Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Wesley Crusher

"King of the nerds," The Guardian dubbed Wil Wheaton in 2014 in honour of his passion for all things geek. He is king of the internet, too, with his own maxim, or 'Wheaton's Law,' in defiance of online hate: "Don't be a dick." Now Captain of The Ready Room, ("Hey, nerds, I'm Wil…") Wheaton is a Trekkie through and through, and that before he got the role of Wesley.

On a casting memo for Star Trek: The Next Generation dated 13 April 1987, which found its way to the internet via Slice of Sci-Fi in 2006, there is, in fact, no mention of Wil Wheaton. At that stage, the "only possibility" given for the role was actor-turned-TV-presenter J.D. Roth. (This is a starship, not a fun house!)

As reported on Larry Nemecek's The Trek Files podcast, however, by 4th May 1987, Wil Wheaton was the only one up for the role, it seems. Nemecek couldn't even find mention of a runner-up. From Robert Justman's earlier casting notes for the character, Nemecek then revealed a few other recognisable names who had read for Wesley, including Corey Feldman, Scott Grimes, John Cameron Mitchell, and even Trek Files producer John Champion!

The Trek Files has also published the original casting documents, including cast reading scenes ('sides'), for the role of Wesley Crusher from March-April 1987, so you can look forward to that dramatic re-enactment from Seán sometime soon.