Highlights
- Wil Wheaton initially thought he was being pranked when offered a role on The Big Bang Theory, but eventually agreed after his friend threatened to end their friendship.
- Wheaton’s secret to playing an evil version of himself on the show was imagining what he would be like if he had never met his wife.
- Although Wheaton didn’t pitch his own ideas for his character, some of his real-life experiences were incorporated into the script.
Wil Wheaton is one of the most iconic recurring characters in The Big Bang Theory. Although he plays an evil version of himself, he’s certainly put some edge on the show; so much so that he broke a cardinal rule several times. Nonetheless, it’s always fun to watch him compete with Sheldon Cooper – played by Jim Parsons, who banned himself from returning to TV.
But did you know that Wheaton’s role practically fell on his lap after tweeting about his love for the CBS sitcom? And once offered to play himself on the show, the Star Trek fan-turned-cast member initially refused it, causing his friend to threaten to cut ties with him. Here’s how the actor eventually agreed to play himself as a villain, as well as his secret in doing it involving his wife.
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How Wil Wheaton’s Friend Threatened Him Into Playing His Evil Self In Big Bang Theory
In 2019, Wheaton told Metro.co.uk that he initially thought he was being “pranked” when he got an email about a part in TBBT. “A little over 10 years ago I got an email from a woman who at the time was Bill Prady’s (show co-creator) assistant,” he shared. “I didn’t recognize her email address, so I actually thought it was a friend of mine playing a prank on me, because 10 years ago I thought there’s no way anybody in The Big Bang Theory is remotely interested in me. This has got to be a joke.”
But after emailing his manager, Wheaton realized that the offer was serious. “At which point, everything changed because this became a real thing. So I called and Bill got on the phone and he pitched me the idea of me playing myself on the show,” he said of refusing to playing himself. “I said, ‘Listen, I’m a huge fan of the show, but I’m not really interested in playing myself. I would rather play a character on the show, sort of like Sara Gilbert is Leslie Winkle.”
Prady was determined to cast Wheaton as himself, so the actor said he’d think about it. He then told his friend who was outraged by his rejection of the role. “My friend who was a showrunner and a creator and producer in his own right was quiet for a minute and then he just went off on me,” said the Flubber star. “I remember him saying, ‘What in the world is wrong with you? It’s the most popular series in television, of course you say yes to it!”
“‘Of course you call him back right now and say yes. If you don’t call him back right now and say yes, we’re not friends anymore,’” Wheaton’s friend said to him after initially turning down
Big Bang Theory
.
But after following his friend’s advice, Wheaton was surprised with a change of direction in his role. “So I called Bill back and he said, ‘So here’s the thing. Since we last talked, the role has changed a little bit. Instead of playing yourself, you’re playing a delightfully evil version of yourself,’” he recounted. “‘ said, ‘Well that sounds great, that’s a character! I’m on board! Let’s do it.’ And about a week later I was on set.”
Wil Wheaton was paid $20,000 to $50,000 per episode on
The Big Bang Theory
.
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Big Bang Theory’s Evil Wil Wheaton Is What The Actor Would Be Without His Wife
Wheaton revealed that his secret to playing an evil version of himself was embodying himself without his wife of 25 years, Anne Wheaton. “The first choice that I made as an actor was that the version of Wil Wheaton, who appears in TBBT universe, isn’t married, which immediately took me out of my head and my comfort zone to where I could think [of me] as a different character,” he told TV Insider in 2019.
“He is who I would be if I’d never met my wife,” Wheaton said of his evil self in
The Big Bang Theory
.
The Stand by Me alum added that “when we started to transition from that Wil Wheaton from being a villain to ally and part of the ‘friend’ group, he started to become more like who I am.” It was “an adjustment” for the actor to play a “heightened version” of himself. “First, I had to adjust to being a villain to, basically, being myself,” Wheaton said of his process. It took me about ten years, but I could finally make that separation and be comfortable about being a heightened version of myself.”
But if you’re curious about Wheaton protraying fictional roles, here are his top five films according to Rotten Tomatoes:
|
Film |
Role |
Rating |
|
The Secret of NIMH (1982) |
Martin (voice) |
93% |
|
Stand by Me (1986) |
Gordie Lachance (character) |
92% |
|
Teen Titans GO! to the Movies (2018) |
Flash (voice) |
91% |
|
Max Reload and the Nether Blasters (2020) |
Arcade Heroes Narrator (character) |
85% |
|
Rent-a-Pal (2020) |
Andy (character) |
70% |
2:12
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Wil Wheaton “Never Pitched His Own Ideas” For His Evil Version In Big Bang Theory
While Wheaton chaneled his umarried self while playing himself as a villain on TBBT, he “never pitched his own ideas” to the writers back then. “The writing on the show is so tight and the writers room is filled with such unbelievably talented individuals I never wanted any input,” said the Neverland star. “They did such a good job building the comedy and building relationships and keeping the characters grounded in reality. Everything was so well written. I never had any ideas.”
Wheaton continued: “I felt it was incredibly presumptuous for me to suggest to any, ‘Oh, by the way, I have a better idea.’ I never ever thought that and I never pitched my own ideas.”
However, the writers took the liberty of borrowing some of his real-life experiences for the script. “On a couple of occasions I had wonderful conversations with the writers, with Steve Mularo specifically. There were a couple of episodes where it was what my experiences as the actual Wil Wheaton,” Wheaton remembered.
He said that “one of those was an episode where Sheldon gets real famous and he’s sort of embarrassed about it, and I got to have a conversation with him about it and said that for a long time people only paid attention to this one thing I did and people are real mean about it, but I’ve got a really good life now.”
Advising Sheldon and Penny on fame and acting in
The Big Bang Theory
was personally “special” to Wil Wheaton because he’d had those conversations with people in real life.
Source: NewsFinale
