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Wil Wheaton stole our hearts as Gordie Lachance in Stand By Me and gained a cult following playing Wesley Crusher on Star Trek.
But Wheaton was introduced to a whole new audience when he played a fictionalized version of himself on the Big Bang Theory.
Wil Wheaton Had The Entire Cast Laughing In A Memorable Unscripted Outfit
Big Bang fans will remember Wheaton as being the thorn in the side of Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) in the third season of the hit show. The two later became friends - but their bond was tested during season nine. In the episode titled: "In The Opening Night Excitation," Wheaton mocks the Star Wars franchise by dressing up as Star Trek’s Spock for the premiere of Episode VII, and was nearly booed out of the auditorium.
Wheaton later revealed to the Daily Express that most of the cast were in the dark that he would enter the scene dresses in full Vulcan regalia and pointy ears for the hilarious scene. "I come in, I walk into the end of the theater in full Mr. Spock gear. Nobody knew that was going to happen. Only some of the writers knew, no one from the studio knew none of the crew knew. So I come out and the explosion of like pants-s****ing laughter that comes out in that moment was genuine and it came from the entire cast and crew.”
During the episode, Wheaton paid homage to his Star Trek roots and when someone in the crowd bad-mouths the iconic space series he replies: "live long and suck it," a play on Spock’s iconic catchphrase.
Wil Wheaton Fondly Remembers The 'Star Trek' vs 'Star Wars' Episode
The stunt infuriates Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar.) In the end the friends eventually agree it was just a movie and head to see Star Wars again the following night. The star revealed the huge reaction to his costume made the Star Wars premiere sequence one of his most memorable on The Big Bang Theory.
He added: “When you can kill the crew on a sitcom, it feels really, really, really good. It's like hitting a home run.” Wheaton also insisted his Starship Enterprise uniform and Vulcan ears were kept hidden from all but a select few members of the crew, and even his co-stars were kept in the dark.
He went on: “We knew that it was in the script, but I don't think anybody except maybe a handful of people knew that I was going to have the ears on and be in the full Star Trek regalia. So I really love that and I love the line ‘live long and suck it’. It's one of my favorite lines I have ever said or ever will get to say.”
Wil Wheaton Never Wanted To Be An Actor
Just last month, during an interview with Access Hollywood Wil Wheaton admitted that he never wanted to work in show business. Wheaton has previously revealed that father was abusive and that his parents forced him into an acting career. "I have these very clear memories of saying over and over, 'I don't want to do this. I just want to be a kid. Let me be a kid,' " Wheaton said.
But Wheaton said he learned that if he wanted to gain the "attention and approval from my parents," he had to continue to pursue acting."'Maybe if I do what mom wants, for some reason, dad will love me,'" said Wheaton recalled of his childhood.
Reflecting on the darkness of his past, Wheaton said the mental distress he experienced in his youth caused him to feel suicidal. "The only reason I didn't kill myself as a teenager is that I didn't know how. That's how much pain I was in." He continued: "I'm so grateful that, for whatever reason, I didn't make un-revokable choices when I was younger. I'm just really grateful for all of it. I am a survivor."