Wil Wheaton

He appeared frequently 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.

• Name — Wil Wheaton • Birth Name — Richard William Wheaton III • Born — 29 July 1972 • Birthplace — Burbank, California, U.S. • Occupation — * Actor • blogger • narrator • writer • television personality • Years Active — 1980–present • Children — 2 • Website — http: wilwheaton.net

Richard William Wheaton III was born July 29, 1972, in Burbank, California, to Debra "Debbie" Nordean (née O'Connor), an actress, and Richard William Wheaton Jr., a medical specialist. He has a brother, Jeremy, and a sister, Amy, both of whom appeared uncredited in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "When the Bough Breaks". Amy appeared alongside Wil in the 1987 film The Curse. As an adult, Wheaton described his father as being emotionally abusive and sometimes physically 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. In a 2021 interview, he said that his father was a bully who openly loved his brother and sister more than him. In 2023, he claimed that his parents stole his childhood earnings.

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. 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). Wheaton also appeared in Hambone and Hillie (1983), The Buddy System (1984) (opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon), and The Last Starfighter. He had a few lines in Starfighter that were ultimately cut from the theatrical release, but Wheaton is still visible in several scenes. Wheaton first gained widespread attention for his work in Stand by Me (1986), the film adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body. In Stand by Me, Wheaton played the lead role of Gordie Lachance, a 12-year-old storyteller mourning the loss of his elder brother. 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". In addition to being successful at the box office, Stand by Me was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama and became known as a coming-of-age classic.

• Illustration — Wheaton with TNG co-star Gates McFadden (who played his mother on the show) in January 2019 Wheaton played Wesley Crusher during the first four seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a "boy genius and Starfleet hopeful" who creator Gene Roddenberry based on himself. He appeared in an additional four episodes of the remaining three seasons. The character is seen as one of the most "polarizing" in the franchise; while many Star Trek fans love Wesley, others are vocal about their hatred of him. Wheaton commented on his critics in a 2004 interview for WebTalk Radio: He left the series due to concerns over how the production team addressed a scheduling conflict related to his wish to appear in the 1989 film Valmont. 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, and as a voice actor in the second season of the animated show Star Trek: Prodigy.

• Illustration — Wheaton in 2001 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 and later used his public profile to serve as a technology evangelist for the product. Afterward, he returned to Los Angeles, attended acting school for five years, and then re-entered the acting world. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Wheaton appeared in several independent films, including the short film The Good Things (2001), in which he portrays a frustrated Kansas tollbooth worker. For his performance in Jane White Is Sick & Twisted (2002) he received the award for Best Actor at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. 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. He also appears in a The Big Bang Theory spin-off, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, again as himself, as the viewer follows the continued story through different universes. In June 2024, Wheaton announced that he was retired from on-screen acting.

• Illustration — Wheaton at the 2024 GalaxyCon Raleigh Wheaton is known for his voice acting career. He voiced the role of Martin Brisby in The Secret of NIMH in 1981. Wheaton voiced the villainous John Juniper in the 2021 video game, I Expect You to Die 2: The Spy and the Liar.

In 2010, 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. Wheaton also voices the character of the former scoutmaster and current sous-chef Earl Harlan in the podcast Welcome to Night Vale.

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. He has hosted "2nd Watch", interviews with cast members and producers of the science-fiction series Falling Skies that appears online after each episode. 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. However, on August 29, Wheaton blogged that SyFy canceled the show after only one season. Wheaton has hosted the Star Trek aftershow The Ready Room since the second season in 2020.

• Illustration — Wheaton at the 2013 Wizard World New York Experience in Manhattan Wheaton is a Dungeons & Dragons player, 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. Wheaton starred in the Kickstarter-funded game There Came an Echo by Iridium Studios. In Dungeons and Dragons Online, he became the dungeon master of the Temple of Elemental Evil quests. Nintendo of America announced on Twitter that Wheaton would be voicing Abraham Lincoln in Code Name: STEAM. Wheaton does the voice narration on the Secret Hitler companion app for the Secret Hitler social deduction game. Wheaton has spoken out against misogyny in video game culture, and wrote a profile of Anita Sarkeesian for the 2015 Time 100.

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.

Wil Wheaton has been a narrator for dozens of audiobooks, including his own works. He has been a finalist for the Audie Award multiple times, and received an Earphones Award from AudioFile magazine. List of narrations • Title — Author — Audiobook release date — Additional narrators • Peter and Max: A Fables Novel — Bill Willingham — 2009-12-08 — Unknown • Homeland — Cory Doctorow — 2014 — No • More of the Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy — Orson Scott Card et al. — 1999-12-15 — Yes • The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of the 20th Century — Greg Bear et al. — 1999-12-16 — Yes • The Criminal Minds Production Diary — Wil Wheaton — 2009-03-04 — No • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer — Mark Twain — 2009-10-21 — No • Boneshaker — Cherie Priest — 2010-03-18 — Yes • METAtropolis: Cascadia — John Scalzi et al. — 2010-11-16 — Yes • The Android's Dream — John Scalzi — 2010-12-07 — No • Agent to the Stars — John Scalzi — 2010-12-07 — No • Fuzzy Nation — John Scalzi — 2011-05-10 — Yes • Ready Player One — Ernest Cline — 2011-08-16 — No • Redshirts — John Scalzi — 2012-06-05 — No • Masters of Doom — David Kushner — 2012-07-12 — No • Trumps of Doom — Roger Zelazny — 2012-07-31 — No • Prince of Chaos — Roger Zelazny — 2012-07-31 — No • Sign of Chaos — Roger Zelazny — 2012-07-31 — No • Knight of Shadows — Roger Zelazny — 2012-07-31 — No • Blood of Amber — Roger Zelazny — 2012-07-31 — No • V Wars — Jonathan Maberry et al. — 2012-10-10 — Yes • Rip-Off! — John Scalzi et al. — 2012-12-18 — Yes • Just A Geek: The Audio Book — Wil Wheaton — 2013-11-23 — No • Dancing Barefoot: The Audio Book — Wil Wheaton — 2013-12-07 — No • The Happiest Days of Our Lives: The Special Extended Edition Audio Book — Wil Wheaton — 2013-12-10 — No • Dead Pig Collector — Warren Ellis — 2013-12-17 — No • Byways: A METAtropolis Story — Tobias Buckell — 2014-01-30 — No • Suspect Zero — Richard Kadrey — 2014-07-01 — No • If Ever They Happened Upon My Lair — R. A. Salvatore — 2014-08-11 — No • Lock In — John Scalzi — 2014-08-26 — No • What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions — Randall Munroe — 2014-09-02 — No • The Education of Brother Thaddius and Other Tales of DemonWars — R. A. Salvatore — 2015-01-13 — Yes • Mather's Blood — R. A. Salvatore — 2015-01-13 — No • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Phoenix Books Edition] — Mark Twain — 2015-01-14 — No • Armada — Ernest Cline — 2015-07-14 — No • Prepare to Meet Thy Doom — David Kushner — 2015-10-15 — No • The Collapsing Empire — John Scalzi — 2017-03-21 — No • Dead Trees Give No Shelter — Wil Wheaton — 2017-04-08 — No • asteraleS — Wil Wheaton — 2017-04-26 — No • kamaKiri — Wil Wheaton — 2017-05-04 — No • Strange Weather — Joe Hill — 2017-10-24 — Yes • Head On — John Scalzi — 2018-04-17 — No • The Consuming Fire — John Scalzi — 2018-10-16 — No • Alexander X — Edward Savio — 2019-06-05 — No • Ancient Among Us — Edward Savio — 2019-07-30 — No • How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems — Randall Munroe — 2019-09-03 — No • Looking for Alaska — John Green — 2019-09-24 — No • Full Throttle — Joe Hill — 2019-10-01 — Yes • The Martian — Andy Weir — 2020-01-01 — No • The Last Emperox — John Scalzi — 2020-04-14 — No • Ready Player Two — Ernest Cline — 2020-11-24 — No • How to Avoid a Climate Disaster — Bill Gates — 2021-02-16 — Yes • Still Just a Geek: The Audiobook — Wil Wheaton — 2022-04-12 — Yes • Red Team Blues — Cory Doctorow — 2023-04-23 — No • The Bezzle — Cory Doctorow — 2024-02-20 — No

Wheaton has performed improvisational and sketch comedy at the ACME Comedy Theater in Hollywood. He has a traveling sketch comedy/improv troupe called "EarnestBorg9" that performs science fiction-related comedy at conventions.

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. • Illustration — Wil Wheaton (left) meets Tim O'Reilly at the 2003 booksigning of Dancing Barefoot at Powell's in Portland, Oregon. In 2017, Wheaton wrote the short story "Laina" for the Star Wars anthology From a Certain Point of View. The book features 40 short stories, each by a different author, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars.

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.

Wheaton married Anne Prince on November 7, 1999. Wheaton legally adopted her two sons at their request when they reached the age of majority. Wheaton was roommates with Chris Hardwick while Chris attended UCLA. They met at a showing of Arachnophobia in Burbank, California. Wheaton has struggled with alcohol addiction. In January 2021, Wheaton announced he had been sober for five years. As of 2021, Wheaton was estranged from his parents. Wheaton lives with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and chronic depression. He supports mental health nonprofit organizations in raising awareness for these conditions. 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 semi-finals. He finished in third place, behind winner Ike Barinholtz and runner-up Patton Oswalt, earning $100,000.

Wheaton campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 general election. 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." 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." 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.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1981 — A Long Way Home — Donald Branch — Television film • 1982 — CBS Afternoon Playhouse — Amos Cotter — Episode: "The Shooting" • 1983 — 13 Thirteenth Avenue — Willie — Television film • 1985 — Highway to Heaven — Max — Episode: "One Winged Angels" • 1986 — The Defiant Ones — Clyde — Television film • Long Time Gone — Mitchell • St. Elsewhere — Owen Drimmer — Episode: "Nothing Up My Sleeve" • 1987 — Disneyland — Ehrich Weiss / Harry Houdini — Episode: "Young Harry Houdini" • Family Ties — Timothy Higgins — Episode: "'D' Is for Date" • The Man Who Fell to Earth — Billy Milton — Television film • 1987–1994 — Star Trek: The Next Generation — Wesley Crusher — Main role; 85 episodes • 1989 — ABC Afterschool Special — Nick Karpinsky — Episode: "My Dad Can't Be Crazy... Can He?" • 1990 — Monsters — Kevin — Episode: "A Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites" • 1991 — The Last Prostitute — Danny — Television film • 1992 — Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special — Himself, Wesley Crusher — Documentary • Lifestories: Families in Crisis — Robert Bierer — Episode: "A Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story" • 1993 — Tales from the Crypt — Arling — Episode: "House of Horror" • 1994 — Sirens — Wayne McGarrick — Episode: "Chasing a Ghost" • 1995 — It Was Him or Us — Scottie — Television film • 1996 — The Outer Limits — Cadet — Episode: "The Light Brigade" • 1997 — Gun — Bilchick — Episode: "Ricochet" • Perversions of Science — Bryan — Episode: "Snap Ending" • 1998 — The Love Boat: The Next Wave — Tristan Reedy — Episode "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" • Diagnosis: Murder — Forest Ranger Gary Barton — Episode: "Alienated" • The Day Lincoln Was Shot — Robert Lincoln — Television film • 1999 — Guys Like Us — Steve, The Fig — Episode: "Good Old Days" • Chicken Soup for the Soul — Will — Episode: "The Wallet" • 2000 — Python — Thommy — Television film • 2001 — Weakest Link: Star Trek Edition — Self - Celebrity Contestant — Television game: season 2, episode 13 • 2001 — The Invisible Man — Dorman — Episode: "Perchance to Dream" • Twice in a Lifetime — Ryan Storey, Dr. Thomas — Episode: "The Choice" • 2002 — A&E Biography — Narrator — Episode: "Eclipsed by Death: The Life of River Phoenix" • Arena — Presenter — Unknown episodes • 2002–2003 — The Screen Savers — 2 episodes • 2003 — Book of Days — Danny — Television film • Four Fingers of the Dragon — Himself • 2005 — CSI: Crime Scene Investigation — Walter — Episode: "Compulsion" • 2007 — Numb3rs — Miles Sklar — Episode: "Graphic" • 2008 — Criminal Minds — Floyd Hansen — Episode: "Paradise" • 2009–2011 — Leverage — Colin Mason — Recurring role • 2008-2010 — Ben 10: Alien Force — Michael Morningstar(Darkstar) — Recurring Role • 2009–2019 — The Big Bang Theory — A fictionalized version of himself — Recurring role; 17 episodes • 2010–2012 — Eureka — Dr. Isaac Parrish — Recurring role (Season 4–5) • 2014 — The Wil Wheaton Project — Presenter — 12 episodes • 2015–2016 — Dark Matter — Alexander Rook — 2 episodes • 2016 — Powers — Conrad Moody — 3 episodes • 2017 — Mystery Science Theater 3000 — Drake — Episode: "Reptilicus" • 2017 — Bill Nye Saves the World — Himself — Episode: "The Original Martian Invasion" • 2017 — Whose Line Is It Anyway? — "July 10, 2017" (Season 13, Episode 5) • 2019 — Supergirl — End of the World Protestor — Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" • 2022 — Star Trek: Picard — Wesley Crusher — Episode: "Farewell" • 2022 — S.W.A.T. — Evan Whitlock — Episode: "Old School Cool" • 2022-2023 — Celebrity Jeopardy! — Self - Celebrity Contestant — Episode: "Quarterfinal #5: Troian Bellisario, Wil Wheaton and Hasan Minhaj" Episode: "Semifinal #2: John Michael Higgins, Wil Wheaton and Joel Kim Booster" Episode: "Final: Wil Wheaton, Patton Oswalt and Ike Barinholtz" • 2026 — Stuart Fails to Save the Universe — A fictionalized version of himself — Episode: "Spoiler: Bert Is Magic"

List of appearances in web shows and series • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2006–2007 — Revision3 — Presenter • 2007 — LoadingReadyRun — Himself • 2008 — Retarded Policeman #5: Writers Strike — Presenter • 2009–2011 — The Guild — Fawkes — Main role • 2010 — IRrelevant Astronomy — The Physician — Episode: "Robot Astronomy Talk Show: Destroyer of Worlds" • 2012–2017 — TableTop — Presenter • 2013 — Kris and Scott's Scott and Kris Show #10: Ties — Kris's father • 2014–2016 — Welcome to Night Vale — Earl Harlan — 5 episodes, multiple live shows • 2015 — Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana — Game Master — Actual play • 2015 — Conversations with Creators — Host • 2015 — Critical Role — Thorbir Falbek — Actual play; guest role, 2 episodes • 2015 — Con Man — Officer Cahoots, Man on Plane — 2 episodes • 2017 — Transformers: Titans Return — Perceptor — Voice, 3 episodes • 2020–present — The Ready Room — Host — 84 episodes • 2020–2021 — Rival Speak — 12 episodes • 2021 — Bridgewater — Captain Haddock — Voice, fiction podcast • 2022 — The Sandman — Brant Tucker — Voice, 4 episodes • 2023 — Third Eye — Robigus — Voice • 2025 — Tales From Woodcreek — Eldorae — Actual play; guest role, 2 episodes

List of voice performances in animated films and television series • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1982 — The Secret of NIMH — Martin Brisby — Feature film • 1993 — The Legend of Prince Valiant — Prince Michael / King Michael — Main role (season 2) • 2001 — The Flintstones: On the Rocks — Brad (Bass Singer) — Television film • 2002 — The Zeta Project — Kevin — Episode: "The Wrong Morph" • 2003–05 — Teen Titans — Aqualad — Recurring role (6 episodes) • 2005 — Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! — Skurg — Episode: "The Lords of Soturix 7" • 2006 — Avatar: The Last Airbender — Additional voices — Episode: "City of Walls and Secrets" • 2007 — Random! Cartoons — Kyle, Sir Horace — Episode: "Kyle + Rosemary" • 2007–08 — Legion of Super Heroes — Cosmic Boy, Roderick Doyle — Recurring role (6 episodes) • 2008–09 — Ben 10: Alien Force — Michael Morningstar / Darkstar — Recurring role (5 episodes) • 2009 — Naruto — Menma — 3 episodes, English version • 2009 — Kurokami: The Animation — Yakumo — Supporting role, English version • 2009–10 — Family Guy — Himself, Anti-Abortion Activist — 2 episodes • 2009–10 — Batman: The Brave and the Bold — Ted Kord/Blue Beetle — 2 episodes • 2010 — Ben 10: Ultimate Alien — Michael Morningstar / Darkstar — Recurring role (3 episodes) • 2010 — Slayers Evolution-R — Hans — Episode 2, English version • 2010 — Naruto Shippuden the Movie — Taruho, Shizuku — English version • 2011 — Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn — Aaron Terzieff — Episode: "Ghost of Laplace", English version • 2011–12 — Redakai: Conquer the Kairu — Quantus — Main role • 2012–13 — Generator Rex — Dr. Peter Meechum — 4 episodes • 2014 — Robot Chicken — Doctor Doom, Centaur — Episode: "Batman Forever 21" • 2014 — Ben 10: Omniverse — Michael Morningstar / Darkstar, Dante — 2 episodes • 2014–18 — Teen Titans Go! — Aqualad — 4 episodes • 2015–18 — Miles from Tomorrowland — Commander S'Leet, Nemetron Units — 4 episodes • 2016 — Fantasy Hospital — The High Wizard — 10 episodes • 2017–18 — Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters — Jonathan Rook, additional voices — 23 episodes • 2017 — Guardians of the Galaxy — Korvac — Episode: "Unfortunate Son" • 2018 — Teen Titans Go! To the Movies — Flash — Feature film • 2018 — Power of the Primes — Perceptor — 10 episodes • 2020 — American Dad! — Co-Worker with Witching Sticks — Episode: "Businessly Brunette" • 2021-22 — Dogs in Space — Atlas — 4 episodes • 2023 — Star Trek: Lower Decks — Wesley Crusher — Episode: "Old Friends, New Planets" • 2024 — Star Trek: Prodigy — Main role, Season 2

List of voice performances in video games • Year — Title — Role • 2003 — Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge — Bandit • 2004 — EverQuest II — Additional voices • 2004 — Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — Richard Burns • 2004 — Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 — Additional voices • 2005 — Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown • 2005 — Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter • 2005 — Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories — Richard Burns • 2006 — Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories • 2007 — Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 — Additional voices • 2008 — Grand Theft Auto IV — Alien in Republican Space Rangers • 2009 — Brütal Legend — Watt-R-Boys • 2009 — Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks — Darkstar • 2010 — Fallout: New Vegas — Robobrain • 2011 — DC Universe Online — Robin • 2013 — Grand Theft Auto V — The Local Population • 2014 — Broken Age — Curtis The Lumberjack • 2015 — There Came an Echo — Corrin • 2015 — Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. — Abraham Lincoln • 2015 — Dungeons & Dragons Online - Reign of Elemental Evil — Dungeon Master • 2021 — I Expect You to Die 2: The Spy and the Liar — John Juniper • 2022 — Star Trek Online — Terran Emperor Wesley Crusher