Wedge was a smuggler who joined the Rebellion at age 17. He flew against the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, where he uttered the immortal words, "Look at the size of that thing!" Afterwards he founded Rogue Squadron along with Luke Skywalker, which he soon commanded. He led an assault group in the Battle of Endor against the second Death Star. Six years later, at age 27, he grudgingly accepted promotion to the rank of general.
Wedge Antilles appears in the films Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, as well as in most of the books set after these events. Fans of the Star Wars series explain his popularity by describing him as a survivor: he is the one minor character to survive all three movies without the blessings of 'fate' (i.e. luck and destiny) that allow the major protagonists to survive constant peril and certain death.
Wedge took part in founding Rogue Squadron anew after the battle of Endor as commander. A major accomplishment of him, Corran Horn, and other of the newer Rogues was the capture of Coruscant.
Denis Lawson played Wedge in all three films. Coincidentally, he is the uncle of Ewan McGregor, the actor who played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the film The Phantom Menace.