12 Actors Who Hated Being On Star Trek

3. Wil Wheaton

Star Trek Wesley Traveller
CBS Media Ventures

Wil Wheaton was coming off an already successful career when he appeared in Star Trek The Next Generation as Wesley Crusher. He had just starred in the critical hit Stand By Me and was fresh in peoples' minds.

He was brought into the show to play the character that, unfortunately, many audiences would quickly come to hate. One such audience member was Rod Roddenberry, Gene's son. He felt anger toward Will as he felt that Gene was replacing the missing relationship between father and son with the relationship he was establishing with Will. As the show began to air, Wheaton became the subject of much negative fan reaction and would eventually leave in the show's fourth season.

In a recent reunion, Wheaton spoke about his feelings of regret for the way he handled his time on the show. He felt sad and ashamed of the way he had left and he felt that for years he was not able to keep up a relationship with his cast mates. Thankfully in later life, he has been welcomed back to the family, returning for 2002's Star Trek Nemesis and is currently hosting the after-show for Star Trek Picard, The Ready Room.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"