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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 and subsequent films and series. He has also hosted the anthology series , 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 Ghostwriter by Dean Wesley Smith.
Frakes began directing episodes of The Next Generation during its third season, and went on to direct the feature films (1996) and (1998) and episodes of the later Star Trek series , , , , , , and . 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.
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.
He played the part of Charles Lindbergh in a 1983 episode of Voyagers! titled "An Arrow Pointing East". In 1983, he had a role in the short-lived NBC prime time soap opera Bare Essence (which also starred his future wife Genie Francis), and a supporting role in the equally short-lived primetime soap Paper Dolls in 1984. He also had recurring roles in Falcon Crest and the miniseries North and South. Frakes appeared in the 1986 miniseries Dream West.
Frakes has appeared in , , , and , 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.
Much of Frakes's acting work after Star Trek has been animation voice acting, most notably voicing the recurring role of David Xanatos in the animated series Gargoyles, and he provided the voice of his own head in a jar in the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before". He had a small, uncredited role in the 1994 film Camp Nowhere. Frakes also voiced Finn the Human's adult version in the episodes "Puhoy" and "Dungeon Train" on Adventure Time.
Frakes was an executive producer for the WB series Roswell, directed several episodes, and guest-starred in three episodes. His relationship with Star Trek is downplayed in the season 3 episode "Secrets and Lies", in which the alien character Max auditions for a guest role as an alien for Star Trek: Enterprise.
Frakes appeared on the 1994 Phish album Hoist, playing trombone on the track titled "Riker's Mailbox". Frakes would occasionally perform on the trombone during his tenure as Commander Riker, drawing on his college marching band experience. He was also a member of "The Sunspots", a vocal backup group of Star Trek cast members that appeared on Brent Spiner's 1991 album Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back.
Frakes hosted The Paranormal Borderline, a short-lived television series on UPN, which dealt with the paranormal and mysterious happenings and creatures. 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 , which also dealt with the paranormal world.
Frakes and Francis appeared together in 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, , 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.
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. They began dating in 1985, became engaged in 1986, and married on May 28, 1988. The couple has two children.
In 2008, they moved from Belfast, Maine, to Beverly Hills, California, and later to Calabasas, California.
| 1979 | Beach Patrol | Marty Green | Television film | |
| 1994 | Camp Nowhere | Bob Spiegel | ||
| Star Trek Generations | Commander William T. Riker | |||
| 1995 | Time Travel Through the Bible | Himself / Host | ||
| 1996 | Commander William T. Riker | Nominated–Blockbuster LLC Nominated–Saturn Award for Best Director | ||
| 1998 | ||||
| 1999 | Dying to Live | Will | Television film | |
| 2002 | Commander/Captain William T. Riker | |||
| Clockstoppers | Janitor | Uncredited | ||
| 2004 | Thunderbirds | Policeman | ||
| 2006 | Carl Potter | Television film | ||
| 2008 | Trombone Player in Marching Band | Television film Uncredited | ||
| 2011 | The Captains | Himself/Captain William T. Riker | ||
| 2017 | Devil's Gate | Sheriff Gruenwell | ||
| 2022 | King Faraday, Moxie Mannheim | Voice, direct-to-video | A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. | |
| 1977–1978 | The Doctors | Tom Carroll | ||
| 1978 | Charlie's Angels | Brad | Episode: "Angel on My Mind" | |
| Barnaby Jones | David Douglas | Episode: "Stages of Fear" | ||
| Fantasy Island | Kirk Wendover | Episode: "The War Games/Queen of the Boston Bruisers" | ||
| 1979 | The Waltons | Ashley Longworth Jr. | 2 episodes | |
| Eight Is Enough | Chapper | Episode: "Separate Ways" | ||
| The White Shadow | Basketball Player | Episode: "One of the Boys" (uncredited) | ||
| 1980 | Here's Boomer | Philip | Episode: "Private Eye" | |
| Beulah Land | Adam Davis | |||
| The Night the City Screamed | Richard Hawkins | |||
| 1981 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Jamie Lee Hogg | Episode: "Mrs. Daisy Hogg" | |
| Harper Valley PTA | Clutch Breath | Episode: "Low Noon" | ||
| 1982 | Hart to Hart | Adam Blake | Episode: "Harts and Palms" | |
| Hill Street Blues | Drug dealer | Episode: "Of Mouse and Man" | ||
| Quincy, M.E. | Leon Bohannon/Surgeon | 2 episodes | ||
| Voyagers! | Charles Lindbergh | Episode: "An Arrow Pointing East" | ||
| 1983 | Bare Essence | Marcus Marshall | Several episodes. | |
| 1984 | Highway to Heaven | Arthur Krock Jr. | Episode: "A Divine Madness" | |
| Five Mile Creek | Adam Scott | Episode: "Gold Fever" | ||
| The Fall Guy | Connors | Episode: "Always Say Always" | ||
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Single Guy | Episode: "But Can She Type?" | |
| North and South | Stanley Hazard | |||
| Falcon Crest | Damon Ross | Season 4 Episodes 20 - 30 | ||
| 1986 | Dream West | Lt. Archibald Gillespie | ||
| Matlock | D.A. Park | Episode: "The Angel" | ||
| 1987–1994 | Commander William T. Riker | 176 episodes – Also portrayed transporter duplicate Lt. Thomas Riker in "" | ||
| 1988 | Reading Rainbow | Himself | Episode: "The Bionic Bunny Show" | |
| 1994 | Wings | Gavin Rutledge | Episode: "All's Fare" | |
| Lt. Thomas Riker | Episode: "" | |||
| Journey's End: The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation | Host | Documentary | ||
| 1994–1996 | Gargoyles | David Xanatos, Coyote, Alexander Fox | Voice, recurring role | |
| 1995 | Tim Lake | Episode: "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape" | ||
| Cybill | Himself | Episode: "Starting on the Wrong Foot" | ||
| Host/Narrator | ||||
| 1996 | Commander William T. Riker | Episode: "" | ||
| 1998–2002, 2021–present | Himself | 45 episodes | ||
| 1999 | Roswell | Episode: "The Convention" | ||
| 2000 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Larry McMichael | Episode: "Gwen, Larry, Dick and Mary" | |
| Ghosts: Caught on Tape | Narrator | |||
| 2002 | Futurama | Himself | Voice, episode: "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" | |
| 2005 | Commander William T. Riker | Episode: "These Are the Voyages..." | ||
| 2005, 2009 | Family Guy | Commander William T. Riker, himself | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | That's Impossible | Himself | ||
| Leverage | Patient in Neck Brace | Episode: "The Snow Job" (uncredited) | ||
| 2010 | Criminal Minds | Dr. Arthur Malcolm | Episode: "The Uncanny Valley" | |
| Navy Commander Dr. Stanfill | Episode: "Disorder" | |||
| 2011 | The Super Hero Squad Show | High Evolutionary | Voice, episode: "The Devil Dinosaur You Say! (Six Against Infinity, Part 4)" | |
| 2012 | Leverage | Man at Consumer Products Safety Commission | Episode: "The Toy Job" (uncredited) | |
| Castle | Richard Castle Fan | Episode "The Final Frontier" (uncredited) | ||
| 2013 | Adventure Time | Adult Finn | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 2014 | Hit the Floor | Hank | Episode: "Blow Out" | |
| 2016–2019 | Guardians of the Galaxy | J'son, TV Narrator, J. Jonah J'Son | Voice, 14 episodes | |
| 2016 | Miles from Tomorrowland | Grandpa Vincent | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| Angie Tribeca | USCG Commandant Admiral Donald "Don" Van Zandt | Episode: "The Coast Is Fear" | ||
| 2016–2018 | Future-Worm! | Steak Starbolt | Voice, 6 episodes | |
| 2018 | After Trek | Himself | Aftershow Episode 11 | |
| 2019 | Hot Streets | Father | Voice, episode: "Super Agent 2" | |
| How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) | Himself | Episode: "Life's Not Fair, Get Used to It" | ||
| 2020, 2023 | Captain William T. Riker | 12 episodes – Also portrayed a Changeling in "Dominion" | ||
| 2020–2024 | The Ready Room | Himself | Aftershow 10 episodes | |
| 2020–2021 | Captain William T. Riker | Voice, 3 episodes | ||
| 2020 | The Astronauts | Rex Dowd | 3 episodes | |
| 2022 | Allegedly | Roger | Episode: "Money Supply" | |
| 2023 | A Biltmore Christmas | Winston | Television film | |
| 2025 | Director | Voice, episode: "A Space Adventure Hour" | ||
| 2025 | The Mighty Nein | Zeenoth | Voice, episode: "Mote of Possibility" | |
| 1995 | Multimedia Celebrity Poker | Himself | ||
| Commander William Riker | ||||
| 2017 | Volk | |||
| 2023 | Captain William T. Riker | |||
| 2023 | Commander William T. Riker | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 1996 | |||
| 1998 | |||
| 2002 | Clockstoppers | ||
| 2004 | Thunderbirds | ||
| 1990–1994 | 3.16 – "" (1990) 4.07 – "" (1990) 4.21 – "The Drumhead" (1991) 5.18 – "" (1992) 6.09 – "" (1992) 6.20 – "" (1993) 7.08 – "Attached" (1993) 7.14 – "" (1994) | ||
| 1994–1995 | 3.02 – "" (1994) 3.08 – "" (1994) 3.13 – "" (1995) | ||
| 1995–1996 | 2.03 – "" (1995) 2.07 – "" (1995) 2.13 – "" (1996) | ||
| 1995 | University Hospital | 1.3 - "Life and Death" | |
| 1996 | Diagnosis Murder | 3.18 – "" (1996) | |
| 1999–2001 | Roswell | 1.07 – "River Dog" (1999) 1.19 – "Four Square" (2000) 1.21 – "The White Room" (2000) 3.04 – "Secrets and Lies" (2001) 3.08 – "Behind the Music" (2001) | |
| 2002 | The Twilight Zone | "The Lineman" (2002) | |
| 2006 | Television film | ||
| 2007 | Masters of Science Fiction | "The Discarded" (2007) | |
| 2008 | Television film | ||
| 2009–2012 | Leverage | 1.07 – "The Wedding Job" (2009) 1.11 – "The Juror#6 Job" (2009) 2.04 – "The Fairy Godparents Job" (2009) 2.11 – "The Bottle Job" (2010) 3.02 – "The Reunion Job" (2010) 3.06 – "The Studio Job" (2010) 3.13 – "The Morning After Job" (2010) 4.09 – "The Queen's Gambit Job" (2011) 4.12 – "The Office Job" (2011) 4.15 – "The Lonely Hearts Job" (2011) 5.03 – "The First Contact Job" (2012) 5.05 – "The Gimme a K Street Job" (2012) 5.14 – "The Toy Job" (2012) | |
| 2009 | Dollhouse | 2.04 – "Belonging" (2009) | |
| 2009–2013 | Castle | 2.08 – "Kill the Messenger" (2009) 5.06 – "The Final Frontier" (2012) 5.20 – "The Fast and the Furriest" (2013) | |
| 2010–2016 | 1.14 – "" (2010) 2.11 – "" (2010) 3.16 – "" (2012) 4.10 – "" (2012) 5.02 – "" (2013) 8.10 – "" (2016) | ||
| 2010 | V | 1.07 – "John May" (2010) | |
| Persons Unknown | 1.05 – "Incoming" (2010) 1.10 – "Seven Sacrifices" (2010) 1.11 – "And Then There Was One" (2010) | ||
| The Good Guys | 1.09 – "Don't Taze Me, Bro" (2010) 1.16 – "Silence of the Dan" (2010) | ||
| 2010–2013 | The Glades | 1.08 – "Marriage Is Murder" (2010) 2.04 – "Moonlighting" (2011) 4.02 – "4.02 – Shot Girls" (2013) | |
| Burn Notice | 4.14 – "Hot Property" (2010) 5.06 – "Enemy Of My Enemy" (2011) 5.17 – "Acceptable Loss" (2011) 6.09 – "Official Business" (2012) 7.06 – "All or Nothing" (2013) | ||
| 2011 | Truth Be Told | Television film | |
| Bar Karma | 1.09 – "Three Times a Lady" (2011) | ||
| 2013–2015 | Falling Skies | 3.09 – "Journey to Xilbalba" (2013) 4.06 – "Door Number Three" (2014) 5.06 – "Respite" (2015) | |
| 2013 | King & Maxwell | 1.08 – "Job Security" (2013) | |
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | 1.08 – "The Well" (2013) | ||
| 2014–2015 | Switched at Birth | 3.06 – "The Scream" (2014) 4.08 – "Art Like Love is Dedication" (2015) | |
| 2014 | Hit the Floor | 2.03 – "Behind the Back" (2014) 2.04 – "Full-Court Press" (2014) | |
| 2014–2017 | The Librarians | 1.04 – "And Santa's Midnight Run" (2014) 1.06 – "And the Fables of Doom" (2015) 1.10 – "And the Loom of Fate" (2015) 2.06 – "And the Infernal Contract" (2015) 2.08 – "And the Point of Salvation" (2015) 3.05 – "And the Tears of a Clown" (2016) 3.06 – "And the Trial of the Triangle" (2016) 3.09 – "And the Fatal Separation" (2017) 4.04 – "And the Silver Screen" (2017) 4.06 – "And the Graves of Time" (2017) | |
| 2017–2019 | The Orville | 1.05 – "Pria" (2017) 2.12 – "Sanctuary" (2019) | |
| 2017–2024 | 1.10 – "Despite Yourself" (2018) 2.02 – "New Eden" (2019) 2.09 – "Project Daedalus" (2019) 3.03 – "People of Earth" (2020) 3.08 – "The Sanctuary" (2020) 3.12 – "There Is a Tide..." (2020) 4.06 – "Stormy Weather" (2021) 5.09 – "Lagrange Point" (2024) | ||
| 2018 | The Arrangement | 2.9 – "Truth" (2018) | |
| 2019 | The Gifted | 2.13 – "teMpted" (2019) | |
| 2020–2023 | 1.04 – "Absolute Candor" (2020) 1.05 – "Stardust City Rag" (2020) 2.05 – "Fly Me to the Moon" (2022) 2.06 – "Two of One" (2022) 3.03 - "Seventeen Seconds" (2023) 3.04 - "No Win Scenario" (2023) | ||
| 2020 | The Astronauts | 1.03 – "Day 3" (2020) 1.04 – "Day 21" (2020) | |
| 2021, 2025 | 1.07 – "The Double-Edged Sword Job" (2021) 3.03 – "The Scared Stiff Job" (2025) | ||
| 2023, 2025 | 2.07 – "Those Old Scientists" (2023) 3.04 – "A Space Adventure Hour" (2025) | ||
| 2026 | 1.09 – "300th Night" (2026) | ||
| 1996 | Interactive film |
| 1997 | Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation | rowspan="3" | ||
| Saturn Awards | Best Director | ||||
| 1999 | Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation | |||
| 2013 | Saturn Awards | The Life Career Award | - | ||
| 2024 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series | rowspan="2" | ||
| Lifetime Achievement Award | The Cast of |
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