A willowy, doe-eyed actor, Wil Wheaton has convincingly played smart and sensitive youths in films and TV since age nine. Wheaton began his career appearing in commercials at age seven, gained respect with an effective starring role in Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me" (1986), and achieved celebrity as Wesley Crusher, budding boy genius and eventual acting ensign, on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (syndicated, 1987-94). He left his post as a regular on the bridge of the Enterprise in 1990 to attend the Starfleet Academy and returned periodically until meeting his cosmic destiny in the show's final season. Wheaton began concentrating on features in the early 1990s with limited success in the absurd but entertaining "Toy Soldiers" (1991), as a troubled preppie cadet turned terrorist fighter, and in the talky, stagy "December" (1991), as a thoughtful pacifist reacting to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The actor first made a dent in feature as the voice of Martin in "The Secret of NIMH" (1982) and had his first lead in "The Buddy System" (1984), playing Susan Sarandon's son who fixes her up with Richard Dreyfuss. On the small screen, Wheaton broke into TV-movies playing an eight-year old trying to keep his family together in "A Long Way Home" (ABC, 1981). In 1982, he was a regular on the short-lived "The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour" (NBC) and had the title role in "Young Harry Houdini" (ABC, 1987). In 1991, he was a youth who, along with a pal, sets out to find "The Last Prostitute" (Lifetime), only to discover she's Sonia Braga and she now raises horses. In 1996, he was a concocted creature in Roger Avary's "Mr. Stitch", a film originally intended for theatrical release that wound up as a world premiere on the Sci-Fi Channel. Wheaton has remained active in occasional features, such as "Pie in the Sky" (1995) and "Flubber" (1997).
