all grown up Eighties movie star, 52, unrecognizable with gray beard as he walks his dog in LA 39 years after hit movie
AN EIGHTIES movie star who appeared in a huge film was unrecognizable as he was seen out and about 39 years after his big break.
The actor was just 14 when he landed the part of Gordie Lachance in Stand By Me and last year announced he’d retired from the industry.
This week Wil Wheaton was snapped walking his dog in Los Angeles, sporting a gray beard and glasses.
Wil dressed casually for the outing, opting for a hoodie and jeans and covered up with a beanie hat.
While movie fans will have fond memories of Wil’s performance in Stand By Me, he previously revealed it initally wasn’t a great experience for him.
He said: “Important context, I think, is that I didn’t want to be an actor when I was a kid. My parents forced me to do it.”
Speaking to Yahoo, Wil continued: “My mother made me do it. My mother coached me to go into her agency and tell the children’s agent, ‘I want to do what mommy does.'”
Wil has been open about cutting contact with his parents and detailed the abuse he faced from them.
He said: “[My dad] really went out of his way to make me feel like I was unworthy.
“He really made it clear that I was a disappointment or that I wasn’t doing whatever I needed to be doing. I was just not enough for him. He was implacable where I was concerned.
“My mother is an incredibly manipulative person who uses people. She uses everyone.”
After Stand By Me, Wil went on to star in the Star Trek: Next Generation series and The Big Bang Theory.
Announcing his retirement last year, Wil admitted he would never turn down the opportunity to appear in Star Trek again.
He said: “If that’s all I ever get to do, then it’s a gift and a blessing and something I’m endlessly grateful for.
“And having said all of that, as much as I have decided to just retire from on-camera acting and I feel so good about it and I’m happy about it, Star Trek is something I would absolutely come back for.”
