Wil Wheaton Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Wil Wheaton’s Net Worth and Salary?

Wil Wheaton, an American actor and writer, has accumulated a net worth of $1 million. He boasts over 130 acting credits, beginning his career in childhood with his first role in the 1981 TV movie “A Long Way Home.” A year later, he debuted in feature films with the animated “The Secret of NIMH.” Throughout the 1980s, Wheaton continued to act and achieved fame with his prominent part in the 1986 film “Stand by Me.” From 1987 to 1990, he portrayed Wesley Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” while also making guest appearances as himself on the popular CBS show “The Big Bang Theory” from 2009 to 2019. Additionally, he co-created and hosted the web series “TableTop” from 2012 to 2017 and in 2014, he hosted “The Wil Wheaton Project” on the SYFY channel. Starting in 2020, he began hosting “The Ready Room,” an aftershow for “Star Trek,” on Facebook Live. Apart from acting, Wheaton writes for his personal website and has authored over a dozen books, such as “Dancing Barefoot” (2004), “Just a Geek” (2004), and “Dead Trees Give No Shelter” (2017).

Star Trek Royalties and Alleged Parental Theft

During the strikes by the WGA and SAG in 2023, Wil revealed a shocking claim about his financial situation through an Instagram post. He stated:

“My parents stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood. My Star Trek residuals were all I had, and they kept me afloat for two decades while I rebuilt my life. I have healthcare and a pension because of my union. The AMPTP billionaires want to take all that security away so they can give CEOs even more grotesque wealth at the expense of the people who make our industry run.”

Early Life

Born Richard William Wheaton III on July 29, 1972, in Burbank, California, Wil Wheaton’s early life was marked by complexities. His mother, actress Debra “Debbie” Nordean, and father, Richard William Wheaton Jr., a medical specialist, provided a backdrop to his childhood. Wil has two siblings, Amy and Jeremy, both of whom made uncredited guest appearances in the first season of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Wheaton has openly stated that he faced abuse from his father during his upbringing, while his mother allegedly enabled this behavior.

Career

Throughout the 1980s, Wil appeared in various television films such as “13 Thirteenth Avenue” (1983), “The Defiant Ones” (1986), and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1987). In 1986, he shared screen time with River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell in “Stand by Me,” directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s novella “The Body.” Following this, Wheaton was featured in films like “The Curse” (1987) and “She’s Having a Baby” (1988), and he guest-starred in “Family Ties” (1987), starting his role as Wesley Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in 1987. He appeared in 85 episodes of the series, and after his departure, he starred in the 1991 film “Toy Soldiers” before relocating from California to Topeka,

In Kansas, he was employed by NewTek, a software company, where he focused on quality control and product testing for the Video Toaster 4000. Following his time at NewTek, Wheaton relocated to Los Angeles and dedicated five years to acting school. Throughout the 1990s, he featured in movies like “The Liars’ Club” (1993), “Pie in the Sky” (1996), and “Flubber” (1997), and made guest appearances in shows such as “Tales from the Crypt” (1993), “The Outer Limits” (1996), and “Diagnosis: Murder” (1998).

In 2002, Wil provided narration for an “A&E Biography” focusing on his late co-star River Phoenix, after which he made guest appearances in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2005), “Numb3rs” (2007), and “Criminal Minds” (2009). He also appeared in films including “Jane White Is Sick & Twisted” (2002), “Neverland” (2003), and the 2009 “Star Trek” film directed by J. J. Abrams. Starting in 2009, he took on the role of Colin Mason in three episodes of the TNT series “Leverage” and portrayed Fawkes in 16 episodes of the web series “The Guild.” From 2010 to 2012, he played Dr. Isaac Parrish on the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Eureka.” In 2015 and 2016, Wheaton guest-starred on “Dark Matter,” in 2016 on “Powers,” and in 2019 on “Supergirl,” while starring in the thriller “Rent-A-Pal” in 2020. Wil has also voiced numerous animated projects such as “Teen Titans” (2003–2005), “Ben 10: Alien Force” (2008–2009), and “Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters” (2017–2018). He’s narrated over 50 audiobooks, including Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One” (2011) and John Scalzi’s “Redshirts” (2012). Furthermore, he has contributed voice acting to various video games in franchises like “Grand Theft Auto,” “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon,” “Fallout: New Vegas” (2010), and “DC Universe Online” (2011).

Personal Life & Real Estate

On November 7, 1999, Wil tied the knot with Anne Prince, who has two sons from a prior relationship. When Ryan, Anne’s son, reached the age of 19, he asked Wheaton to legally adopt him, stating, “You have always been more of a dad to me than my dad ever was…and I was hoping that you’d make it official and adopt me.” Wil agreed and legally adopted Ryan, and later, he adopted Anne’s other son, Nolan.

In December 2010, Wil and Anne acquired a 2,000-square-foot home in Burbank, California, for $915,000. They put this home on the market in April 2021 with a listing price of $1.625 million but eventually withdrew the listing.

Wheaton has remained close friends with Chris Hardwick since their college days; they met during a screening of “Arachnophobia” and later lived together at UCLA.

Wil has faced challenges with alcoholism and celebrated five years of sobriety in January 2021. In 2013, he collaborated with Drew Curtis of Fark.com and Greg Koch from Stone Brewing to produce a stout beer, known as Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout. Identifying as an atheist, Wheaton is also an avid sports fan, supporting the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Kings. In 2018, he authored an article on Medium.com titled “My name is Wil Wheaton. I Live With Chronic Depression and Generalized Anxiety. I Am Not Ashamed.” and spoke at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) conference in Ohio earlier that same year. Additionally, Wheaton enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons and poker, participating in the 2005 World Poker

Tour Championships and the World Series of Poker.

Awards and Nominations

Wheaton’s accolades include nominations for five Young Artist Awards; he shared the Jackie Coogan Award with his castmates from “Stand by Me” in 1987, and in 1989, he won Best Young Actor in a Family Syndicated Show for “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” At the 2002 Melbourne Underground Film Festival, he received the Best Actor award for “Jane White Is Sick & Twisted,” and in 2014, he co-received an International Academy of Web Television Award for Best Hosted Series (Pre-Recorded) for his work on “TableTop,” alongside co-producers Sheri Bryant and Felicia Day. “The Big Bang Theory” was honored with a Merit – Honorary Award at the 2020 CinEuphoria Awards. Additionally, Wil was nominated in 2010 for a Streamy Award for Best Guest Star in a Web Series for “The Guild,” and in 2020, he received a Sunset Film Circle Award nomination for Scene Stealer for “Rent-a-Pal.” In recognition of his contributions, an asteroid was named 391257 Wilwheaton in 2017.