Jonathan Scott Frakes, born August 19, 1952, is an esteemed American actor and director widely known for his role as William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the subsequent spin-off series and movies. In addition to starring as William Riker, Frakes gained considerable recognition for voicing the character David Xanatos in Disney's series Gargoyles, hosting the anthology series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, and narrating a History Channel documentary, Lee and Grant. He is also credited with the authorship of the novel The Abductors: Conspiracy which was ghostwritten by Dean Wesley Smith.

Beginning his directorial journey during the third season of The Next Generation, Frakes directed notable feature films Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. He also directed episodes for other Star Trek series, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Picard as well as other feature films like Clockstoppers and Thunderbirds. His prolific work extends beyond Star Trek into television, having directed for series such as The Librarian, Roswell, Leverage, and Burn Notice.