Jonathan Frakes
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
This tall leading man with a Cheshire cat grin and an engagingly relaxed quality is best known as Commander Riker, Captain Picard's 'Number One' man, on the syndicated sci-fi smash, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94). A Pennsylvania native, Frakes began his career on stage at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He landed in NYC where he continued to hone his craft in such theatrical productions as the musical "Shenandoah." Frakes began landing roles on TV in the late 1970s and has since found plenty of work in miniseries. His stalwart, manly charm has adorned the Southern-fried soaps "Beulah Land" (NBC, 1980), "North and South" (ABC, 1985), the simultaneously shot "North and South, Book II" (ABC, 1986) and the eternal return, "John Jakes' Heaven and Hell: North and South, Part III" (ABC, 1994). Frakes also starred opposite his future wife Genie Francis in the TV-movie "Bare Essence" (NBC, 1982), which showed how much the perfume industry really stunk. The actor has also racked up credits in several other longforms.
Frakes tried his hand at a regular series in the revamp of "Bare Essence" (NBC, 1983) and in the similarly glitzy "Paper Dolls" (ABC, 1984), but the third time proved the charm with "ST:TNG." Initially he seemed to be called on to handle romantic leading man duties, but the more cerebral tone to the series kept his character less volatile and randy than William Shatner's somewhat parallel Capt. Kirk. Mentored by series creator Gene Roddenberry, Frakes successfully lobbied the show's producers to step behind the camera to direct several episodes of the series, to good effect: the Frakes-helmed episodes were among "ST:TNG's" most entertaining outings. In return, Frakes remained particularly loyal to the franchise, appearing as Riker on episodes of the spin-offs "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager" (the only regular TNG castmember to do both), several video games and even "Star Trek: The Experience" amusement ride in Las Vegas. He also good-naturedly spoofed his image as Riker in guest spots on series such as "Cybill," "3rd Rock From the Sun" and "Futurama."
Having been somewhat typecast in sci-fi, Frakes has also hosted a number of pseudo-science specials, lending his weighty presence to fluff like "Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?" (Fox, 1995), "Psychic Detectives: Search for Justice" (UPN, 1996) and the series "The Paranormal Borderline" (UPN, 1996). He has also turned up as guest on such series as "Matlock," "Cybill," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and "Diagnosis Murder"--he also directed the latter series, along with helming episodes of the short-lived "University Hospital." .
Frakes made his feature film debut reprising Riker in "Star Trek: Generations" (1994). With 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact," he combined his directorial and "Trek" experience to follow in the wake of Shatner and Leonard Nimoy by both appearing in and directing the film. The first of the "Trek" movies that did not feature any of the characters from the original 60s series, "First Contact" focused on the conflicts between the Enterprise crew and their enemy The Borg. Frakes proved adept as a helmer, creating suspense and showing a flair for the material. In 1998, he again did double duty helming and acting in the next installment in the franchise, "Star Trek: Insurrection," a capable but somewhat lackluster outing. By the tenth feature, Frakes returned to acting only as director Stuart Baird took the helm -- the actor reprised Riker, who finally got to marry his longtime paramour Counsellor Troi (Marina Sirtis).
Frakes directed several first-season episodes of the WB's teen sci-fi series "Roswell" in 1999, and his outings were so well-received he was asked to come on as executive producer when the series was revamped with a more adventure-oriented tone in its second season. In addition to furthering the cult following of the show, Frakes made a pair of tongue-in-cheek guest appearances as himself on the show when plotlines brought the characters to Hollywood. Paramount tapped Frakes to mix his experiencing helming sci-fi and directing teen actors when the hired him to direct the lighthearted time-tripping romp "Clockstoppers" (2002), now primarily committed to directing, Frakes continued to develop several science fiction and fantasy-themed feature film projects and cultivated the genre association by directing an episode of UPN's revived "The Twilight Zone" in 2002.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1979
Earliest TV work included a role in the failed ABC detective series pilot, "Beach Patrol"
1980
First notable miniseries work, "Beulah Land"
1982
Recreated his role as Marcus Marshall from the two-part CBS TV-movie, "Bare Essence" for the short-lived drama series of the same name
1984
Played recurring role of Sandy Parris on the short-lived ABC drama series, "Paper Dolls"
1994
Film acting debut, as Riker in "Star Trek: Generations"
1995
Served as host for the Fox special "Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction"
1996
Feature film directorial debut, "Star Trek: First Contact," in which he also acted as Riker
1996
Hosted the UPN series "The Paranormal Borderline"
1997
Signed to two-year, first-look deal by Paramount
1998
Helmed and co-starred in "Star Trek: Insurrection"
1999
Was executive producer of "Roswell" (The WB, 1999-2001; UPN, 2001-2002), appeared as himself on two episodes
2002
Directed an episode of the UPN series "The Twilight Zone"
2002
Directed the sci-fi comedy feature "Clockstoppers"
2002
Reprised role of Riker in "Star Trek: Nemesis"
2004
Directed "Thunderbirds" based on the cult British television show from the 1960s
Family
Companions
