A Star Trek actor almost turned down the Big Bang Theory pitch

Actor Wil Wheaton has had a somewhat unusual career, having risen to fame at a young age for the first time in the movie “Stand By Me.” It wasn’t until he played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation that his star rose, even though he felt that Subverted by a “Star Trek” producer. Which prevented him from chasing additional movie roles. When “Next Gen” ended, Wheaton was regularly performing in voiceover and small television roles before becoming part of the pop culture conversation again, this time as a fictionalized version of himself in the hit sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” CBS. In the series, which follows a group of geeky friends as they attempt to navigate adulthood while still partially entrenched in adolescence, Wheaton plays a sinister version of his real self and the archenemy of the series’ primary protagonist, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). What started as a small show turned into an ongoing segment that ran for over nine seasons and 17 episodes, expanding beyond the series itself and becoming its own little pop culture moment. (Seriously, I wasn’t a fan of “The Big Bang” and I was even aware of the “WHEAAAATONNNN!” moment in “The Wheaton Recurrence.”)

In an interview with SpectrumWetton revealed that he almost never took on the role in the show in the first place and that he had to get a little convincing from a talented friend. It’s a good thing, too, because it gave Wetton a chance to connect with a whole new generation of obsessed fans.

Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher had plenty of detractors, and he had his own, too The teens’ confidence was a bit worrying to one of his most respected co-stars, but he was also just a kid playing a role, and the hate that followed him from parts of the fandom was perhaps a little harsh. So the idea of ​​playing a version of himself based on how some of his fans thought of him might have been a comforting one, but when “Big Bang” co-creator Bill Brady pitched it to him, Wheaton was nervous that he would feel creatively restricted in a recurring cameo where He was playing himself. He called his friend John Rogers, who created the TNT drama “Leverage,” and Rogers gave him some solid advice:

“Are you crazy?” he said. It’s the best TV show! Call Bill Brady now and tell him, ‘Yes, or we won’t be friends anymore!’ Of course I did, and I still feel silly for having to think about it.”

“The Big Bang Theory” is one of the most popular sitcoms of all time and has become a huge hit It produced several spin-offsincluding the popular “Young Sheldon” prequel series that just ended in 2024. It’s not likely that Wheaton will be called back to star in any of the spin-offs, but even just signing him up for the original show turned out to be a pretty big deal. …even if it was a little difficult to wrap his head around at first.

Wheaton went on to explain that it was a little difficult at first to separate himself from the fictional Wil Wheaton, and said that it “probably took 5 years” before he completely separated the identities and really understood the role, but he had fun with and “learned to approach it” just like any other character. Play it. While Wheaton was initially written as a villain and rival to Sheldon, the actor says Sheldon’s fierce fans have already embraced him:

“This may be the only role in my career where the feedback was universally positive. In the early years when Sheldon and I were rivals, Jim and I worked hard to establish that relationship in a reality where each character could justify their actions. Fans appreciated that it wasn’t a harsh relationship “Never, but it was always meant to be silly. Will was amused that Sheldon could get angry so easily. It was as if I was giving Sheldon the materials to build a trap, then watching him build it and fall into it.”

Wheaton’s role grew over the years, and eventually, he managed a Dungeons and Dragons game that included A fictionalized version of William Shatner (played by Breslin’s own negotiator). Could Wheaton have imagined as a teenager on the set of “The Next Generation” that one day he would be hanging out with Captain Kirk himself, but it would be in a sitcom and they would be playing themselves? Unless he had one of those future-seeing Bajoran orbs, it’s unlikely, but thank God he agreed to the “Big Bang Theory” anyway.