Name
Jonathan Frakes
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1952-08-19 (74 years old)
Place of Birth
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA
Biography
Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander (later Captain) William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent films and series. He has also hosted the series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, voiced David Xanatos in the Disney animated series Gargoyles, and narrated the History Channel documentary, Lee and Grant.
His other well known TV roles are as Stanley Hazard on the miniseries North and South, Sandy Parris on ABC's Paper Dolls, Marcus Marshall on NBC's Bare Essence, and Damon Ross, a recurring character on Falcon Crest.
He 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, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Picard. He later directed the feature films Clockstoppers (2002) and Thunderbirds (2004). He has since directed prolifically for television, including for The Librarian television films and series, Leverage, Burn Notice, and Roswell (of which he is also a producer).
He is the credited author of the novel The Abductors: Conspiracy, which was ghostwritten by Dean Wesley Smith.
He has been married to actress Genie Francis since 1988 and they have 2 children.
Known For
5.951
Morris "Mud" Himmel has a problem. His parents desperately want to send him away to summer...
5.763
Catwoman's attempt to steal a priceless jewel puts her squarely in the crosshairs of both ...
5.3
Set in the small town of Devil's Gate, North Dakota, the film examines the disappearance o...
6.3
While on a dangerous mission to recover the historic Judas Chalice, Flynn is saved by Simo...
6.27
After retrieving the Crystal Skull in Utah, Flynn Carsen receives a map in the mail with t...
- 1994 Star Trek: Generations as Commander William T. Riker
- 1996 Star Trek: First Contact as Commander William T. Riker
- 1998 Star Trek: Insurrection as Commander William T. Riker
- 2002 Star Trek: Nemesis as Commander William T. Riker
- 2009 Star Trek: The Captain's Summit as Self
- 2006 Alien Autopsy as Self
- 2023 Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event as Captain William Riker
- 2002 Clockstoppers as Bystander
- 2011 Truth Be Told as Radio Sound Engineer
- 2011 Lee & Grant as Narrator (voice)
- 2000 Ghosts Caught on Tape: Fact or Fiction? as Narrator (voice)
- 1994 Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation as Host / Self
- 2017 Heroes Manufactured as Self (archive footage)
- 1992 Roswell: Coverups & Close Encounters as Narrator (voice)
- 1995 Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?) as Self - Host
- 1994 Star Trek: The Next Generation Viewer's Choice Marathon as Self - Host
- 2004 No Strings Attached: The Making of Thunderbirds as Self
- 1989 The Cover Girl and the Cop as Joshua Boyleston
- 2023 A Biltmore Christmas as Winston
- Soon Holograms All the Way Down as Commander William T. Riker
- 1994 Camp Nowhere as Bob Spiegel (uncredited)
- 1996 Brothers of the Frontier as Ben Frye
- 2014 Chaos on the Bridge as Self
- 2018 Devil's Gate as Sheriff Gruenwell
- 2011 The Captains as Self
- 2024 Butterfly in the Sky as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 How William Shatner Changed the World as Self
- 2016 50 Years of Star Trek as Self
- 1999 Dying to Live as Will
- 2012 Megaquake 10.0 as Narrator (voice)
- 1993 Your Guide to Star Trek: Generations as Self
- 2006 The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines as Debra's Husband
- 1980 The Night the City Screamed as Richard Hawkins
- 2007 Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier as Self
- 1991 Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special as Self
- 1997 Trekkies as Self
- 1995 Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken as Xanatos (voice)
- 1988 The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next as Self
- 1994 Phish: Tracking
- 2008 The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice as Trombone Player in Marching Band (uncredited)
- 2013 Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds as Cmdr. William Riker (archive footage)
- 2012 Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation as Self
- 1979 Beach Patrol as Marty Green
- 1995 Time Travel Through the Bible as Time Traveler
- 2022 Catwoman: Hunted as King Faraday / Boss Moxie (voice)
- 1996 Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond as Self
- 2014 Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command as Cmdr. Will Riker
- 2013 Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification as Cmdr. Will Riker
- 2013 Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption as Cmdr. Will Riker
- 2026 A Grand Biltmore Christmas as Winston
- 2014 Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things... as Cmdr. Will Riker
- 1989 Friend to Friend: Armenian Earthquake Relief as Self
- Soon Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary as Self
- 2026 The Sixty Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World as Self
- 1981 Falcon Crest ( 11 episodes ) as Damon Ross
- 2001 Star Trek: Enterprise ( 1 episode ) as Commander William T. Riker
- 1999 Futurama ( 1 episode ) as Jonathan Frakes (voice)
- 1999 Family Guy ( 1 episode ) as Commander William T. Riker (voice)
- 1987 Star Trek: The Next Generation ( 176 episodes ) as William T. Riker
- 1995 Star Trek: Voyager ( 1 episode ) as Commander William T. Riker
- 1986 Matlock ( 1 episode ) as Prosecutor Mr. Park
- 1994 Gargoyles ( 78 episodes ) as David Xanatos (voice)
- 1985 The Twilight Zone ( 1 episode ) as Steve (segment "But Can She Type?")
- 1976 Quincy, M.E. ( 1 episode ) as Leon Bohannon
- 1984 Highway to Heaven ( 1 episode ) as Arthur Krock, Jr.
- 1995 Cybill ( 1 episode ) as Jonathan Frakes
- 1990 Wings ( 1 episode ) as Gavin Rutledge
- 1976 Charlie's Angels ( 1 episode ) as Brad
- 1981 Hill Street Blues ( 1 episode ) as Eddie Sims
- 1982 Hotel ( 1 episode ) as Ted Travers
- 2005 Criminal Minds ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Arthur Malcolm
- 1979 Hart to Hart ( 1 episode ) as Adam Blake
- 1982 Voyagers! ( 1 episode ) as Charles Lindbergh
- 1977 Eight Is Enough ( 1 episode ) as Chapper
- 2019 How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) ( 2 episodes ) as Jonathan Frakes
- 1972 The Waltons ( 2 episodes ) as Ashley Longworth Jr.
- 1983 Bare Essence ( 11 episodes ) as Marcus Marshall
- 1997 Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ( 39 episodes ) as Self - Host
- 1981 Here's Boomer ( 1 episode ) as Philip
- 1986 Dream West ( 3 episodes ) as Lt. Archibald Gillespie
- 2009 That's Impossible! ( 6 episodes ) as Narrator (voice)
- 2009 Castle ( 1 episode ) as Richard Castle Fan
- 2022 The Shuttlepod Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1973 Barnaby Jones ( 1 episode ) as David Douglas
- 1978 Fantasy Island ( 1 episode ) as Kirk
- 1979 The Dukes of Hazzard ( 1 episode ) as Jamie Lee Hogg
- 1978 The White Shadow ( 1 episode ) as Basketball Player
- 1980 Beulah Land ( 2 episodes ) as Adam Davis
- 1980 I'm a Big Girl Now ( 1 episode )
- 1979 Paris ( 1 episode )
- 1981 Harper Valley P.T.A. ( 1 episode ) as Clutch Breath
- 1981 The Fall Guy ( 1 episode ) as Connors
- 2009 The Super Hero Squad Show ( 1 episode ) as High Evolutionary (voice)
- 1983 Five Mile Creek ( 1 episode ) as Adam Scott
- 2009 Glenn Martin, DDS ( 1 episode ) as Peter (voice)
- 1980 It's a Living ( 1 episode ) as Steve
- 1984 Paper Dolls ( 11 episodes ) as Sandy Parris
- 1998 Oh Baby ( 1 episode ) as Don
- 1976 Quincy, M.E. ( 1 episode ) as Young Surgeon
- 1985 North and South ( 13 episodes ) as Stanley Hazard
- 1999 Family Guy ( 1 episode ) as Jonathan Frakes (voice)
- 2020 Star Trek Day ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2016 Angie Tribeca ( 1 episode ) as Commandant Van Zandt
- 1993 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ( 1 episode ) as Thomas Riker
- 1996 3rd Rock from the Sun ( 1 episode ) as Larry
- 1996 The Paranormal Borderline ( 1 episode ) as Host
- 1993 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman ( 1 episode ) as Tim Lake
- 2013 The Captains Close Up ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1987 Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder ( 3 episodes ) as Rosen
- 2020 Star Trek: Picard ( 12 episodes ) as William Riker
- 2019 The Ready Room ( 10 episodes ) as Self
- 2009 NCIS: Los Angeles ( 1 episode ) as Navy Commander Dr. Stanfill (uncredited)
- 1999 Roswell ( 2 episodes ) as Jonathan Frakes (uncredited)
- 2023 Star Trek: very Short Treks ( 3 episodes ) as Riker (voice)
- 2020 Star Trek: Lower Decks ( 3 episodes ) as William T. Riker (voice)
- 2024 The D-Con Chamber ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1982 Bare Essence ( 2 episodes ) as Marcus Marshall
- 1999 The Lot ( 5 episodes ) as Roland White
- 2025 The Mighty Nein ( 1 episode ) as Zeenoth (voice)
- 2017 After Trek ( 1 episode )
- 2026 Stuart Fails to Save the Universe Podcast ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2026 Star Trek: Legenden ( 3 episodes ) as Self - William Riker
- 2005 American Dad! ( 1 episode ) as (voice)
