Comment Re:Of course LeVar Burton will praise it (Score 2) 267
Wil Wheaton has done well enough for himself, but I really think he screwed the pooch when it came to Star Trek. Sure, he faced the risk of being typecast, and the character he played tended to draw derision from the audience, but he WAS a kid... and lets face it, he had about the most awesome job a teenage geek could ever hope to have. I figure he missed an opportunity with the character. Since the character he played was an awkward teenager, he could have embraced that role and had that character grow up as he did, mature, become less whiny, less naive, more confident, etc. While I realize you usually have to play the lines you're given, improv from good actors is always considered and sometimes makes it into the final cut. He could have helped guide the character into something more positively memorable instead of trying to distance himself from it. And if you ultimately do decide to cut your losses and run, it's better not to publicly complain about it after the fact. Even years later, opportunities can present themselves, but burned bridges tend to remain burned. Star Trek didn't end with TNG, and both Michael Dorn and Colm Meany were able to stay in the game longer than the duration of a single series. Wesley, recently graduated from the academy, could have easily found himself replacing ensign Kim on Voyager, which could have been REALLY awesome if they had Robert McNeill reprise the role of Nicholas Locarno instead of Tom Paris (who had very similar backgrounds).
Not to say that his career hasn't turned out well enough. I just think he really dropped the ball there.
-Restil