Jonathan Frakes is an American actor, author, and director and is best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent films. Having moved towards directing in recent years, Frakes directed and also starred in Star Trek: First Contact as well as Star Trek: Insurrection. Besides directing many TNG television episodes, he also directed a number of shows for Leverage, Burn Notice, Castle, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Frakes also hosted the television series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, challenging viewers to discern his stories of fact-based phenomena and fabricated tales. In June 2011, Frakes narrated the History Channel documentary Lee and Grant. He is also the author of a book called The Abductors: Conspiracy.