Wil Wheaton: Keynote Speaker of Penny Arcade Expo 2007 on His Love of Gaming

Every year, around the end of August, Seattle plays host to Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), one of the largest gamer gatherings in the nation. This year, actor Wil Wheaton was the one to give the keynote address at PAX 2007.

Some of you might remember Wil as the lead character from Stand By Me, a 1986 Rob Reiner film based on a story from Stephen King. However, it was later that Wil eventually got a steady TV gig that he is still famous for, the role of Wesley Crusher, the brilliant son of the ship's doctor Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

There were many who considered the role of Wesley Crusher to be a joke. Some regard him to be a cute little mascot of the Star Trek Enterprise, and were glad that Wil was a regular cast member for only a few seasons. After his Star Trek run had completed, Wheaton was able to pick up many roles in films, which is quite normal in the acting world. After all, the acting business is a competitive one, and even though we love to hear about the Tom Hanks and George Clooneys, not everyone who works in Hollywood becomes a household name star.

Wil still remains involved in acting, and is involved in many voice acting roles for video games and animated series. One of the things that sets Wil apart from most actors is that he was one of the first to really use the internet, and was one of the very first celebrity bloggers. He still maintains a blog that receives many hits daily, and has been able to promote the many books he has written as well.

When I listened to Wil's Keynote at the Penny Arcade Expo, I thought he was going to go on about how he broke into to films and his stint on Star Trek. However, very little of his acting career was mentioned, and instead talked about his love of video arcade games. He definitely gave all gamers something to cheer about as he rebutted the negative criticism that video games have received from politicians and parent's groups.

I was very surprised to learn that Wil has two children, one of them he just sent off to college. I admire the fact that Wil could have easily accepted the fate that seems to be common with most "child stars". That is, usually end up not as popular as they started, with everyone asking "where are they now" only to find out that they are recovering alcoholics or drug-addicts, or ended up being working stiffs like the rest of us.

Wil, on the other hand, has definitely found his niche in life, and he lives it to the best of his ability. I couldn't wait to get Wil's autograph afterward, and now have a greater respect for him.