Actor Wil Wheaton is best known for his role as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The actor was a regular on the show for four seasons and then made short appearances in subsequent seasons. His character was known to be polarizing, with many fans hating Crusher.
While the bullying did reportedly get to him, Wheaton mentioned that he had a great time on the sets of TNG and even called them his family. Coming from a troubled childhood filled with abuse, Wheaton said that his co-stars supported him a lot. He also specifically appreciated Jonathan Frakes for being a father-like figure to him.
Wil Wheaton Gives Thanks To Jonathan Frakes For Being A Father Figure
Even before he became Sheldon Cooper’s nemesis in The Big Bang Theory, Wil Wheaton was a pop culture staple. Known for his polarizing role as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wheaton was a series regular for four seasons before he left the show to pursue other work. He returned sparingly in other seasons of the show.
While his role was often hated by a section of the fans, Wheaton reportedly found family on the TNG sets. The actor has been vocal about his tumultuous childhood on different occasions and is reportedly estranged from his parents at the moment. He spoke about how his co-stars became his mentors on the set.
Wheaton particularly appreciated Jonathan Frakes, who played First Officer William Riker in the show, for being there for him, even if he did not know what Wheaton was going through. He said to IGN,
Frakes was just… he showed up for me and was more of a dad to me than my dad ever was when he didn’t even know that that’s what he was doing when he didn’t even know that he was filling that role for me. And I’ll cherish it always.
The actor also mentioned that he got very real advice from his Star Trek co-stars whenever he went to them with questions. Despite having a problematic childhood, the actor seemed to have a positive support system on the TNG sets.
Wil Wheaton Mentioned The Abuse He Faced Informed His Acting In Star Trek: TNG
Wil Wheaton has been extremely vocal about the abuse he faced from his father during his childhood and how his mother would often manipulate him to use it in his career. His mother was reportedly an actress too and functioned as his manager, which he said that she was ‘incompetent’ at (via IGN).
However, the actor seemed to have used his troubled childhood to give convincing performances in his noted roles. While he mentioned that his childhood directly influenced his performance in the breakout role in Stand By Me (via Indie Wire), he told IGN that Wesley Crusher’s need to excel was also informed by his own experiences.
I started thinking about Wesley having this revelation that Starfleet was not the thing that was meant for him and that everyone expected him to do that because it was in his family…I didn’t really put together that I was experiencing a lot of those same things myself in my life and in my career.
The actor also mentioned that he felt many gifted and ‘weird’ kids would probably feel the same pressures and expectations, which would make them feel like imposters. Hence, he used that to give a convincing performance.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
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