MovieChat Forums > Wil Wheaton Discussion > Why "Wil" rather than "Richard"?

Why "Wil" rather than "Richard"?


Anyone know?

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A lot of people prefer to go by their middle names. Maybe he was named after an uncle Richard and they called him Wil to avoid confusion.

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Maybe he just didn’t want to be referred to as good ole Dick Wheaton from Starfleet.

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It's often a tradition to have a "stage name" when working in his industry, to sound more attractive on screen or by preference. It may also be required because someone else may already be registered with his name in the Screen Actors Guild:

"Guilds and associations that represent actors, such as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the United States and British Actors' Equity Association in the United Kingdom, stipulate that no two members may have identical working names. An actor whose name has already been taken must choose a new name."

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It rhymes to closely with Dick Eatin'?

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Name preferences are strange.

My cousin married a guy named "Donald," but he always went by "Burt."

When asked why, they said when he was little, he resembled his "Uncle Burt," and the name just stuck. ❓❗❗❗

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Cause alliteration is catchy, and he's a nerd.

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His full name is Richard Willaim Wheaton III

Usually people named after their father and grandfather they go by their middle names. Nerds or not.

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Just a joke. Wil Wheaton sounds like a comic book character name.

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I wasn't really picking on you or anything. I don't think there is anything wrong with being nerdy.

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Maybe someone already had their SAG registered as Richard Wheaton?

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Hmm, I asked if anyone KNEW, not whether anyone had an obvious guess, which I could have done for myself.

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