10 Star Trek Actors Who Have Appeared In The Most Shows
2. Jonathan Frakes - 6
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Picard
If in doubt, add some Riker.
So goes the seemingly unwritten motto of the Star Trek canon as, since his debut in 1987, Jonathan Frakes has played the bearded Commander in six separate series and four films, making him one of the most reliable appearances in Trek history.
Originally chosen from a deluge of potential candidates, Frakes' youthful energy in The Next Generation created an immensely watchable dynamic alongside his more stern captain, and, with the growing of the iconic beard in season 2, a true icon was born.
Frakes would reprise the role of Thomas Riker, a transporter accident created clone, in the DS9 episode Defiant playing terrorist, as well as appearing as OG Riker in Voyager, as part of the trial of the rogue Q; Quinn. When it was time for Enterprise to call it a day, the writers decided to completely torpedo the franchise and draft Frakes in again, turning the series finale into a holodeck simulation that not even the actor can bring himself to justify.
Frakes' dulcet tones would appear in a three episode arc as Captain of the USS Titan in Lower Decks, before coming to the rescue of Picard in the latter's own series, proving that the actor, the character and the beard can still be relied upon to this day.