It goes without saying that we all know Wil Wheaton from his memorable role as Gordy in Rob Reiner's Stand by Me and as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Since the series finale of STNG and an appearance in Star Trek Nemesis, Wil has not only grown as an actor but he's also gone on to expand his talent after landing several notable roles as a voice actor in a number of high profile, fan-friendly, geek-centric video game projects as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Everquest II, Ghost Recon 2, Rainbow Six: Lockdown, GTA: Liberty City Stories to name a few. At the same time, Wil also found another facet of his creative side as a writer, becoming the author of two books in the last few years. Now the third book by Wil Wheaton called The Happiest Days of Our Lives is about to hit store shelves and it features a few fun, personal, geeky and nostalgic stories from Wil's life that most of us Gen-X throwbacks will relate to.

This week, Wil Wheaton also makes an appearance on the new C-Spot comedy network with a brief gig on the hilariously bizarre viral web-series Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show where he plays a Hollywood agent, douchebag type. If you haven't seen Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show, head this way to C-Spot on Youtube this Friday to see Wil in action as he gets humped by a UniCow.

THE DEADBOLT: Since you cover this in your new book, how does it feel to look back on the days when your biggest decisions were either saving your allowance or buying a new Star Wars action figure?

WIL WHEATON: [laughs] I think that as our lives become more complicated and our decisions become more meaningful, and the consequences of our actions become lasting and important, we tend to look back with great fondness on a time when which Star Wars figure to buy was a serious, serious question. With consequences that were really pointless, at the time appeared to be just as great as where we choose to live in the hopes that our kids get into a good school district.

THE DEADBOLT: Since you were born in 1972 and I was also born in the '70s, I know exactly where you're coming from.

WHEATON: That’s really cool. One of the most wonderful, unexpected benefits of the writing that I do is that I have heard from other members on Generation X from all over the world. And while some of the specific cultural references may be different because of geography, you know the world wasn’t as interconnected as it is now. A lot of us share a lot of the same touchstones throughout our lives and it’s cool to hear that. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to make that connection with people.

THE DEADBOLT: Yeah, I have fond memories of the '70s and '80s to the time when bank machines and cell phones didn't exist.

WHEATON: I have a line in my new book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, where I said that the damn kids today - a Gameboy may just seem like a laughable piece of technology. I mean the original Ninentendo Gameboy is enormous to them, it’s like 4 x 6. But that was super high-tech in the world in which I came of age. Of course I don’t think this is unique to our generation, but there are always going to be those times as we grow up where we look back fondly on those things, especially when we’re able to look at their modern legacy.

THE DEADBOLT: What made you want to write The Happiest Days of Our Lives?

WHEATON: I was having dinner with my son and I saw this kid playing with his Star Wars figures and it just, as I describe it in the book, like I fell through a wormhole and landed back in 1981. It just reminded me of it. The memory was so clear and so powerful that as a writer I’m constantly looking for things to write about. And most of the things that I experience now, and write about now being 2008, I’m kind of on the lookout for things that I can incorporate into some fiction that I’m writing. When I wrote Blue Light Special in 2007, I was doing a lot of narrative nonfiction writing and I still dream of being on This American Life or Fresh Air, or something like that. And that was a story that I felt was easy for me to tell and it was something that I thought I would probably want to call up my friend and relate the story to my friend.

THE DEADBOLT: Who are some of your favorite authors?

WHEATON: All of the classic science fiction masters. You know, Bradbury, Asimov, Neal Stephenson, John Scalzi, and Charlie Stross are ones that immediately come to mind. Neil Gaiman. I blame David Sedaris for making me want to be a writer. I really loved his work. I first heard his work on NPR. Then I bought his books and I started reading Sarah Vowell. Then humorists like Steve Allen. I was heavily influenced - it doesn’t really come out in my writing right now, but I was heavily influenced artistically by a ton of the beat writers. But most heavily [Alan] Ginsberg and William Burroughs.

Our Happiest Days, Star Trek, and Gorgeous Tiny Chicken with Wil Wheaton Page 2