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Jonathan Frakes

Jonathan Frakes

Birth name:

Jonathan Scott Frakes

Date of birth:

Place of birth:

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA

Awards forTrek:

Roles:

Actor
Video game actor
Audiobook actor
Director
William Riker, 25th century dress uniform

Actor and directorJonathan Scott Frakes (born19 August1952; age 73) portrayedCommanderWilliam T. Riker onStar Trek: The Next Generation, and in fourStar Trek films. He also appeared as Riker inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine (as anokudagram only),Star Trek: Voyager,Star Trek: Enterprise,Star Trek: Picard, andStar Trek: Lower Decks, and portrayedThomas Riker in an episode ofThe Next Generation, and an episode ofDeep Space Nine.

He also directed a number ofThe Next Generation,Deep Space Nine,Voyager,Star Trek: Discovery, andPicard episodes, along with an episode ofStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, and twoStar Trek films,Star Trek: First Contact andStar Trek: Insurrection. He andDavid Carson are the only people to have directedStar Trek television and film productions.

Along withMarina Sirtis andJohn de Lancie, he is one of only three actors to play the same character in four different live actionStar Trek series as of2023.

He andTim Russ are the only actors to appear on screen with fourStar Trek captains. (Frakes also appeared withWilliam Shatner inStar Trek Generations, but did not share any scenes with him).

Personal[]

Frakes, whose father was a college professor who taught English and literature, was born inBellefonte, Pennsylvania, and raised inBethlehem, Pennsylvania. He began acting at a young age in junior high and high school plays.

Following high school, Frakes enrolled at Pennsylvania State University as a psychology major, and during his time at Penn State became involved with an off-campus professional theater group; this experience eventually led to Frakes changing his major to theater arts. Upon completion of his studies, a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Theater Arts, Frakes spent two summers studying drama at Harvard University, where he performed at the Loeb Drama Center.

On 28 May 1988, he married the actressGenie Francis (Laura Spencer onGeneral Hospital, on which a pre-SpockLeonard Nimoy starred in 1963 and on whichCorbin Bernsen starred long after playingQ2) after working together in the television mini-seriesNorth and South. Francis is the daughter of the late character actor Ivor Francis, and the colony mentioned inStar Trek: First Contact,Ivor Prime, may have been named after Frakes's father-in-law. Frakes portrayed the brother of fellowStar Trek actorsKirstie Alley andJames Read inNorth and South andNorth and South: Book II. The sequel also starredDS9 guest starJim Metzler. Frakes previously met Francis filming the drama seriesBare Essence in 1983.

Television career[]

Prior toStar Trek: The Next Generation, Frakes appeared in numerous TV roles. In 1977, he co-starred on the medical soap operaThe Doctors and between 1978 and 1985 held numerous guest roles on various shows such asFantasy Island,The Dukes of Hazzard,Quincy, M.E.,Highway to Heaven,The Waltons, andThe Fall Guy.

Frakes also held a guest role in a 1982 episode ofHill Street Blues. The series featured manyStar Trek personalities includingJames B. Sikking in the recurring role of Lieutenant Howard Hunter andBarbara Bosson as Fay Furillo. The series also featured guest roles byJonathan Banks,Merritt Butrick,Miguel Ferrer,Larry A. Hankin,Tim Culbertson, andChris Doyle.Brent Spiner also appeared in the 1985 episode "The Life and Time of Dominic Florio Jr.".

Frakes in Cybill

Frakes inCybill

In 1985, Frakes was cast as Damon Ross on the prime-time soap operaFalcon Crest, a role for which he became very well known. Later that year he starred as a villainous steel industrialist in the 1985 mini-seriesNorth and South. The series co-starredKirstie Alley as well as a cameo role by the famous country music singerJohnny Cash. In 1994, while working onStar Trek, Frakes returned to his previous role inNorth and South: Book II. From 1998 to 2002, he was the host ofBeyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.

In 1994, Frakes portrayed himself in theCybill episode "Starting on the Wrong Foot", giving aparody onStar Trek. The episode also featuresStephen Root.

Star Trek[]

Frakes auditioned seven times over six weeks for the part of Riker. (TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis - Casting") He was cast in the role, first appearing in the pilot episode in 1987. Frakes portrayed the role of Riker for the next seventeen years in variousStar Trek series and films, before returning to the franchise again in 2020 portraying Captain William Riker in the seriesStar Trek: Picard andStar Trek: Lower Decks.

For theDeep Space Nine episode "Defiant", Frakes filmed his scenes between Wednesday5 October1994 and Tuesday11 October1994 onParamount Stage 4,17, and18. According to the call sheet, he received a hair and beard cut prior to filming on 5 October 1994. The call sheets also distinguish the parts of "Will Riker" and "Tom Riker" in the cast section by using the numbers 9A and 9B.

He recorded anaudio commentary for theStar Trek: First ContactDVD, a film in which he both starred and directed. His efficient filming style on the set earned him the nickname of "Two-Takes Frakes".

Several of his costumes from his appearances inStar Trek were sold off on theIt's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including the episodes "Yesterday's Enterprise", "The Host", "Violations", and "True Q".[1](X)

He personally feels that theStar Trek: The Next Generation episode "Code of Honor" is the worst segment ofStar Trek that he worked on,[2] while "The Offspring" is his favoriteNext Generation episode that he directed.[3]

Frakes pitched his own spin-offStar Trek show, but CBS rejected it due to the perceived over saturation of the franchise.[4]

Frakes returned to direct episodes ofStar Trek: Discovery andStar Trek: Picard. For the former series, he directed thefirst season episode "Despite Yourself", and thesecond season episodes "New Eden" and "Project Daedalus". For the latter, he helmed "Absolute Candor" and "Stardust City Rag". He also directed two episodes of thethird season ofDiscovery, and returned to direct episodes of thesecond season ofPicard.[5]

Frakes appeared in a promo for the DS9documentaryWhat We Left Behind.[6]

The Riker Maneuver[]

Riker sitting down, by swinging his leg over the chair top

Riker sitting down, by swinging his leg over the chair top

During his role as William T. Riker onStar Trek: The Next Generation, Jonathan Frakes developed an unusual habit of sitting in chairs by swinging his leg over the chair top, essentially "mounting" the chair in order to sit down.[7]

Riker's unique way of standing, often called the "Riker lean"

Riker's unique way of standing, often called the "Riker lean"

According to Jonathan Frakes, the manner in which he sat in chairs began in the first season ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, episode 19, specifically due to the chairs inTen Forward being very low and difficult to sit in, due to Frakes' large stature of being over six feet tall. Eventually, this method of sitting simply became habit and stuck with him for the remainder of the series.[8]

Related to his manner of sitting, fans also noticed the frequency of Riker placing his leg up on consoles, often when standing to overlook a crewman, most oftenData when sitting at theoperations station. This way of standing, often referred to comically as the "cock-a-leg" or "Riker lean" was attributed for many years to Frakes having a back injury, supposedly due to working as a furniture mover in his early life and severely straining his back muscles. This story went unconfirmed for many years, untilWil Wheaton confirmed Frakes had admitted the same to him during their time together on the series.[9]

TheRiker Maneuver actually later became an established Star Trek reference when it was mentioned inStar Trek: Insurrection.

Further work[]

His non-Star Trek feature film directing credits includeClockstoppers,Thunderbirds, and all three ofThe Librarian movies. He directed theStar Trek spoofStar Patrol! in1999 which was planned as a potential pilot for a series but not picked up by 20th Century Fox.

He has also directed various television episodes, including shows such asRoswell,Dollhouse,Castle (including an episode, "The Final Frontier", that featured a large number ofTrek references),The Good Guys, andNCIS: Los Angeles. He has also directed several episodes ofThe Librarians, a spinoff of the film series, which films in the Portland, Oregon area.[10] In these works, he frequently makes cameo appearances. He has also directed episodes ofThe Orville, a science fiction series which is largely inspired byThe Next Generation.

He has also co-written a book,The Abductors: Conspiracy.

Frakes was later a member of The Sunspots, along withPatrick Stewart,Michael Dorn, andLeVar Burton. They appeared as the background vocals for "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" onBrent Spiner's 1991 albumOl' Yellow Eyes is Back.

Frakes is also credited with playing trombone for "Riker's Mailbox" on the 1994 Phish album,Hoist.

Star Trek appearances[]

Appearances as William T. Riker[]

Jonathan Frakes is the onlyStar Trek regular cast member to appear in sixStar Trek television series.

Additional roles[]

William T. Riker (hologram) TNG: "Hollow Pursuits"
William T. Riker (hologram)
TNG: "Hollow Pursuits"
Riker serving as host of Odan TNG: "The Host"
Riker serving as host ofOdan
TNG: "The Host"
William T. Riker (hologram) TNG: "Unification II"
William T. Riker (hologram)
TNG: "Unification II"
William T. Riker (illusion) TNG: "Violations"
William T. Riker (illusion)
TNG: "Violations"
William T. Riker (James Moriarty's hologram) TNG: "Ship In A Bottle"
William T. Riker (James Moriarty's hologram)
TNG: "Ship In A Bottle"
William T. Riker (Picard Delta One hologram) TNG: "Ship In A Bottle"
William T. Riker (Picard Delta One hologram)
TNG: "Ship In A Bottle"
William T. Riker (illusion) TNG: "Phantasms"
William T. Riker (illusion)
TNG: "Phantasms"
William T. Riker (hologram) VST: "Holograms All the Way Down"
William T. Riker (hologram)
VST: "Holograms All the Way Down"

Aftershow appearances[]

Star Trek directorial credits[]

Jonathan Frakes has directed manyStar Trek episodes, twomovies, as well as the interactive CD-ROMStar Trek: Klingon. As of 2025, he has directed the most episodes of anyStar Trek actor. Among his credits

OtherTrek connections[]

Star Trek interviews[]

Starring
Also starring

External links[]

Previous Director:
David Carson		Star Trek films director
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection		Next Director:
Stuart Baird
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