Well, I’ve started and erased 3 different entries this morning, so this is the last try to not be grouchy and lame.
The thing is, I’m just having a really shitty day. I presented material at ACME last night, and it SUCKED. I just haven’t been able to find my funny for months, and tangible reminders of that, like absoultely BOMBING on stage last night, really sting.
It’s okay, though. It will pass. It has to pass.
Right?
Well, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway.
It’s been so hard for me to be funny recently…I won’t go into it, but my life has been under siege for the last 2 years, and it’s just getting worse and worse, with no sign of improvement.
Between that and this “hyper-nostalgia” that I spoke of over the weekend, I just can’t be funny.
It also doesn’t help that I keep seeing the phrase “Has been” and “washed up” immediately preceeding my name all over the place.
Boy, it’s a great fucking feeling to know that people are calling me washed up at 29.
Oh, and I hear that they’ve cut me out of the Star Trek movie. Perfect.
Incidentally, I’m totally not fishing for encouragement. I’m just saying…well…it hurts. It shouldn’t, but it does. That’s all.
Hm. Failed at the “Try to not be grouchy and lame” thing.
Damn.
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Not funny? Washed up? Oh, pleeeeaase!!
I get a kick out of your entries, and the April Fools joke and Pimp Daddy costume are just too damn much! You have a great life. You have a wonderful wife, and two kids who love the hell out of you. It’s ok to be grouchy, and to express it. If you keep it bottled up, you’ll end up exploding on the first person who rubs you the wrong way. That person usually ends up being someone you care about. You have a community here of 2000 people who think you are the greatest. Just remember that.
Don’t worry about being cut out of the movie Will because they will no doubt bring out a special edition of the film on DVD or something a few years down the line with your deleted scene on it!!
Wil, buddy, I’ve been reading all these posts, and you probably won’t have the time to read down this far, but I’ll say my piece anyway.
You know what the best indicator of your funniness is? That you have intelligent and funny fans. If you really lost the funny you wouldn’t have such a big posse. Change can be so slow sometimes…and it feels like the funk will never end. But someday (a week, a month, a year, 5 years, whatever) it will suddenly occur to you that you’ve been feeling funny and happy for a while now.
Hasbeen? Washed up? Who are they trying to kid.
I think that they should go and look in the dictionary about what those words truly mean. Wil,
if people even bother saying these things, you have to know that it’s not true. I know that everybody has probably said these things since you were younger, But, it’s true. Whoever said these things, are completely and utterly jealous.
I can say with complete honesty, that they have no idea of what their talking about. Apparently
your not the only one having nostalgia. So Wil, what have you lost? Nothing. Your acting has gotten a hell of alot better since you were, how old? Your career is going a little slow right now,
But, I have a feeling that it’s going to change.
Some one is going to give you the break that you deserve. I know it’s easy to say “try not to worry about the funny.” But, it will come back sooner than you think. The words that I have written, are the words of truth. And I mean every part of it. You weren’t fishing for any cheering up, but you got it any way.
Where’d you hear you were getting cut out of the movie, Wil?
Bright side:
If you’re cut from the Star Trek movie, you’ll probably still be on the DVD.
I’m sorry Wil. That feeling sucks. I’ve felt it myself. Well, not the being an actor part, or being funny, or being famous. But the “I’ve got this potential, am I really using it, I’m already 29, dammit” feeling.
I do know that we, the Wil posse, see how funny and caring and thoughtful and smart you are in your entries, so all that *is* coming through.
As for the rest? Well, people suck. Dammit.
You are not a “Has Been”….I think it is time that all the WWDN’ers send you some good energy and mojo. Things will get better, they always do!!!
Wil, the reason I think I’ve gotten to really like you is because you’ve shown your “real” side here. I’ve never seen a celebrity be so honest about who they are, damn the consequences. That, and you’re the first person I’ve seen outside my high school buddies who played Illuminati. We used to play in Burger King and try to make each other laugh out our noses so they’d blow the megabucks all over the place.
Dude, people like you. It may not be all the people you want to like you, (critics, producers, journalists, whatever) but it’s people who matter. We care about you, as do your wife and family.
I’ve been blue lately myself because of job-related stuff, so I can relate. Just get out there, kick the world in the ass, and never give up.
Man, that bites about the Star Trek movie. >:( You are not a “has-been” or washed out, and anyone who thinks you are can go screw themselves sideways.
wil….
i look like you.
same hair, same face eye’s…all o that….
and you think YOU have problems…
i got told on a daily basis not to ‘wes out’ growing up….
hahaha…
thats actually all true, but it was all amongst friends, andwe were all fns of yours, so it’s a compliment ….
it took me 5 years of busting my ass at nothing, go nowhere design jobs before i finally landed a gig as an art director….
and it was only about 4 years ago that one jackass turfed me from a little company saying ‘i wasn’t up to technical standards’…..
i just about through in the towel after that….
but, like you, all i could think of was that this is how i wanted to spend my life, and i couldn’t think of any other job that I’d rather do….
so i went back out the next day, and kept at it….
it takes a long time, and you and i are the same age within a month or so…., so just keep at it…
besides…you can’t give up now….none of us would let you….
our collective mission in life is to see you in another movie or 50….
don’t disappoint us wil……
not that you ever could….
ya got too much mojo for that…..
all the best to you and your family…..
Tarantino loved TNG, why not get in touch w/ him?! I bet anything he’d find some business for you in ‘Kill Bill’ (I know it’s not too late). Try reachin his people or whatever, Just a thought! It probably wouldn’t pay shit, but like I said before – think of Travolta 😉
So you removed my post…
You must sit there and read them all as they come in. No judgements here. To each his own… I guess you can filter, holds up the illusion and ego better. But if this lil’ comment area was only for comments to “make you feel better” and not for hard truth about the biz your in then please post a warning next time. Ill be sure to only send you ego rubs…
So you removed my post…
You must sit there and read them all as they come in. No judgements here. To each his own… I guess you can filter, holds up the illusion and ego better. But if this lil’ comment area was only for comments to “make you feel better” and not for hard truth about the biz your in then please post a warning next time. Ill be sure to only send you ego rubs…
Ya know, I seem to remember this one actor that was considered “washed up” and “has been” before. Then that funky movie, Pulp Fiction came out.
Dude, some days can be really shitty. Thankfully there is always tomorrow.
Most of the time, the worries and troubles of today, seem less bothersome the next day.
As has been pointed out above, you have a lot going for you. That doesn’t make a bad
day seem any better, but it can help.
I can only try to imagine how discouraging it can be to be called “washed up” so
early in your career. It is not true. Your work is extremely good and you bring
a lot joy to people who watch your films, television appearances, etc. The fact that
there are those who will be negative and hurtful is unfortunate, but it happens in
all walks of life. The hard part is trying to deal with those people. I don’t think it
ever becomes easy as life goes on.
Personally, I think you are an extremely talented actor. I look forward to seeing
you’re future work. It really sucks about the Trek movie.
Hang tough. Better times will come. And while we all are effected by the comments
of others, remember (and this board proves the point), for evey person who says
something negative toward you, there are 50 who are strong supporters. That
alone should bring a smile to your face.
Take Care
Doug from Phoenix
Washed up, while that’s probably not true it could be worse. Heck most of us out here were never washed to begin with.
clearly, all you can do is, go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way…….. turn.
Washed up??? No way, Wil. You should tell any bastard that says that to go screw. You know you’re superfantastic (how do you like that word?)
And as for the funny…don’t go looking for it. You never know where it has been. For all you know it could have been up some washed up bastard’s arss…you wouldn’t want to go looking up there. It’ll come back in its own time. It WIL come back.
Hey Wil I know it hurst but dont let it get you down your good at what you do right know like most of youve got some down time but it will pick up it always does. Just remember your a good person whos good at what you do and go from there fuck the critics who say has been and all that I would like to see them get up there and do what you do that takes talent what you do so keep it up you will get there.
Terri
wil
i’m holding your funny hostage.
don’t worry, it’s still alive.
but in order to get it back, you’ll have to pay my ransom.
demands are as follows:
1. read through all the preceding and following comments.
2. walk through your house, find your wife, and give her a kiss.
3. find nolan and ryan, and listen to them tell you that they love you.
4. come back and read through the 10 new comments that will have been posted in your absence.
there are other things that i could ask you to do, but by the time you get to number four, i’m sure your funny will have figured out some ingenious way to break through its shackles and wriggle its way back to you.
you have a dedicated and loyal posse that will be here whether or not it hurts. you’ve been dealing with critics for a long time, and they’ll always be stupid. they don’t count. we do.
alright, i have to go take your funny to the bathroom before it wets itself.
-sai
Hmmm I hope you’ll feel better after you read all these kind comments! You’re not washed-up, and you’re not a has been! You’re here, and that makes US happy, ok? Thanks for that.
Bye, Helene
I haven’t read all the comments yet, but I really felt the need to respond. Sorry if it’s too sappy or serious or long or repeats stuff has already been written.
People who are saying those negative things about you, either don’t know anything about you or are dissing you to make themselves feel important. Ignore them.
Wil look at this site, which you built yourself, which you maintain yourself, which you put yourself into. It’s full of (mostly) wonderful and intelligent people whom you have reached out to. You have affected so many of us that we have reached out to you and to each other in huge numbers.
For some of us you are able to put into words what we are feeling and thinking. To know that there are other people out there going through issues like ours is invaluable. For others they are just moved by your honesty and how open and real you are, especially in a world with “Reality Shows” full of staged shots etc. Just look at the response to your last entry. You touch people, you make a real tangible difference in our lives.
As a purely personal example: You (and the others who post here) have helped me to become more open, more willing to share my opinions, less afraid. For me that’s a huge deal. I come from a really bad background which has made me very closed, guarded and afraid. Now I can come here and see that you (and others) can open yourself up to the world as much as you do here sometimes and it makes me think it only fair that I learn to do it too. And so here I am.
I’m getting too emotional now, so let me put this in a simple cliched way:
Computer: $1000
Internet connection: $100
Box of kleenex for when I tear up: $1.00
Being a part of WWDN: Priceless
And I really mean that.
How about a swingin album of jazz standards! Isn’t that all Trek actors are entitled to release? Just Kidding (hehe). How could anybody question the hip funk of Nimoy’s “Highly Illogical” ditty! The title track could be…[fill in the blank]
It sounds to me like you have lots of new material for your comedy. A little nostalgia combined with some feelings of rejection…
Seriously though, I am sorry that you got cut from the movie. That really bites. But you know that something truely great is just around the corner.
And on the bright side you won’t have to be seen wearing a glorified leotard.
Dude, you are so lucky!
I wish I had this many people trying to cheer me up when I felt down, angry, or worthless. I have to suffer through it alone.
Trust me, your funny will return soon. In the meantime, try channelling some of your anger and depression into something funny. I bet you’ll get some interesting material from your current mood.
oh, and screw ST Nemesis if they really did cut you out of it. It’s just a movie, and I never quite understood how your character was being written back in after the exit he took.
Move beyond Star Trek, it was fun while it lasted, but you’re maturing past that now. I know great things will come for you in time.
Maybe you could star in Thirtysomething: The Next Generation 🙂
Take care of yourself and your family…
Robert
my advice, be grouchy, be bitter, get it all out and let it spew, wallow in it. BUT be nice to Anne and the boys, screw everyone else. You have the perfect forum to release all of it. But it needs to go if it isn’t who you are. Give yourself as long as you need or you will go nuts.
No one can be shiny and happy all the time, anyone who expects someone to be upbeat all the time has unrealistic expectations (no, that wasn’t a plug either :))
When was the last time you sat on the end of a pier and tossed rocks? Try it. It may help.
-nicole
Washed up…that’s harsh…I wonder if anybody not in that position can really feel that. To be really good at something,and to then be told you don’t have the stuff…which is bull, by the way. The stuff doesn’t go away…so it’s not like you’ve lost it. I don’t know nothin’ from nothin’…but I do know this…We make the best world for ourselves, and those we love…unless you are willing to cop to everything we’ve been reading here is crap, then you are doing the same…and I belive it will work out for you. You’re only washed up if you give up…Don’t let the bastards grind you down….
I’ve seen a picture of your wife.
You’ve got nothing to bitch about.
at least you’re not Urkel
Although I was just about a card-carryin’ member of the I Hate Wesley brigade, I am absolutely ticked off that they would even think about cutting you from the movie.
I’ve heard some people mention Majel (I’ve only read the first 40 posts or so); more to the point, there was James Doohan’s and Walter Koenig’s “cornfield” scene in Generations that ended up on the cutting room floor. In other words, in the TNG movies, what’s been cut has been good.
You are, indeed, funny. Keep up the site, keep up the good work, and keep it real.
And if yer still feeing crappy by this weekend then get tix for you and Anne to go to the Coachella Festival.
Cake will be playing on Saturday.
That outta cheer you up!
Anyone else up for plastering “Wil Has a Posse” stickers up all over the Paramount lot?
wil i love you!
Sorry to hear that your down in the dumps today just remember everyone has those kinds of days. And for the has been comments, do you really listen to or agree with what journalists say regarding anything else? My guess would be no, so why listen to them now? Your far from a has been. Look at how many people come to your site everyday faithfully just to read what you have to say. So you think you bombed, remember you are your own worst critic. It happens to everyone, if you don’t believe me go rent the movie “Going Overboard” starring Adam Sandler I bet you’ll feel tons better =) Cheer up! You have a great family who loves you who you love back. Tons of fans. And a great career doing what you love. How many people do you think can honestly say they have all that?
Sorry to hear that your down in the dumps today just remember everyone has those kinds of days. And for the has been comments, do you really listen to or agree with what journalists say regarding anything else? My guess would be no, so why listen to them now? Your far from a has been. Look at how many people come to your site everyday faithfully just to read what you have to say. So you think you bombed, remember you are your own worst critic. It happens to everyone, if you don’t believe me go rent the movie “Going Overboard” starring Adam Sandler I bet you’ll feel tons better =) Cheer up! You have a great family who loves you who you love back. Tons of fans. And a great career doing what you love. How many people do you think can honestly say they have all that?
Do you believe having problems with being funny and having all those pressures are directly related?
I would not think so. In any case, you have achieved a hell of a lot more in 30 years than most people.
No doubt about it.
-Frank
I was so psyched to see this movie. Now… I’m not so sure.
Hopefully, the next one will be called this:
STAR TREK XI: THE WRATH OF WHEATON
Wil,
This isn’t going to be sympathetic. Denis Leary once said “Life sucks – wear a helmet.” No shit. A very good friend of mine once said that he’s really surprised that he hasn’t had to talk me down from a ledge. This referring to a bad couple of years I too went through. I just told him that I took it on the chin and and was glad because it made me a better person to persevere through it all. I feel that you too, need to take this on the chin. Trust me, you’ll be better off for it.
My bartending advice? Just take a break, my man. Step away from the problem. Go sit on the beach or do whatever. Turn off the computer, unplug from it all and unwind with the family for awhile. Deprive yourself of whatever it is that’s reminding you of your problems. You’ll find yourself renewed. Phoenix from the ashes kinda stuff.
I’ll bet you find your mojo, your funny and probably a missing flip-flop in the process. If not, I’ll refund the check for this sound advice. Take it easy, Wil.
Well, I don’t think you’re washed up, at all. I mean, you’re not out there knocking over liquor stores and appearing on Celebrity Boxing, right? 🙂 Seriously, try not to get you down. You’ve got legions of fans right here!
Hey. Your appearance on star trek was one of the reasons i was going to pay to see it. Now I’ll protest by no paying for it. So what I am a criminal but I am not going to pay for Berman and whats his name is screw up Star Trek.
Raethryn
Your funny is merely in a prolonged state of mourning over NBC’s cancellation of “Emeril”.
Look on the bright side – it can’t get much worse!
Bad bad funny…
I hope you’ll find your funny, Wil – I’ll post “wanted” posters all over my hometown – sort of like “Lost Dog – Reward” 😉
All I have to say is, 136 comments of encouragement so far. That is more than most people get in a lifetime. You’re brilliant Wil, don’t lost heart! It will get better!
They cut you out of the movie? That’s really
stupid. That was the only reason I’d planned to
see the movie.
Always look on the bright… side of life! Doot doot, do do do dodo doot! OK well yeah, that’s pretty hard to do. Have you opted to take the shittiness and turn it into funny?
A Whole Community of People are pullin’ for ya’-
Dude, its totaly cool to rant and rave in your entries. This is like your journal, thats what you do in a journal. No human being can be funny 24/7 unless they are on laughing gas. You are not washed up wash ups are people who dont have anything productive going on in their lives and you sir are not one of those people.
That freaggin sucks that you wont be in the star trek movie though. Thats not fair alot of fans want to see what happened to wesley. They could make a whole show soley on the adventures of wesley crusher the traveler. Never fear, there are writers everywhere that think of you for films you just havent met them yet. You will though. This isnt a pity-for-Wil entry though. Cuz I dont pity you at all. Its hard for an unemployed woman to pity the dude who was in Stand By Me, Toy Soldiers, Star Trek:TNG, …. get my drift? I thought you would ;o)
if you read my diary – i cant imagine why you would – but if you did you find that the adjectives that generally preceed your name are FAR ruder than “washed up”….
book club is funny but black books was funnier.
hey wil,
i hope you don’t mind, but i just dropped an email over to Harry Knowles at http://www.aintitcool.com
If anyone can get behind why you were cut from the flick, he can…
and last time I checked, he was a fan of yours, if i’m not mistaken…
the dude seems to have a fair bit of clout, so if he freaks out about it online, maybe your scene will get back in….
never know unless you try….
hope it’s ok that i did that…..
-it’s selfish really….i just want to see you in the flick-
take care man….and i hope you feel better….
after reading all the well wishes here, i know it sure wouldve cheered me up…
Babe-
Anyone who thinks you’re a ‘has-been’ or ‘washed up’ are only those, who, stuck or living in the past, are exactly those descriptive adjectives unto themselves, presently.
Rough night, huh? Yep, we all have our highs and lows, but I’m betting your ‘funny’ will reappear when you least suspect. (At least mine usually bites me in the ass whenever it’s ironically least feasible, fated, kharmically aligned, or whatever the hell you might believe in.)
The point of my rambling being, chalk up your frustration as a wise-worded Simpsons’ shoulder-shrugged ‘meh’.
Focus on the ‘now’, not the anxiety-laden ‘when’ or ‘then’.
🙂