Ask Wil Wheaton Anything

Wil Wheaton [IMDB] is our latest interview victim. Best known here as Wesley Crusher on TNG, Wil has a history doing movies both good (Stand by Me) and, uh, otherwise (see his FAQ). His movie "The Good Things" just won the grand prize at the 27th Festival of American Cinema at Deuville. His currrent project is "Jane White Is Sick & Twisted". Post your questions for him here, one per post, and we'll forward a few of the highest rated ones to Wil.

Comments

Those Silly Automatic Doors

[wikki]

When you were on the set of TNG did you ever find yourself running into the automatic doors when there was no one there to open them for you? How about at your house or other places? Was this a problem for any of the other cast members? Did you ever find yourself going to grocery stores and running in and out of the doors just to make you feel better?

Which one?

[sandidge]

So, uh, Beverly Crusher, Troi or Yar?

Wheres the parties, dude?

[imrdkl]

Seriously, how much time do you spend reading techie sites like slashdot, and keeping up with the issues? I see lots of nice links and banners on your webpage that seem to advocate. How would you "rate your geekness"? Is setting up your own server really fun for you, or just another way to score babes? :-)

Thanks, I enjoy alot of your work.

Re:Wheres the parties, dude?

[SubtleNuance]

Is setting up your own server really fun for you, or just another way to score babes?

Only on /. could building servers be considered sexy.

Wesley Crusher jokes

[DarkDust]

As you mentioned on your FAQ page, the Wesley Crusher character from TNG was target of some not very complementary jokes. But are there any Wesley Crusher jokes that you liked ?

Enterprise

[abde]

I liked your brief appearance in the Sprite commercial :) My question is, have you thought about sticking with the Star Trek franchise? With Enterprise, the franchise is taking a new direction, in which the characters are more human and not ultra-competent Utopians. Have you considered trying for a part, recurring or otherwise?

Are you worried about being typecast?

[wrinkledshirt]

Jason Alexander once said in an interview that every single episode he did as George on Seinfeld made it harder and harder for him to be marketable in showbiz as any other sort of character. Given that most people know you as Welsey Crusher, do you ever worry about it? If that's a problem, how does an actor break out of it?

NewTek and the Video Toaster

[suso]

On your homepage you mention that you once worked for NewTek during their development or initial release of the Video Toaster. I've always been curious to know how you got the job there and what you exactly did for them? Did you ever own an Amiga prior to working at NewTek?

So you read Slashdot, eh?

[Stavr0]

• Do you have an account here ?
  
• Have you ever posted here ?
  
• Have you ever submitted ?
  
• Have you ever got a submission accepted ?
  

Re:So you read Slashdot, eh?

[CleverNickName]

Do you have an account here ?

Yeah, I've had it for quite some time. I never put my name to it because I was afraid I'd automatically get modded down.

Have you ever posted here ?

Yeah. But not too often. My motto is "if you don't have something to say that's worth at least +1, don't say anything at all".

Have you ever submitted ?

Yeah.

Have you ever got a submission accepted ?

Are you kidding me? If I had a submission posted, that would make me cool, and that would begin the slow unraveling of the very fabric of space-time.

If this post isn't the poster-child for karma whoring, I don't know what is.

The Trekkie Circuit

[Chris Pimlott]

I'm curious about the Star Trek fan circuit - convention appearances and all. Do you actually make some decent money on them or is it more of a favor to the fans? Does Paramount ever pressure the actors to attend events to promote the franchise? And is there a camaraderie between actors from different series, people who otherwise haven't worked with each other?

Usenet

[Herbmaster]

When did you first hear of the classic usenet group, alt.ensign.wesley.crusher.die.die.die, and what was your reaction?

Wil's job at NewTek's Lightwave

[peter303]

You worked at the animation software shop NewTek
for a while. What did you do there? Do you thing you'll get back into tech again someday?

Hollywood Activism

[Dunkirk]

Wil,

You have made comments to the effect of poo-poo'ing celebrity opinions about issues in general. Yet in your blogs, you spend a lot of time discussing politics, and you make no bones about which side of the isle you favor. As someone in the public spotlight - and especially as someone in the geek spotlight (being a celeb that has your own self-coded web site) - do you consider it a duty of sorts to be an activist? Does being a celeb bring any more responsibility over the common, first-amendment-empowered citizen in voicing your opinion? Also, do you feel that you have qualities above and beyond other Hollywood celebrities that makes it important that you share your feelings?

Thanks,
dk

Radio Free Burrito

[webword]

You seem to know a lot about music. How big is your collection? What are your favorite bands? What is Radio Free Burrito and what do you think of broadcasting live?

Wesley vs. Adric

[wowbagger]

Many people have compared Wesley Crusher to Adric on the Dr. Who. In both cases, the character was reviled because of the way the writers handled him. What are your thoughts on this? How would you recommend an actor handle this sort of situation in the future?

Geekess or Valley Girl?

[Dyrandia]

As a lifelong geekess whose first crush was on Wesley Crusher, here's a question I'd love answered by Wil Wheaton, as well as the general male slashdot population. Which would Wesley Crusher, in character, prefer? An attractive, yet slightly braindead, clothes/hair/nails oriented girl, or her equally attractive, intelligent geekess identical twin sister? Someone who can't carry on a conversation unless it involves who was seen where, with whom, and what each was wearing, or somone who can argue the pros and cons of which programming language suits a certain task best? What about you as a person?

Very Original, CmdrTaco.

[Kozz]

This very funny interview with Wil Wheaton was submitted last week, but was promptly rejected. And suddenly you've got your very own idea to interview him. I'm so very impressed by your originality.

So for the uninformed, CmdrTaco is a dick. And the above interview is inclined to be far more informative and funny than anything that will appear here. Go read it.

Dear Wil

[sllort]

Wil,
You mention in this LA Times article that you dumped Linux for Windows because

"While I'm a champion of open source, I don't think Linux is there yet"

Was there a specific bug in Linux that prompted you to dump it, or was it just the entire operating system?

Thanks!

Patrick Stewart's bald head

[Genie1]

Have you (or any of the TNG cast) ever rubbed it for good luck?

Fan Fixated Moment?

[broody]

While this may seem way off the wall, please give me a moment.

Kirk Russell, on the commentary to the Big Trouble in Little Chinia DVD, talks about how his trip down the elevator on the way to confront "the ultimate evil spirit" has generated more comments then any other. Fans are always quoting back lines from that scene, particularly in elevators.

Here is the question. Are there particlar lines from one of your roles that fans repeat back to you? Which role do people most often identify you with when they see you in the real world? If you could change this defining moment to an alternate scene or line, what would it be and why?

Rainbow Jumpsuit

[Lethyos]

Really, did you have any dignity while you were wearing that thing? I mean, come on. A rainbow strip across the front of your Fedaration jumpsuit. Did you at least complain?

weblog changing your life

[perdida]

Your weblog is neither a celebrity weblog nor a purely geek weblog, but is rahter a postmodern meta-commentary on many phenomena, including celebrity and technology.

How has having this weblog changed 1) your daily life, 2) your views of technology, and 3) your views of celebrity?

Industry insider?

[Stavr0]

Since you're part of Hollywood and somewhat of a geek (if you really are 'CleverNickName') here's the thing:

Would you be interested in becoming a (scifi/hollywoood/?) contributor to Slashdot (a la Jon Katz)? I'm sure you could get lots of exclusives from Paramount, actor friends etc ...

.. assuming of course you're prepared to be a lightning rod for all the Katz-haters cum Wesley-haters ;-)

How did you feel about being Slashdotted?

[waffle zero]

How did you feel about being Slashdotted? And did you expect this to happen?

Born a geek, or did ST push you in that direction?

[anvilmark]

Did you have a technical inclination prior to STTNG? Did you become more/less interested in tech from your ST experience? If so, in what ways?

Relationship to gay issues

[tgeller]

Wil,

Years ago, I heard some stories that said you were outspokenly antigay. The story went that you held gays in contempt for religious reasons, resented speculation about your own sexual interests, and endured friction with two allegedly gay actors on the ST:TNG set -- Brent Edwards and Michael Dorn. Note: I never saw substantiation for rumors about your attitude, religion, or the sexual orientation of any cast member. (I'm frankly not enough of a Trek fan to care. :) )

Yet I see here that you said the following regarding homosexuals: "I'm sorry that I don't play ball with your team...but I always cheer for you when I'm in the stands."

Could you clarify your feelings about homosexuality, past and present? Many thanks,

--