“Things are not great on my side of the border, so it’s great to feel welcome and the love here,” actor Wil Wheton quipped as he walked onto the stage at the 15th edition of the Montreal Comiccon, the first panellist of the convention this year. At 52 years old, Wheaton doesn’t look a day over 42, and as we find out during the panel, he’s in a pretty good place right now. Let’s dive into what was said.
After talking about Montreal and its Jazz Fest, which was currently happening at the same time, the conversation opened up with a quick discussion on music. Despite his bookish appearance, Wheaton is a pretty big fan of punk rock, having gotten into the scene through post-punk. He likes that it’s a high-energy music that’s accessible in terms of craftsmanship, but mainly that it’s a genre made of weirdos like him who are welcoming without judgment, much like Comiccons, and that there’s far too much division in the world right now and music and conventions are a great place to come together.
Despite being known as an actor, that’s not really Wheaton’s thing right now. The idea of going for hair and makeup trials, doing press tours, and working so hard in a day for a few takes is emotionally and physically draining, and he’s never been a huge fan of acting anyway. It’s something that was chosen for him by his parents, and he resisted that calling, but ultimately lost that battle and found himself working as a child actor. So that initial resentment and seeing the industry first hand has caused a sense of unfulfillment with his craft. But he has been getting a lot of joy and fulfillment out of narrating audiobooks. In particular, he likes reading stories from new and emerging authors who may not have the platform to really get exposed and feels genuinely happy to promote other people’s art. He finds the whole thing more engaging and loves the idea of discovery as the story continues. Plus, he can do more work in a day, recording multiple hours in a day and being locked into that task, whereas acting there’s the constant stop and go that kills the momentum. Plus, with audiobooks, he can be multiple characters on one production, a challenge he relishes. He’s very picky about what to narrate and is grateful he’s in a position where he can refuse work because he isn’t doing narrating for the pay cheque, but for the joy of it.
Despite his reservations about acting, he’s still proud of the work he’s done, so with that in mind, he’s particularly excited that next year marks the 40th anniversary of Stand By Me. He’s hoping to get things in place where he and the surviving cast members and director can get a 35mm print of the film and take it on tour to celebrate the landmark film, which means so much to so many. He talks about the genius of director Rob Reiner, who was able to find the perfect cast for the film. Wil reflected on Corey Feldman and was pretty upfront that the actor constantly tormented and bullied him on set. When Wil asked Reiner why he cast Corey, he said that out of the hundreds of young boys who auditioned for the role, Feldman was the only one who had the anger needed to portray Teddy. And each of the other actors had something in their real lives that contributed to their performances, whether they realized it at the time or not. The late River Phoenix was a boy who had been failed by adults, much like Chris Chambers was, Jerry O’Connell was a delight to be around, much like Vern was, and it was only in his 40s that Wil realized that much like Gordie, he wasn’t loved by his dad, invisible, and it took decades for him to make that connection to his character. He thinks that Stand By Me has stood the test of time because Rob Reiner and the team who made the movie tapped into the real-life issues of the characters and the actors bringing them to life, and made an authentic movie as a result. He did mention also that he’s trying incredibly hard to get the right to narrate Stephen King’s The Bodywhich Stand By Me is based on, but he hasn’t been able to get a response from anyone at the publisher, so much so that he’s tempted to just read the first chapter and throw it online to get the lawyers after him, as he’d like to have that project in the bag for the anniversary next year.
Yet despite his uneasy feelings about his time as an actor, he did brighten up considerably when talking about one of his favourite roles: the troll version of himself in The Big Bang Theory. He adored playing this devilish interpretation of himself that was just so much fun to play in the end. The show had a very fun and not-so-serious vibe that worked for him. He brought up a memory of being in rehearsal for a Star Wars-centric episode and asked the costume department for a set of Spock ears to wear on set…without telling anyone. When he walked onto set for rehearsal, everyone was in bits, laughing at the unexpected visual gag that the team immediately put into the show for real. He’s happy the show has had such a lasting appeal and that it’s something families, in particular, have fun watching together.
He then opened up about his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation and his departure from the show. Director Miloš Forman, best known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nesthad offered Wheaton a role in his next film, Valmont. He asked if he could squeeze the movie into his schedule, as both that film and Star Trek were shooting at the same time. But Wheaton was told it was impossible, as there was a key episode featuring his character Wesley in the weeks to come. But as it turned out, a week before that episode was slated to shoot, the whole script was scrapped, and the whole arc for Wesley wasn’t used, meaning he would’ve been a lot more available for Forman’s film. Wheaton was furious about this, feeling betrayed and unworthy by the producers of the show. He knew that Valmont would’ve been a huge boon to his career and would’ve likely changed how he would’ve been seen as an actor, but he missed out on that chance because of the producers’ attitude. So he told his agent to get him off of Star Trek; that feeling of being unappreciated was akin to his relationship with his dad. He knew it was a big choice to leave Star Trek and ended up missing that family, but he knew it was the right choice and was happy with his choice. On the topic of child actors and child influencers, Wheaton quickly mentioned that he thinks those parents who force their kids into that lifestyle and career are total monsters who exploit their own kids, “ask me how I know,” he said to applause.
Despite his resentment and frustration with Star Trek: The Next Generation, he still has a soft spot for it. So when the call came in asking him to reprise his role as Wesley in Picardhe said he wept tears of joy and instantly agreed. Wheaton loves the character and what he represents, chiefly young people who aren’t seen (I’m sensing a theme here). In a stroke of bad luck, he had a seizure right before the shoot was going to happen, and his cameo was almost cut as a result. But they opted to move his scene outdoors towards the end of production while the sets were coming down to accommodate Wheaton. Also, fun fact, but he was pretty hands-on with the writing for Wesley Crusher in Star Trek Prodigyand was happy to help contribute something that was more for kids. On the topic of the messages and themes that Gene Roddenberry established in Star Trek, Wheaton says that there’s enough there for everyone in terms of diversity and acceptance, but society right now is doing a shit job at celebrating those themes. For Wheaton, Star Trek taught him all of life’s lessons long before he even joined the show, seeing it as an anti-racist and anti-classist show for people to learn from. As such, it was a gift to be involved with it, despite the drama. George Takei once told him that Star Trek is bigger than the community, and that the actors in the show are merely shepherds for that community. Now in his 50s, he likes to think of himself as something of an elder, passing on the lessons to the younger generation.
And there you have it! We’d like to thank Wil Wheaton for coming to the Montreal Comiccon this year, it was a blast. Thanks for reading!