46&2

I’m working my ass off today for Arena…we’re working on a really cool special, and I’m under the gun to finish a script, so I don’t have time for a real entry…
But Loren sent me this article, in the SF Gate, and I wanted to share it.
The interesting thing about this story, and the proliferation of stories like it, and celebrity weblogs, is that most people aren’t able to see people like me, who are on their tvs, as real people, with real problems and real dreams.
People look for and expect to find a validation of their perception of the celebrity in question, and when they don’t find that, they either react with surprise and delight, or they find ways to force what they found to fit their perception.
If someone came here looking for a failed actor, they could find that. If someone came here looking for a very happy husband and father, they could find that too.
It depends on what they’re looking for, I think, and what they’re willing to see.

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97 thoughts on “46&2”

  1. All i know is that guy is a moron for thinking Jeff Bridges site sucks. I’d say it more like AMAZING and ORIGINAL. At least he got the wwdn part right. loggin jams and jammin logs.

  2. What one will find here a very down to earth individual. (Oops, sorry to affend those of you who still think Wil really still works in outer space.)
    There are some great people here who post regularly and then there is that dude from Montana who…

  3. Congratulations on the article, Wil, even though it’s something we all already knew. In some ways, it was nice to have this site as an undiscovered cool thing I could tell my friends about and have it be kind of like a special secret that was just hidden within the reach of our fingertips. Now, as you get more and more publicity for it…… Well, I guess I’ll just have to switch to being glad to be ahead of the curve.

  4. Do ex-Star Trek actors get skidmarks? I’t s been an interest of mine for years. Maybe less.

  5. the focus of the article is the gossip–God forbid anything intelligent be highlighted, because the human equation is much more boring.
    the fact that this site exists (and more importantly, works) is because it IS intelligent. and more power to you for keeping it that way.

  6. Why don’t people ever notice that groovy orange banner on the left?
    When’s THAT site gonna make into the Gate or into Hef’s mansion.
    This is bullshit.
    It’s all about you, Hamil, isn’t it? You and Darth Fucking Vader as your father.
    Whatever.

  8. Ok, I feel the dork. I raced over here as soon as I was handed the paper this evening, and what do I see?
    You’ve already seen it. I should’ve known.
    Maybe now, Jimmy Kimmel’s cousin will have to answer to YOU, as you’ve been recognized.
    (Although why they had to put the pic of Bill Shatner up, we’ll never know.)

  9. This is still the only celebrity web log that I read, but only because Steve from Blues Clues isn’t blogging.

  11. failed actors? are there any of those on WWDN? granted, i don’t hang around here 24/7 or anything, and only just started checking out the soapbox, but i only know of one actor here… one of the goddamned best there ever was, too. yeah, all i can see is one great big freakin’ success. an actual legend. we don’t get to see him as much as we’d like to, and i don’t know why or how that could be. at the substantial risk of offending said legend, i’d guess that perhaps a better agent might help to alleviate some of his audience’s thirst for more, bigger, higher-profile parts.
    Wil Wheaton, you are one of the greats; a living legend and a really decent human being, for chrissakes. pull some throats out if you have to… buck down and get as dirty as you can get, because there are so many people in the world, a lot of whom don’t even know about this site, who are clamoring for a mighty, triumphant return to the land of Top Five Great Film Lists!
    the public’s love for amazing, top-quality ARTists like yourself does not fade away… only the media’s and the advertisers’, because they’re only out for a quick fuckin’ dollar. WE’RE out for glory, and we need it, from you, now more than ever.
    break a leg, champ.

  13. UMMMM I just stopped by cause someone told me there was a hell of a party going on. Meeting a cool guy that I wouldn’t mind watching a hockey game and drinking a beer with was just a bonus.
    I gotta admit that the whole Shakespear reference was pretty funny. Why don’t you try doing the monolog you wrote on the website on stage in Shakespear costume? I bet it would be a riot.

  15. Surprise and delight, here.
    Also, a failed actor is an actor who has never been perfect in a role. You have done a great deal of high quality work. Therefore, you cannot be a failed actor, ever. You’ve already made that possibility uh, impossible.
    You are still a dork, though.

  17. FTR-
    I don’t think of myself as ‘failed.’
    I was saying that if that’s what someone was looking for, they could find it, if they looked hard enough, and ignored certain things.
    That’s all. 🙂

  18. As soon as I saw the “blog” in the headline I thought, “this has to have wwdn in the article”.
    Your post makes me wonder what Vin Diesel’s daily weblog would look like. I wish more celebs had websites, but not the kind that just hypes their latest project or shills for their favorite crap. Cool thing about good, heartfelt blogs shows you that the reverse is true too. Normal (real) people with real dreams and real problems become celebs with their blogs. They just don’t get anything out of the exposure. Except stalkers.

  19. Wil,
    After seeing Jeff Bridges’ web site, I understand what’s wrong with your site. Your site lacks clay heads. It’s so clear now. You have some whitespace on your site that you should fill with clay heads. It’s all about the heads. They don’t even have to be clay. You can take your TNG figures and melt them down into heads.

  22. Wil,
    You are not a failed actor. What is your definition of a not-failed actor? I have seen alot worse actors than you. You still audition.
    You still search for good parts. You do not handle casting. You are a good writer but you are not Toni Morrison. You are not the best or the worse. You more than any of us know that you are in a tough business. You still comunicate with
    people on the web. Alright you can tell us HOW MUCH ARE THEY PAYING YOU?
    F.G.

  25. Why is it that when an actor decides to do indy films, for say, quality reasons, he’s considered as failed? I just don’t get it.
    Wil, I sure as hell don’t think this way. I mean, come on…Jane White already! And Arena. Geez. I guess it’s all how you preceive success. And Wil, you’re the only truly “successful” actor I know of, although I’m sure there are others out there.

  26. My mom’s been buying TNG on DVD and I started watching them for something to do… and remembered why I spent most of my childhood wishing I was in space. Then I read this article in the Chronicle and (as I have my own blog/webjournal) thought I’d check it out. I’m definitly glad I did.

  27. Nice article.
    Dunno what I came here looking for.? You just usually make a lot of sense & you’re got an entertaining journal to read.

  29. Excuse me.. But, FAILED?? Come on Wil. You’re Gordy! You’re Wesley Crusher! Your other films may not have done so well, but who gives a shit. If you combine all the people who like the above characters, you are a hero! People who do films for their content and not what they get paid have a place in my heart because that makes them real. Like you 🙂

  30. Wil,
    you are the first site I go to every night I
    work.. then it’s ctnow, weather, mailtribune
    and you know… I’ve never seen capt. Pikards
    site ??? hmmmm… does he have one?
    what about; Data & Worf… #1 ???
    later

  31. HEY..Not ONLY are you the FIRST site I go to…
    YOU are the ONLY damn site I go to.
    SO THERE!…SCREW THEM.

  32. I’ll just add my comments to the rest. WWDN is a regular stop for me. I can’t watch episodes of TNG now without focusing on Wil and having a wee bit of insight as to where he was back in the late 80’s early nineties. As for “failed actor,” I’d say if you’re working in the business and enjoying your work you’re probably a lot more successful than some who are “getting the part.” My opinion. Anyway.

  33. I came here without ever having seen a Wil Wheaton film, and I never really watched TV. I came here because of Wil’s Killoggs debut. I wasn’t looking for a “failed actor” or a “celebrity journal” or really anything at all. I had laughed at his jokes. So I read a few posts.
    I don’t read WWDN because it’s the best “Celebrity blog” around; I read it because Wil has presented an insightful viewpoint on topics I have found to be extremely interesting. His post on the “Open Letter to America” struck me as precisely the response that is warranted. He looked past the hyperbole and rhetoric and extracted the kernel: an opportunity and excuse for profound self-reflection and critical evaluation is before us and we would be wise to consider it. His posts are generally well informed and well considered. His goodbye post to Mint-in-Box Wesley was amazing. And the WFS shirts are just cool.
    Sure, Wil, there are a lot of people who come looking for some element of “celebrity.” But there are also some who find, without looking too hard, a decent, intelligent, articulate, good-humored guy who’d probably be hella fun to hang out with. Thanks for the good reads.
    —Michael
    JokeofAllTrades.com

  34. As an ex-social worker and counsellor, I really get what you’re saying.
    As an ex-actor before all of that, I really understand where you’re coming from.
    But I did find something worrying, and I hope I’m just reading into it.
    You’re not a failed actor Wil, you’re a very successful actor who simply isn’t acting right now, and experiencing a few ups and downs as he attempts to make the transition from teen-hit to adult actor. You’re just searching for your niche, and maybe you’ve already found it, it’s just nothing like you maybe expected!
    As a fan, I’ve never seen you as a failure. With your weblog you’ve become something of a successful example of how a person can screw up and actually realise you’ve screwed up. You’re more successful in more important ways than many Hollywood people may like to think.
    Wil, ya just rock!

  35. F – Famous
    A – Accessible
    I – Intelligent
    L – Lucid
    E – Educated
    D – Dedicated
    A – Aging
    C – Crusty
    T – Talented
    O – Ordinary
    R – Rawkin
    Yup, that certainly describes you Mr. William Shat…
    Ah, shit! Posted on the wrong web site again.
    :}

  37. I think it’s amazing and ironic that Wil keeps popping up in online articles that pigeon-hole him as an actor who ceased to be famous. Ha! Wil’s getting more play online in a week than most celebs get in a year’s worth of Entertainment Tonight.
    Sure, it doesn’t pay the bills or put food on your table. But you’ve got truckloads of strangers who find you quite likable and brilliant, and just for being yourself. That’s something very few people ever accomplish, let alone someone who survived the fakey, smarmy cesspool that is a career in Hollywood (and all he got was this lousy t-shirt…)
    Good on you, Wil, for knowing what’s important to you and for staying true. Ever consider a career in philosophy? 😉

  39. I am becoming more and more amazed with Wil Wheaton.
    I was never a huge ‘wesley fan’ and I was never a ‘wesley hater’ I thought he did well in all of his movie and TV appearences.
    But the quote at the end:
    “If someone came here looking for a failed actor, they could find that. If someone came here looking for a very happy husband and father, they could find that too.”
    This has impressed me more than anything else Wil Wheaton has done or said up until now.
    I live In Japan with my wife and daughter. I own an English School, and we are a pretty happy family.
    I studied International Studies at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and had been an executive member of one of the best model UN teams in the world. For 7 years of my life (during and post college) International relations was not just a career goal. It was my life.
    Almost Four years ago, I was debating asking my wife to marry me. I was almost at the end of my contract as a teacher on the JET programme and I had to decide if I wanted to go back to the US for grad school or stay in Japan. I tormented myself with this decision for months.
    One day, out of the blue, a friend of mine from Bangladesh who had a lot of friends in government there called me.
    “hey man, how’s it Going”
    “Pretty good, just trying to decide what to do with my life” I said
    “Well then, no need to worry. I think I can get you in as a consultant on a UNDP project over here. My father knows the guy doing the hiring. It’s yours if you want it.”
    Suddenly I was given the break I had always wanted. I could even start my grad school with distance learning while getting experience in the field and making myself marketable. It was like everything I had dreamed about since I was a college freshman was bieng handed to me.
    The only thing I had to do… was tell Noriko.
    I remember the day I got the phone call. I had dinner with Noriko that night at a small Izakaya (japanese pub) in the Japanese countryside with a few of our friends.
    We ate dinner, started singing Karaoke,　and then started talking. We got to the part of the conversation where I had been planning to tell everybody about my job offer. I told my friends that I had a big announcement to make. I looked over at Noriko’s face. She smiled at me, in the way that only she has ever been able to do. And at that moment, I knew what I had to do.
    I told my friends that I had been thinking about my future. I told them I had many dreams. I told them that promoting good relations between all countries was my life’s dream. And I told them that I couldn’t think of any better way to promote love and understanding between The US and Japan than to raise a children with Noriko who could understand both languages and cultures and help explain to those around them.
    I didn’t tell them (or noriko) about my job offer. I knew Noriko well enough to know that she couldn’t have gone with me to Bangladesh, and wouldn’t have let me stayed. So I didn’t tell her, We got married, and I am a happy man today because of it.
    some people I knew in College have asked me why I ‘threw away my career’ to get married. I have never thought of it that way.
    I do admit that I chose not to follow a dream I had for a long time. But vefore I had a dream of being involved with the UN, I had a dream of being a doctor, and of being an astronaut, and of bieng a fireman.
    It’s just that as I got older, and became better able to understand my own needs and feelings, I was able to adapt my ‘dreams’ from those that were ‘popular’ or ‘expected’ or ‘cool’ to those that were ‘rewarding’ and ‘fulfilling’ and ‘sustainable’
    So I guess I don’t know what I was ‘looking for’ when I came to this website. But I guess What I think I found is somebody who, like me, has had many opportunities and many dreams. And I have to give a big thumbs up to anybody who can choose a family over a career. It’s a scary terrifying thing when you decide to do it.

  40. Hm…wouldn’t ‘hooker with a penis’ be a better name for the title of this blog? (insert tool reference here) 🙂

  41. I was ready to get really pissy over the ‘failed actor’ comment until you clarified 🙂
    Success is where preparation meets opportunity.
    You’ve done the preparation.
    I believe your best acting opportunities are in your future (hopefully your near future).
    Someday the right script is going to come around and you’re going to make some casting director very happy – as you have before.
    Regards.

  42. Came to this site from a web search for ‘Linux Mandrake Abit AT7’
    Funny what you come across on the WWW
    Think I may visit again. Provocing some thoughts.

  43. Well damn…I just only checked out your site ocassionally…but now with the Tool reference, I’ll have to come back more often…and watch the weather change. (Tool reference #3…heh)

  44. I wouldnt say thats altogether accurate.
    I think a lot of people are becomming more aware that acting is a job like any other and that it has many levels of success as other jobs do ranging from personal satisfaction and creativity to financial gain and celebrity.
    I came here because I wanted to see who you were. I think it was more of a reaffirmation to me that you’re just you. And although you never get much of a chance to reply to my comments I too get busy and sometimes i dont get a chance to check up on you. I have a journal online too. I like to understand people. Or at least try. You have made a small part of your life accesible to me to try to understand and as you have a very different lifestyle to anyone i know its interesting to me.
    I think celebrity creates a surrealism for people. It is a media maintained Illusion. Once you get past the fact that every t.v star needs to deficate, sleep and eat (although some less than others) and accept them as human you’d be just as likely to fart in a crowded elevator with them as you would a total stranger.

  45. I don’t know what I was expecting when someone on a mailing list I subscribe to mentioned something about Will Wheaton having an awesome website. I thought well, that’s interesting and forgot about it for a few days. Then flipping channels I caught an episode of ST:TNG and couldn’t help thinking about the website. So, I dug around the site a little. Overall, I was happy that Wil’s life turned out so much better than some of other actors I watched during that time. And I am very impressed with the writing.
    I guess I came to WWDN out of curiosity and stayed because I found a kindred spirit, a funny, warm, welcoming person who is more than I thought he would be.

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