Which Next Generation actor directed Star Trek: First Contact?

Which Next Generation actor directed Star Trek: First Contact? The answer is Jonathan Frakes.

Frakes played Commander William Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation and directed First Contact, the 1996 film that brought the television cast back to the big screen for its second feature. It was also Frakes’s feature-film directing debut.

Before making the movie, Frakes had directed several episodes of The Next Generation, giving him practical experience with the cast, production style, and visual language of Star Trek. Paramount ultimately selected him after other established directors declined the assignment, valuing his familiarity with the franchise.

The film combines time travel with the Borg: the Enterprise-E crew travels to 21st-century Earth to prevent the Borg from changing humanity’s past. Frakes also appears onscreen as Riker, so he had to direct while acting—something he had already practiced on television. LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, and Patrick Stewart were all Next Generation actors, but none directed this film.