Our young time / space traveling ensign Wesley Crusher turns 37 today.  Who would have thought the Wil Wheaton would become such a great author and nerd culture hero?  Well, we always knew you had it in you, Wil.  Even when you had to wear those futuristic sweaters and one-piece rainbow jumpsuits.  Happy Birthday Wil and here's to many more!  Oh, and, we really miss InDigital.

Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American writer and actor. As the latter, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, as Gordie LaChance in the film Stand by Me, and as prep-school rebel Joseph 'Joey' Trotta in Toy Soldiers.

Wheaton made his acting debut in the 1981 TV film A Long Way Home, and his first theatrical role was as Martin Brisby in the 1982 animated film The Secret of NIMH, the movie adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Wheaton first gained widespread attention in 1986 as Gordie LaChance in Stand By Me, the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Body. In 1991, he played Joey Trotta in the film Toy Soldiers.

From 1987 to 1990, he appeared in the role of Wesley Crusher on Star Trek:The Next Generation throughout its first four seasons.

Like many actors made popular by their work in the Star Trek franchise, much of Wheaton’s career has been limited to Trek-oriented appearances. During his youth, he was a prominently featured guest at Star Trek conventions and very popular in teen magazines.

Although his Star Trek character, and by extension Wheaton himself, was loudly hated by a vocal group of Trekkies during TNG's first run (see Usenet groups alt.ensign.wesley.die.die.die or alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die), Wheaton has explained that he was required to speak the lines written by others and that he too dislikes his Star Trek character. He did, however, enjoy working on the show and praises the other actors, especially Patrick Stewart.[3] Wil Wheaton was later reported responding to the Usenet hate-groups and old-school Trekkers in an interview for WebTalk Radio:

"Later, I determined that the people who were really, really cruel – like the Usenet weenies – really are a statistically insignificant number of people. And I know, just over the years from people who’ve e-mailed me at my web site and people who I’ve talked to since I started going to Star Trek conventions again in last five years, that there are so many more people who really enjoyed everything about the show, including my performance, including the character."

After leaving Star Trek, Wheaton moved to Topeka, Kansas, to work for NewTek, where he helped to develop the Video Toaster 4000, doing product testing and quality control.[5][6]Due to his public profile, he later served as a technology evangelist for the product.[7]

The issue of Wheaton's popularity among Star Trek fandom is covered in a number of web comics. ArcaneTimes of March 25, 2005 offers a sympathetic position.[8] Something Positive presents a range of opinions as part of the storyline Mike's Kid.[9] Abstruse Goose tries humorously to distinguish clearly between the character and the actor.[10]

Wheaton was a contestant on a 2001 Star Trek-themed episode of The Weakest Link. (source Wikipedia)

Read Wil's full Wikipedia entry here.

Visit Wil's blog here.

Check out Wil's IMDB Profile here.

Image credit Trekcore.com