Wil Wheaton gives high praise to a former Star Trek: The Next Generation co-star

For many, the characters of Wesley Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard will forever be intertwined to some degree. Picard, the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D stood tall among his peers and garnered admiration from everyone, from Klingon to android to cadet alike. So it wasn't surprising that Wesley Crusher would take to Picard.

After all, Picard was the best friend of Wesley's father and a romantic interest of Wesley's now-widowed mother. The two would obviously be very close to one another's orbits. Yet, that's on screen. All are televised in a scripted, science-fiction-based universe. It's not reality. In reality, the man who brought Wesley Crusher to life, Wil Wheaton, seemed to be far fonder of another of his commanding officers.

It's widely known that Patrick Stewart, the man behind the character of Jean-Luc Picard, could be rather stiff and stifling. He's famously thought about quitting the show because he thought it was beneath him. He was rather difficult at times as he'd demand almost a military-like work ethic from his colleagues. He wasn't then who would he would become.

So for a young actor like Wheaton, Stewart wasn't the man he would find himself going to for advice. Thankfully though, he didn't have to go far, as Jonathan Frakes, became a key figure in Wheaton's life. Speaking to IGN earlier in September, Wheaton revealed that Frakes, above anyone else, was the one who was there for him, saying;

""Frakes was just… he showed up for me and was more of a dad to me than my dad ever was when he didn’t even know that that’s what he was doing when he didn’t even know that he was filling that role for me. And I’ll cherish it always.""

When we talk about the core cast of The Next Generation, we often think of the major names that dominated every episode. It's no surprise that they're a close bunch but we often forget that their bond extends well past the obvious group of characters. It's wonderful to hear that Frakes was such a mentor to Wheaton, especially considering the raging animosity the original cast had toward one another.