Wil Wheaton was forced into acting and now it’s traumatic to him

Wil Wheaton would rather be behind the camera than in front of it as acting was never his first choice

Wil Wheaton, known for his portrayal as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has recently returned to the screen as Andy in the thriller Rent-a-Pal. Prior to that, he has preferred to stay out from in front of the cameras as being an actor was never something he wanted to do. In fact, he said he begged his mother to stop forcing him to go to auditions, but she wouldn’t listen to him.

"It was really important to her that I become famous so she could be the famous actor’s momager and it sucked. That choice cost me my relationship with my parents and as a consequence of that, I don’t really enjoy on-camera acting. It’s a little triggering and a little traumatic.’"

Wheaton s true passion is in writing and hosting, which is evident by his skills as a host of The Ready Room, a Star Trek aftershow. He’s very personable with the guests and is as confident in front of the camera as any actor onscreen.

As much as Wheaton hated acting, he admits that he was good at it even though he was being abused and was hurting a lot. Still if he could retire from acting, he would.

Wheaton continues to do voice acting but will only take on an acting role if it’s “incredible” and one that he “feels really good about.”  And in spite of the pain of the past, Wheaton wouldn’t change a thing about his life now.

"So I will take all the pain, all the sadness [because] on top of that I’ve built a great life. I can’t take one without the other."

Knowing more about Wheaton’s past sheds a different light on his Wesley Crusher role. In spite of his desperate desire to quit acting, he still went on camera and made the best out of a very bad situation. And knowing that some fans didn’t like his character must have made it that much more difficult.