Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie LaChance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers. As a writer, he is best known for his blog, Wil Wheaton Dot Net.