I’ve been doing press to promote Still Just A Geek for a little over a month, now. I’ll be honest: I’m getting tired of the sound of my own voice. I’m starting to feel a bit of fatigue, and I have to remind myself that each person I’m talking to is hearing this stuff for the first time, and so is their audience.
I’ve felt awkward about linking to all the press, because it’s a lot. But they are all really good conversations that I’m happy to share, when I can get out of my own way and stop worrying so much about … everything.
This is an incomplete collection of press I’ve done, as of May 12, collected in one place. If I’ve forgotten something, just leave a comment and I’ll update.
Content warning: in nearly every one of these interviews, I discuss child abuse and exploitation.
Wil Wheaton talks with me about his fatherhood journey. We chat about being a step-dad and the relationship he has with his sons. Wil shares some of the values he looked to instill into his sons as they were growing up. He also talks about how he wanted to make sure he didn’t act like his parents and not make the same mistakes they did. After that we talk about his book, Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir and how recording the audiobook version was life-changing for him. We even talk about on comic-con moment that stuck with me for years on the advice he gave someone about being a geek. Lastly, we finish the interview off with the Fatherhood Quick Five.
Wil Wheaton is one of the most genuine human beings I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with. Incredibly thoughtful, funny, introspective and kind we take a deep dive into his life as a childhood actor, what lead him to his new book, “Still Just A Geek” two decades after his first book and how he’s evolved as a person in between, reliving past traumas, the craft of acting, friendships he’s made along the way, embracing nerd culture and reveling in its current state of “coolness”, The Big Bang Theory, His Trek Family, a touching moment he shared with his Stand By Me co-star Jerry O’Connell, board games, video games, Robin Williams, and not being afraid to get emotional as men. Enjoy!
HOW WIL WHEATON BECAME STAR TREK’S OWN “TIME LORD”
“I have spent an incredible amount of time thinking: what would be going on in Wesley Crusher’s universe?” Wheaton tells Inverse. “And for years, I have thought space and time and thought are not disconnected the way people think they are. I mean, that’s just a Time Lord [from Doctor Who] with more steps.”
Game over, Moon Pie! Wil Wheaton is our guest this week. He’s stopping by to talk with us about his book -“Still Just a Geek” an annotated release of his 2004 book – “Just a Geek”. Wil also talks with us about the lessons learned in life and how working on this book helped him confront some of the issues that he was facing, head on. We talk about advice he has for others who are enduring some of the same things, and what they may be able to do to move forward in life. But we are all geeks, and so of course there is some Star Trek, Big Bang Theory and Role Playing Games talk as well. We talk about others roles and his book narration as well.
What would Wesley Crusher think if he discovered The Big Bang Theory?
Wil Wheaton: Do you mean the theory or the TV show?
The TV series.
Wil Wheaton: That’s an interesting question. I don’t know if he would get the humor because Wesley’s from the 23rd century. We look back at humor from 300 years ago and some of it still works. But a lot of it is based on idiomatic language and cultural references that none of us could possibly understand. He would think, Oh, that’s interesting. There’s a guy there who looks an awful lot like me and they talk about me like I’m a real thing. That’s weird. I don’t understand any of these jokes. What’s Star Wars? I’m very confused. Who is this Iron Man? I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know what he wants.
Thank you. I look forward to reading your updated book.
Wil Wheaton: Well, you’re very kind.
Advice I’d Give My Younger Self With Wil Wheaton
Join us as Wil Wheaton, who had leading roles in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “The Big Bang Theory,” discusses revisiting his 2004 memoir “Just a Geek,” which he recently re-released as “Still Just a Geek.”
Every page is filled with footnotes and parenthetical comments talking to his younger self, and in many cases decrying his previous racism, homophobia, and misogyny. How did he manage to confront his younger self without dying of shame? Listen now to find out.
Just gonna jump in here really quick to point out that the comment about “previous racism” doesn’t make sense to me. I’ve never been racist, I am not racist, and I don’t know why the author asserts that in the description. I hope it’s just a rhetorical error that they’ll correct.
Traveling Through Time With Star Trek’s Wil Wheaton: Geek And Trans Ally
In his memoir, he opens up about his life, love, his battle with depression and about coming to grips with his past work, his career choices and his birth family. He also describes how he found fulfillment in the new phases of his career, and came to terms with a painful childhood.
‘The man who was my father wasn’t a dad to me at all,” Wheaton told me. “My mother made me her thing when I was a kid, and she used her thing to fill up the emptiness in her life that she didn’t get from anywhere else.”
Before writing his book, the dad of Ryan and Nolan Wheaton said he had to “unlearn the toxic, hurtful behaviors that had been modeled to me,” and therapy helped him deal with chronic depression, something he’s blogged about.
Wil Wheaton Interview: Close Encounters of the Shatner Kind
Wil Wheaton is best known for portraying Wesley Crusher on the science fiction TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me. He appeared regularly as a fictionalized version of himself on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, and other television credits include Leverage, Eureka, The Outer Limits, Diagnosis: Murder, Criminal Minds, Supergirl and S.W.A.T. Wheaton has also worked as a voice actor in animation, video games and audiobooks.
On April 12, 2022, Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir, was published as an updated version of Wheaton’s 2004 memoir, Just a Geek: Unflinchingly Honest Tales of the Search for Life, Love and Fulfillment Beyond the Starship Enterprise. In Still Just a Geek, the celebrated actor, personality and all-around nerd, reexamines one of the most interesting lives in Hollywood and fandom.
The actor/author was disappointed by the sexism and insensitivity of his 2004 memoir ‘Just a Geek,’ so he decided to revise it. He talks to MEL about getting a do-over, living with the anger of how his parents mistreated him and why he still stands with Chris Hardwick
There’s no place like Zenescope! This month, on Volume 2, Episode 5 of Everything Zen, we take the yellow brick road to OZ and dig deep into Dorothy’s adventures with creator, Jenna Lyn Wright. Plus, the wonderful WIL WHEATON stops by to talk about Star Trek and all things geek in anticipation of his latest book, STILL JUST A GEEK. We’ve also got the Zenescope Calendar of Events, Las Vegas Fun Facts, and a bevvy of OZ prizes! Length: 68 Minutes.
Actor, personality, and all-around nerd, Wil Wheaton beams up to the show to discuss his new book, “Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir.“
During the interview, we cover a lot of Wil’s amazing career. Wil shares stories from his time starring in Stand By Me, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The Big Bang Theory. We also discuss The Wil Wheaton Project, The Ready Room, The Family Guy TNG reunion, and Tabletop.
Wil shares one of his favorite moments while on The Big Bang Theory and shares an amazing story about William Shatner from that episode. We also discuss Wil’s story of the first time he met William Shatner on the set of Star Trek V.
We also discuss Wil’s love of Sharknado (and how his tweets helped launch it into infamy) and his guest spot in Sharknado 2 where tragically he was eaten by a shark.
We end by discussing the meta experience of narrating the book Ready Player One (which references Wil Wheaton).
Enjoy my conversation with evil Wil Wheaton, Gordie Lachance, and Wesley Crusher.
Keeping Up With The Cardassians
Rob, Joe, and Nick had the incredible honor of sitting down and talking with Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher-STNG). In an interview spanning a variety of subjects from mental health, pop culture, pizza, and everything in between.
I just finished the book and look forward to the conversations you link to here. I’ll be interested to see if my reactions to the book are mirrored in any of the discussions. Thanks for this!
Audiobook is the way. 😉
I remember this kid from one of my film acting classes a few years back. He was, like, maybe 14. His mother would put him in the car and drive him the four hours from here across the Mojave, down to L.A. to audition for roles in various productions. Disney. Background stuff. Disney background. All. The. Time. Sometimes a few times per week.
I did a scene for class with him. He hadn’t prepared at all—didn’t know any of his lines. I remember the acting coach stopped the scene and chastised the hell out of him. At one point he looked at the kid and just said, “what do you want to do with your life?”
The kid said: “I want to be a cook.”
Yup.
I thought about that quite a bit while listening to your experiences.
I’m currently listening to the audiobook, and some of the annotated bits (and the annotated annotations) are making me fight to not wake up my husband with my raucous laughter. I’m really loving this book – thank you so much for writing it!
I truely liked that you ordered your board game collection by colors, that looks great!
Are there any plans to translate your book into different languages and bring them into these markets (i.e. german)?
Hi Wil,
I think I have been reading your blog for fifteen years now. We are the same age. I just wanted to take a break from reading your book to tell you how much I love reading your book! At some points the annotations are indeed quite heavy, but the battles with your editor are hilarious. It has been years since I read Just a Geek and it is very interesting to read how you think about these things now. You really have grown a lot. Also congratulations on the return of Wesley Crusher of course!
I don’t get some of the references (Unix and cassette tapes I do get), so perhaps I do need an annotated annotated version? Anyway, I am guessing that these references are mostly to US sports personalities and/or events, so me not getting them is totally… (wait for it)… cool.