Although not nearly enough distraction from the pain Wil Wheaton was experiencing by being forced into an acting career by his parents, one thing co-star Jonathan Frakes explains was a positive thing for Wheaton was his love of “Star Trek.” In fact, Wheaton has expressed that he used to go in early on shoot days just to explore the “TNG” sets. But despite this, Frakes recalls that even this child-like excitement was not apparent. “He didn’t feel like a kid to us,” he said.
The mental and forceful abuse that Wheaton’s parents subjected him to surprisingly helped the young actor tap into true feelings when giving his breakout performance as Gordie Lachance in 1986’s “Stand By Me.” “The fundamental motivating force in Gordie Lachance’s life is his line, ‘My dad hates me, I’m no good,'” Wheaton explained. “That was how I felt and I didn’t know it.” Wheaton admitted that when looking back at the popular film, what he notices most is how sad he looks.
Frakes recalls how he and the rest of the cast embraced Wheaton, and that most likely helped him get through his run on “TNG.” “We treated him as an equal, I think, in a way that he wasn’t treated maybe at home,” Freaks said. “None of us knew. And I always think of myself as a pretty good observer of human behavior, but we were all in the dark about it.” Despite not locking into what Wheaton was experiencing, Frakes says that they are now very open and vocal about how important their relationship is today.
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