by Carolyn Noblett

Created on: April 09, 2010   Last Updated: May 01, 2012

Remember the Wesley 'haters'? You know, the people that think Wesley Crusher ruined 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'? Well, they are still around, but so is Wil Wheaton and he just might have proved them wrong. His popularity has done nothing but grow in the last twenty years. Some of it may have to do with his web-blog or it may be just plain stubbornness, but Wil refuses to go away.

Wil Wheaton is an actor, writer, blogger, gamer, and family man. Most know him for his portrayal of Gordie Lachance in Stephen Kings 1986 Stand by Me, Joey Trotta in the 1991 movie Toy Soldiers, and Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He has made numerous television appearances and movies.

Wil was born Richard William Wheaton III in Burbank, California, July 29th, 1972. He has two siblings, a sister Amy and a brother Jeremy. Amy is an actress while Jeremy is an actor/photographer. Both of them had minor roles in one episode of STNG along with Wil. He is married and has two step-children.

In the last three years he has made a guest appearance on the likes of CSI, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, and The Big Bang Theory. He will also be appearing in season three of the Internet series The Guild, and has written several books some of which are available on Amazon.com. He is currently filming an episode of the popular SyFy series Eureka to be aired the Friday July 23rd, 2010 9:00PM ET/PT. (Taken directly from Wil's web-blog.)

Wil runs a popular web-blog reaching several thousand visitors a month at WWdN: In Exile. His emphasis on the geek culture and nerdism are well founded. He openly professes to be a geek and embraces the same. He pokes fun at himself, his acting and writing career and often jokes about his mistakes and his triumphs.

His blog frequently gives glimpses into the audition process with descriptions of personal experiences that normally only the privileged few get to see. He keeps notes on the set when he is shooting and publishes inside views about the joys and hardships of the acting world.

He sometimes reveals details about his personal life with a family and pets and encourages feedback on his web-blog. Wil occasionally responds personally to his followers and appears to be genuinely interested in what they have to say.

In January of 2009 Forbes voted him 14th of the Web Celeb 25, which means he has a fair amount of influence. He freely states his political views and supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election. He has a large following on Twitter and often tweets with his old friends from STNG including Brent Spiner.

So, for the Wesley 'haters' out there, he won't be going away anytime soon. As a matter of fact, there is a chance that you will run across him at a book signing, comic book convention, Star Trek convention, or poker table near you.

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