Wheaton - He's just a Geek

My stomach was doing flip flops as I walked toward the Hyatt in downtown Seattle this morning, on my way to interview the famous Wil Wheaton. My mind couldn't stop arguing with itself.

"You are going to meet the Wesley Crusher."

"It's no big deal. He's just a person. A nice guy. A Geek."

"No, he's been to outer space. He's explored strange new world. His role was to seek out new life and new civilizations. He's been in the same room with Captain Picard."

"He's an author. A chilled out guy. He has facial hair for God's sakes. There's no way this is Wesley Crusher."

I waited for him to come out into the lobby, thinking everyone who walked by was him. Would I recognize him with all that stubble? What if I accidentally called him Wesley? Then I saw him, and my world stood still, and I was thrust into the parallel universe of stardom. Just kidding. I saw him, and he was normal. He's only a little taller than me, skinny, with a friendly smile. A geek. Just the type of person to make me feel at ease, to tell my Star Trek dork stories. I could still see a hint of Wesley Crusher behind his beard - it was in his eyes, and his speech mannerisms. I just couldn't believe he looked OLDER. He was supposed to stay the same. But that would be disturbing, wouldn't it? I don't want to have a crush on a 17 year old anymore.

We hung out at the Starbucks Hyatt for about 40 minutes, and every minute he seemed more real to me. We talked about coffee, tea, life in Los Angeles, that his wife is from Portland. I learned that he loves the Clover Press Ethiopian Blend, and drinks it black. I saw that he wears Converse shoes. We spouted off about sci fi, "the geek subculture", Star Trek, and his love of writing books. He told me when others picture The Next Generation, they can visualize the ship, but he remembers the set, what happened that day, his interactions with the other actors.

We talked about the new Star Trek movie due out in May, and how he thinks it's going to rock, not be a watered down version like the three new Star Wars movies. He told me the writers get it, the directors get it, the actors get it. Star Trek is coming back!

It was a wonderful experience, interviewing one of my favorite actors. I love that he's a geek, down to earth, outspoken. I wish I could be friends with him and his wife, and I'll always remember my 40 minutes with Wesley Crusher.

To listen to the entire interview, go to the KOMO website at this address:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/42448032.html