Why Wil Wheaton Didn't Want To Play Himself On The Big Bang Theory

Throughout its 12-season, 12-year run, "The Big Bang Theory" featured a ton of guest stars — just the list of "Star Trek" veterans alone is pretty long, in fact. One of those "Star Trek" favorites just so happens to be Wil Wheaton, who first shows up as "himself" (more on that distinction shortly) in season 3 to emotionally terrorize Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). This long-running arc on the show, which continued through the final season, almost didn't happen — because Wheaton was totally against the show and the idea of appearing on it.

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," Wheaton and the series' co-creator Bill Prady revealed that it was quite a hassle to get Wheaton on the show, but not only did he appear in nearly every season (just skipping the first two installments and season 10), he became a mainstay of the sitcom.

"I was actually really against the show when I first heard about it," Wheaton admitted. "I thought it was going to be making fun of people like me — lifelong nerds. Whenever somebody in entertainment wants to do something about our culture, odds are the nerds are going to be the butt of the joke. So I was super not into it." Fortunately, Wheaton eventually gave the show a chance but said he was "disappointed" in himself for pre-judging it and being unfair to the creators. "I became a massive fan and tweeted about how much I loved it, when [executive producer] Steve Molaro saw that tweet and invited me to set," he explained.

Ultimately, getting Wil Wheaton to join "The Big Bang Theory" in literally any capacity was a challenge, and Bill Prady had to take matters into his own hands. "I got an email from Bill Prady's assistant saying he'd love to have a conversation with me," Wheaton recalled. "And bless Bill forever, he talked to me like I was a person he deeply cared about who knew nothing about his show. He was so kind." After saying that he previously worked with two producers who were awful people (Wheaton called them "d*cks," to be super-specific) and assumed most producers were just as crappy, Wheaton went on to say that he and Prady became lifelong friends as a result of the call. "Bill and I are extraordinarily good friends now," Wheaton said. "But I got on the phone with Bill, and he said he wanted me to come on the show and play a version of myself."

"He was unsure about playing himself in the show ... which is not unusual," Prady clarified. "You become an actor so you don't have to play yourself. You become an actor so you can be other people." Still, the team was determined to book Wheaton, who happened to actually live near Pasadena (where the series is set) and, as Steve Molaro apparently told Bill Prady, could conceivably be a regular patron of the comic book shop frequented by Sheldon and his buddies, so it was down to Prady to convince him. Apparently, getting Wheaton to "play himself" was the main issue.

"I felt playing myself was cheating ... that it's not something I've earned," Wil Wheaton told Jessica Radloff in the book. "Or it was going to be a one-off where someone would say, 'Hey, look, it's the kid from Star Trek,' and then it's over. And I didn't want that." Wheaton really loved the show at that point, so he practically begged Prady to let him audition for a character. He understood, but ultimately told him, "No actor likes to play themselves, but you are the only actor who can play Wil Wheaton.'"

Prady offered to let Wheaton think about playing himself and also let Wheaton know if any non-Wheaton roles came up that would work, but apparently, a person from a completely different series ended up swaying Wheaton in the end. That person? Wheaton's friend John Rogers, known for creating shows like "Leverage" and "The Librarians." Regarding his conversation with Rogers, Wheaton recalled, that he was quiet at first before Rogers laid into him for foolishly passing up the chance to be on the most popular TV show currently airing. He apparently yelled at him to "get on the phone to Bill Prady and tell him you will do whatever he wants you to do or we're not friends," so Wheaton did exactly that.

For his part, Prady was pretty grateful ... and not only that, but he figured out a way to make Wheaton happy to boot. "Yes, he did, and thank goodness," Prady said of Rogers' "advice" before saying he was nervous to tell Wheaton about the approach he took to his portrayal. "I remember being terrified to also call him and say, 'We made your character evil,' but man, he was happy about it! He went, 'Oh my god, this is the greatest thing ever!' It gave him a character to play — 'Evil Wil Wheaton.' And then the character evolved over time and ultimately became a friend of the guys, but I loved that he was okay with that."

As Bill Prady correctly says in Jessica Radloff's book, Wil Wheaton does start out basically playing "Evil Wil Wheaton," but in season 5, he and Sheldon finally make peace and he becomes buddies with the whole gang. (He still playfully antagonizes Sheldon pretty often, though, and it's really funny.) It's tough to imagine the show without Wheaton showing up in just about every season to hang with the characters, and apparently, Wheaton feels the same way.

In May of 2019, when "The Big Bang Theory" concluded with its season 12 finale "The Stockholm Syndrome," Wheaton posted on Instagram to commemorate his time on the series (the post is now deleted but was chronicled on Digital Spy). After saying he watched the show's final taping live, Wheaton said, "I think it's fair to say that if I built a tripod out of my career, the main legs would be 'Stand By Me,' 'Star Trek,' and 'The Big Bang Theory.' It kind of blows me away that I get to say that. It is remarkable to me that I have gotten to have all of these things in my life, when honestly just [one[ of them would be more than anyone could hope for on his or her resume."

Wheaton wasn't just grateful to be a part of "The Big Bang Theory," but went on to say that he thinks it saved his career and helped him stay afloat as a performer during a time when he was struggling a bit in the industry. "Mainstream Hollywood doesn't seem to be especially interested in me and what I bring to a production these days," he continued. "I don't know why, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to do anything to change that, but I can confidently say that I probably have an on-camera acting career today because of 'Big Bang Theory,' and anything I do on camera for the rest of my career will stand on the shoulders of the work I've had the privilege and honor to perform over the last decade."

"The Big Bang Theory," including Wheaton's 17 episodes, is streaming on Max now.