This post contains spoilers forStar Trek: Prodigy.
With the exception ofMiles OBrien, Wesley Crusher may have suffered more than any otherStar Trekcharacter.
Ive been waiting 30 years for this.
Heres what else the actor told us about the joys of playing Wesley Crusher in 2024.
At least until theProdigys second season, in which Wesley arrived in full Traveler mode.
They protect universes, thats their big responsibility.
They cruise around on starships and ride around the realities experiencing things.
For Wheaton, the similarities were undeniable.
When he got the call, Wheaton shared many of those Time Lord-inspired ideas to theProdigyteam.
But it wasnt pandering.
Rather, Wheaton sees this Traveler version of Wesley as a natural extension of the character introduced inTNG.
Theres no reason that the Travelers, including Wesley, wouldnt experience that as well.
And I just let my imagination take off.
Wheaton is quick to acknowledge that he did not create Traveler Wes alone.
It was a collaboration, he says.
I had tremendous support from Kevin Hageman in finding exactly where Wesley was going to land.
Wesley has a real particular tone inPicardthat matches the show, he recalls.
That was not the right tone to haveProdigy.
He needed to have more energy, he needed to be a little funnier and a little less grave.
Each one is different, he explains.
This Wesley is playing jazz, this Wesley is playing EDM ,and this Wesley is playing metal.
Its just a different style.
Then I just asked myself, What about the Doctor?'
With the other writers onboard, Wheaton found his voice for the frantic, kid-friendly adult Wes.
We put it through some kind of filter and ended up with Wesley the Traveler.
And then he remembers, Oh yeah, theres the kids!'
Hed tell them the same thing that I told my children: Be honest.
Show up for your friends and your family.
Dont put pressure on yourself to be perfect, accept that youre going to make mistakes.
And then the last thing that I tell kids is, Choose to be kind.
There is a huge difference between choosing to be nice and choosing to be kind.
Wesley is like a Time Lord, so he might have two hearts, Wheaton continues with a smile.
One heart belongs to Wesley and one heart belongs to me.
And those two hearts come together.
So his choice to be kind comes from here.
Yeah, and he rejects being nice.
He chooses kindness all the time.
I have an odd position as the youngest elder in theStar Trekuniverse.
Because of that position, Wheaton is in a unique place to offer advice.
I told theProdigyactors thatStar Trekis going to change their lives.
But how much it changes their lives is very much up to them.
And if you dont want that, thats okay.
But you always have a place to go home.
We look after each other, he says of the otherStar Trekactors.
We always had theOriginal Series cast looking after us.
Weve done our best to look after everyone thats come after us.
Its an aspirational hope for a better world, Wheaton says of talking to his youngest castmates.
And then we hand it off for someone else to care for it.
It is a privilege for me, he concludes.
I wish I could just go back to him and tell him my dude, come here.
The change in fan reaction isnt something that Wheaton takes for granted.
I cannot say thank you loudly enough.
It means so much to me.
The kindness, the celebration from family.
Its not just people saying its cool.
Oh my God, it had to be him.
Hes everything I wanted him to be.
And if the fan reaction is any reaction, Wesley is everything Trekkies wanted him to be, too.
Star Trek: Prodigy is streaming now on Netflix.
