Wil Wheaton As Wil Wheaton
Sheldon tells the story of his rivalry with Wheaton by cbs.com
Fans who aren’t familiar with the history of Star Trek may be a little confused about Wil Wheaton’s role on The Big Bang Theory. Essentially, he’s playing a version of himself, like Johnny Galecki once did on Entourage.
At a recent Comic Con event, Wil Wheaton said, “I have met people who are big fans of The Big Bang Theory who have said to me, “Love your work on the show, and this is really embarrassing, I know that your character is Wil Wheaton, but I don’t know what your real name is…”
Jokingly, Wheaton says he sometimes confuses himself.
Getting Comfortable With The Character
Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek Next Generation by battleofcali.com
Wheaton went on to say, “A lot of that just has to do with me getting comfortable with letting him be a character who looks like me, who has my name who is sort of based on my life.”
“But there are distinctive differences between who I am and who that Wil Wheaton is that I have discussed with the writers so that there is enough of a fire wall between us so that it doesn’t confuse it too much.”
This includes the version of Wheaton who is enemies with Sheldon Cooper.
The Real Wil Wheaton
River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton | Photo Credit Stand By Me
The real Wil Wheaton was born in Burbank, California. As an actor, he starred in Stand By Me as a boy and then later played Wesley Crusher on the series, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
According to a fan site, “Playing himself in The Big Bang Theory, Wil serves as a minor, but pivotal antagonist in the third season and is generally portrayed as a darker version of himself in earlier seasons. After making peace with Sheldon in the fifth season, he has become friends with the main characters of the show.”
What’s your favorite episode of TBBT starring Wil Wheaton?
