Jonathan Frakes

Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of William Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent films and series. He has also hosted the anthology series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, voiced David Xanatos in the Disney television series Gargoyles, and narrated the History Channel documentary Lee and Grant. He is the credited author of the novel The Abductors: Conspiracy, which was ghostwritten by Dean Wesley Smith.

Frakes began directing episodes of The Next Generation during its third season, and went on to direct the feature films Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and episodes of the later Star Trek series Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Picard, and Starfleet Academy. He also directed the feature films Clockstoppers (2002) and Thunderbirds (2004). He has since directed prolifically for television, including for The Librarian television films and series, Roswell, Leverage, Castle, and Burn Notice.

Early life and education Frakes was born in 1952 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to Doris J. (née Yingling; 1926–2020) and James R. Frakes (1924–2002). Frakes's father was a professor of English literature and American studies at Lehigh University from 1958 to 2001, and was also a reviewer and critic for The New York Times Book Review. Frakes had a younger brother, Daniel, who died in 1997 from pancreatic cancer. Raised in Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, he attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, where he ran track, played with the Liberty High School Grenadier Band as a trombonist, and graduated in 1970.

Frakes attended Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of the Thespians, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts in 1974. Although he had enjoyed performing in plays throughout junior high and high school, it was not until he entered Penn State that he began to take acting seriously. While he was working a summer job as an usher at the Festival of America Theatre, a director spotted him and suggested that he would make a great addition to his play's chorus. Transformed by the experience, Frakes immediately changed his major from psychology to theater.

Frakes then went on to attend Harvard University, where he became a member of the university's acting company, the Loeb Drama Center, and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1976.

Career Early work For a time in the late 1970s, Frakes worked for Marvel Comics, appearing in costume as Captain America at conventions and other promotional events as well as for special appearances; he credits the experience in helping to hone his skills on interacting with fans on the Star Trek convention circuit. After graduating from Harvard, Frakes moved to New York City and became a member of the Impossible Ragtime Theater. In that company, Frakes did his first off-Broadway acting in Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape directed by George Ferencz. His first Broadway appearance was in 1976 in the musical Shenandoah. Around the same time, he landed a role in the NBC soap opera The Doctors. He also had recurring roles in Falcon Crest He was one of only two actors to appear in every episode (the other being Patrick Stewart). While appearing on the show, Frakes was allowed to sit in on casting sessions, concept meetings, production design, editing, and post-production, which gave him the preparation he needed to become a director. He directed eight episodes of the show and 21 episodes of other shows in the Star Trek universe. After the TV series ended in 1994, Frakes reprised his role in the Star Trek: The Next Generation films, two of which (Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection) he directed.

Frakes has appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks, making him the only Star Trek regular to appear in six Star Trek series. He has also directed episodes in six of the series (TNG, DS9, VOY, DIS, PIC, and SNW). Frakes is also one of six Star Trek actors (the other actors being Kate Mulgrew, Michael Dorn, George Takei, Avery Brooks and Majel Barrett) to lend their voices to the video game Star Trek: Captain's Chair, reprising his role as Riker when users visit the Enterprise-E bridge featured in the game.

After Star Trek

Branching out from the Star Trek franchise, Frakes directed the 2002 family film Clockstoppers. However, his next film, 2004's Thunderbirds, was a box-office bomb, which he has said single-handedly almost destroyed what had been a successful directing career: "[My] name was taken off the lists ... I went from 60 to zero. It was a wake-up for me. I had been so positive, and so blessed, and so fortunate." In one episode, Frakes presented an interview of reporter Yolanda Gaskins with veteran astronaut Gordon Cooper, where they discussed the possibility of aliens having visited Earth in the past. He hosted seasons 2 through 6 of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, which also dealt with the paranormal world.

Frakes and Francis appeared together in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in the episode "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape" as creepily too-good-to-be-true couple, Tim and Amber Lake. He narrated the History Channel's That's Impossible.

In addition to Roswell, Frakes has directed episodes of Leverage, Castle, NCIS: Los Angeles, Burn Notice, Falling Skies and most recently Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Switched at Birth, Hit the Floor, The Librarians, and The Orville. So far, The Librarians has been one of the most positively rated and recommended work of his out of the previous, following the debut film The Librarian and the Quest for the Spear.

Frakes works with the Workshops, the Waterfall Arts Center, and the Saltwater Film Society, all located in Maine, where he teaches classes on film direction. He has also previously taught directing and filmmaking courses at Rockport College, now called Maine Media College. He and Francis owned a home furnishings store in Belfast, Maine, called The Cherished Home, which closed in August 2012 due to her being too busy with her acting to spend adequate time at the store.

In 2026, Frakes with his Star Trek: The Next Generation castmate Brent Spiner, started a podcast, Dropping Names with Brent and Jonny.

Personal life Frakes and actress Debralee Scott met in the early 1980s at an exercise class in Los Angeles. They married after about a year and lived in a 2-bedroom house in Sherman Oaks, California. The marriage dissolved by 1986.

Frakes first met actress Genie Francis on the set of the television soap opera Bare Essence, and again while filming the mini-series North and South. After some encouragement from Kirstie Alley, they began dating in 1985. They were engaged in 1986, and got married on May 28, 1988. The couple have two children.

In 2008, they moved from Belfast, Maine, to Beverly Hills, California, and later to Calabasas, California.

Filmography Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes Reference(s) 1979 Beach Patrol Marty Green Television film 1994 Camp Nowhere Bob Spiegel Television Year Title Role Notes Reference(s) 1977–1978 The Doctors Tom Carroll 2020–2024 The Ready Room Himself Aftershow10 episodes 2020–2021 Star Trek: Lower Decks Captain William T. Riker Voice, 3 episodes Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity Commander William T. Riker 2023 Star Trek: Resurgence Captain William T. Riker Web series Year Title Role Notes Reference(s) 2023 Star Trek: Very Short Treks Commander William T. Riker Voice, 3 episodes 2018 The Arrangement 2.9 – "Truth" (2018) 2026 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 1.09 – "300th Night" (2026) Stuart Fails to Save the Universe 1.05 - "Spoiler: Bert Gets Married" 1.06 - "Spoiler: Corn is Delicious" Video games Year Title Notes Reference(s) 1996 Star Trek: Klingon Interactive film

Awards and nominations