Movies - TV
Wil Wheaton’s Career Was ‘Sabotaged’ By A Sneaky Star Trek Exec
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
During Season 2 of “Star Trek: Next Generation,” Wil Wheaton was approached with a career-changing opportunity by acclaimed director Milos Forman to star in his film “Valmont.”
Wheaton shared, “The shooting schedule for [Valmont] would have run over into the first week of production on ‘Next Generation,’ which wasn’t going to be a problem.”
However, a Crusher-centered episode on “Next Generation” was scheduled when Wheaton wanted to be absent for “Valmont,” which precluded him from leaving, or so he was told.
He explained, “The producers told my agent that they could not write me out of that episode because it was a Wesley-focused episode [...] It’s really important to the series.”
Unfortunately, Wheton later learned it had all been a lie, stating, “A few days before we began production on that season [...] this producer wrote me out of the script entirely.”
Wheaton added, “I was really upset, because I was excited to have the opportunity to work with this amazing director in an amazing movie and in an amazing role.”
He surmised, “The message was very clear — we own you — and it was a move to sabotage my career. Wheaton “felt so betrayed” that it directly led to his decision to leave the show.