead, you do what you need to do," because he was that kind of person. After Gene died, a very different type of person took over and they said, "We can't write you out because the first episode of the season is all about you. It focuses entirely on your character and it's your story..." So, he said to me, "The story is entirely about you, we can't write you out." I said, "Well, this really sucks, but I'm under contract to you guys and if that's your call and if that's what you say I have to do, I have to do." I had to pass on the movie.
A couple of days before the season was ready to premiere, they wrote me out of the episode entirely. What they were doing was they were sending me a message. The message was, "We own you. Don't you ever try to do anything without us." That was the last straw for me. I called my agents and said, "They don't own me. It's time for me to leave this show, it's time for me to be gone." That's what really pushed me over the edge. It's not worth it anymore. That's why I left.
But Gene was alive then. You're a liar!
Many people have pointed this fact out to me, and you're right. Gene was alive. But he was in poor health, and wasn't heavily involved in the production of the show at that time. That's why, when I did that interview, I thought that he had already died. Hey, I make mistakes. Too bad I don't have FOX News to help me cover them up.
Will you be in any of the movies?
Well, I worked for 2 days on Star Trek X (Star Trek OSX.1, if you're a Mac user), but my scene was cut. Maybe it will be on the DVD.
I bought the DVD, and you're not on it! You're not even in the fullscreen version!
Well what the hell are you doing buying a fullscreen version of anything?
I am quite surprised that they didn't include my scene on the DVD, to be quite honest, and I have no idea why they didn't include it. It certainly lends some weight to the theory that TPTB really have it out for me, doesn't it?
What was your favorite episode?
My favorite episode to watch is "The Inner Light". It's the one where Picard gets zapped by a beam of alien light, and although he's only unconscious for a few minutes on the Enterprise, he lives out an entire life on another planet.
My favorite episode that I worked on was "The First Duty", because it was one of the few times I got to work with actors my own age. Robbie McNeill, who was on Voyager, played opposite me in that episode, and we had hella fun. Hella hella hella. Robbie told me that he had been on a soap, and the producers had created this character arc for him, where he'd be working with this other actor most of the time. Apparently, they had so much fun, and made each other laugh so much, the producers re-wrote the entire character arc, and made sure they'd never be in any scenes together for the rest of the series. It's because I liked Robbie so much that I couldn't crack on Voyager too hard, even though it sucks.
Did it bother you that the fans didn't like Wesley?
Yes, at the time, it really really did. Imagine being a teenager, trying to handle all the things a teenager has to deal with. Now multiply that times being on a HUGE TV show, and all these people hate you. It was tough.
Although, I recently realized something. At the time I kept saying to people, "It's a TV show! Don't take it so seriously! It's just a character!" But at the same time, I was really taking it seriously, and personally. And it hurt. But I didn't handle myself with much grace, which I think echoes Wesley's situation: he had the intellectual capacity to be with these adults, and not the emotional capacity. It was the same for me, in real life. I've written some things about it in my weblog, and I write extensively about it in my forthcoming book, Just A Geek.
I hated Wesley!
Really? He always had such nice things to say about you.
Is it true that you were really Ashley Judd's first onscreen kiss, and you ruined her for the rest of her life?
Yep. It is 100% true. Ashley Judd played Robin Lefler, in the episode "The Game", and Uncle Willie went to bootytown.
Do you stay in touch with any of the cast members?
I wish I could say that we hang out all the time, but that's just not the case. I really, really like all of them, and the cast is the thing I miss the most about working on Star Trek. The thing is, when we all worked together on the show, I was a lameass teenager, and they were all cool adults in their 30's, so it's not like we had a lot of similar interests. Now that I'm a cool adult in my late 20's, they're all old and in their 40's, so they are *so* uncool. Just kidding. Truth is, when I get around them, I feel like I am a lameass teenager all over again, and I clam up. Once, I was talking to Patrick, and I told him how I felt so lame, and how I felt like I didn't appreciate them when I was younger, and I wished that I had. Patrick put his hand on my shoulder, and he said to me, "my dear, I always related to you, and thought of you, as a fine actor." Patrick is very cool.
Was anyone a dick?
No. believe it or not, nobody was a dick. Everyone was very, very cool. When you're on a show like that, you spend about 10 hours a day, 5 days a week together. Some shows will have a prima donna or 4, but we never did.
Oh, come on. You expect me to believe that?
Do you need a time out, mister? What did I just say?
Can I see you at any of those conventions?
You sure can. I am doing a few conventions every year, mostly on the West Coast, so I don't have to travel too far from home. You should check the conventions page, to find out if I'm coming to a hotel conference center near you any time soon!
What do you think of "Enterprise"?
I love it.
The only thing that I really hate is the theme song...I suspect that the composer is going to be the new holder of the "Most Hated Person In Star Trek" title...if she calls, I'll hand over the badge to her...I know I have it someplace.
Hey, I watched Weakest Link. What was that all about?
Heh. Well, see, Weakest Link is all about making people look bad, and making Anne Robinson look good. I thought that I'd have fun with her, by being even ruder and more offensive than she is. I thought the best way to accomplish this, would be to play a condescending A-hole.
Mission. Accomplished. >:-)
So you aren't really an asshole?
Well, that depends on who you ask.
WTF is up with you and Roxanne Dawson?
Well, that was all a joke, too. I guess the producers decided to really make her look bad with the interview they chose. She is a really cool person, and everything between us is fine. But thanks for asking.
STAND BY ME
Were the leeches real?
They sure were. Can you imagine the shit Rob Reiner got for putting REAL LEECHES on 12 year olds? I mean, I still have a scar from it, if you get my drift. He tried to run us over with the train, and use make sleeping bags out of our skin, too.
Was the train real?
Strangely enough, the train was fake. We never once, in the entire production, used a real train. Something about unions.
Were you scared?
Even stranger than the fake trains, which were all made from cardboard and tin foil placed over a wooden chassis pushed by twelve midgets, was my abject fear of them. Particularly when we shot the running across the trestle sequence. The stunt co-ordinator, Rick Barker, likes to tell this really funny story about how he put Jerry and me on the tracks, and had the train about 50 feet behind us, traveling at something like 4 miles per hour, with us running towards a 500mm lens, so it would look like the [fake] train was right up our asses. Well, when you're 12, and you're standing on a train track, and there is a train behind you, I don't care how slow it's going, if it's moving at all, it is scary as shit. So Rick has us on the tracks, waiting to let us run, and in the dailies, you can see Jerry and me, tears running down our faces, turning off camera, saying "can we go yet? can we go yet?"
What a couple of whimps we were. Oh, and my stunt double for that sequence was a woman, because I was so skinny and whatnot. The rest of the cast [bastards] had a field day with that one.
How was it working with Rob Reiner?
It was awesome. I always say that Rob deserves all the credit for Stand By Me being the wonderful movie that it was. He really knew how to communicate with four 12 year olds (I have a hard enough time communicating with my *own* 12 year old), and had the good sense to cast kids who were more or less exactly like their characters.
And here is something about Rob: he always made me feel like I deserved to be on that set. He never made me feel like I was a snot-faced kid (which I was), and he always treated me like an equal. I wish more directors were like Rob, and less like complete A-holes.
How was it working with River Phoenix?
River was really, really cool. At the time, I looked up to him because he was such a cool guy.
He was a wonderful actor, and a wonderful person, and it really fucking sucks that nobody tried to stop him from becoming a complete junkie.
When I see the bullshit hacks who are passing for young, hot actors these days, I really miss River. Because he was a REAL actor, not a pre-packaged bunch of hype and marketing.
Do you stay in touch with any of the other actors?
Not really. River is dead, Jerry is like a multi-millionaire movie star, so we live in different worlds, and Corey is...well...Corey.
Why isn't there a commentary from you, Wil Wheaton, on the DVD?
Because Columbia/Tri-star was afraid that your Uncle Willie would bring the noise, and testify! Because The Man couldn't stand to have Uncle Willie stand up and let the word ring out from the DVD box!
OTHER WORK
The Curse: what were you thinking?
Well, at the time, your Uncle Willie was just a young'un, and some really evil producers from a scary foreign country came to him and said, "We have this movie for you to be in, and we want to give you lots of money to be in it." And Uncle Willie didn't have the best advisors at the time, and nobody told him that this big pile of shit would be around forever. Consider it the very expensive lesson. At least I didn't get a tattoo.
THE SITE
What's with the quotes all over the place?
I like to quote things. The old site had more random quotes than this one does. Maybe I'll have a 'name the quote' contest someday.
Do you really run this site on your own?
Yep. I am what you call a "Type-A control freak". You can ask Ashley how willing I was to ask for lots of help. I figure that if this site is going to represent me, it should be run by me.
Who hosts your site?
Logjamming. They are the coolest guys, ever.
Why'd you put a porn link on your site?! You're squeeky clean!
Because I wanted to upset you, mom. Here, have another.
What's with the autoresponse?
The autoresponse is no more, but what you used to get was:
From: [email protected]
Subject: Automated reply from [email protected]
Hey!
Don't you hate autoresponders, $GOOD_FRIEND?
I know that I do, and I would *never* dream of sending an autoresponse
to anyone, not $MUTUAL_FRIEND, or $OTHER_MUTUAL_FRIEND, or even, $ENEMY.
You know, $THING_YOU_EMAILED_ABOUT really was ${fVAR=TRUE_FALSE)!
It reminded me of $INTERESTING STORY.
Well, I have to get back to ${fVAR WORK_PLAY_SCHEMING}, $GOOD_FRIEND,
so I'd better sign off.
$CLEVER_PERSONAL_CLOSING,
Wil
So are you going to reply to me or what?
Sadly, the answer to this question is most likely not. I really do
read everything which is sent to me, but I just don't have the time
anymore to personally reply to everyone who emails. I used to be able
to keep up with it, but the time just isn't there, anymore, between
my commitments to work and my family.
Do you have a button or banner? I want to link to you.
Yep. They're on the left side of the screen, below the links. If you
do link to me, drop me a note, and let me know.
OTHER QUESTIONS
Why don't you talk about Toy Soldiers in this FAQ?
When I wrote this FAQ originally, I didn't realize that so many people were interested in Toy Soldiers. I'll get around to writing all about it, very soon.
Is it true that you're married?
Yep. My wife, Anne, and I have been married since 1999.
So you're not gay?
I am not gay. But thanks for asking.
Wait. I heard that you and...
Yeah, I heard that too. And since I read it on the internet, it must be true, right?
So why don't you post lots of pictures of your wife and kids on the site?
I prefer to keep them out of the limelight. That's why it's called WIL WHEATON DOT NET, not WIL WHEATON AND HIS WIFE AND KIDS DOT NET. Seriously, I expect everyone to respect my limits, and their privacy.
Updated 10 June 2003: Since so many people have already met Anne, we felt that it was appropriate to include pictures of her in the gallery. We won't be putting anything of the kids up, though, so don't ask. I mean it.
So, you think you rate? What's your geekcode, tough guy?
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.12 GPA d-- s+: a C+++ UL+++ P+>+++ L+++ E--- W+++ N+ o+ K+++ w-- O---- M+ V-- PS++(+++) PE Y++ PGP++>+++ t++@$ 5++ X+ R+ tv- b++ DI+ D++ G++ e h---- r+++ y+++
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------I want to be an actor. Do you have any advice?
Yes, I do. Eventually, this site will have a whole section devoted to aspiring actors. My immediate advice is: study, study, study. Read the classic plays and see the great movies. And for the love of Bob, study! And read Backstage. Get yourself into some sort of acting program or workshop. Just avoid anything that tells you they'll give you a free book by L.Ron Hubbard. It's a scheme to recruit you into Scientology.
Can I send you...?
It depends. If you send me something to sign, it could be a LONG time before it comes back. You're better off getting something from my online store, or meeting me at a convention.
I wrote you a letter, and you never answered, jackass
Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I have all the letters I've gotten over the past two years or so, and I'm gonna hire someone to help me out, so I can reply to them all.
Will you come over to my house and tell my brother to stop leaving the toilet seat up?
Yes. Just as soon as you tell your mom to stop calling me. I was drunk, and it was a one time thing.
