Star Trek Almost Cast These Actors as William T. Riker Instead of Jonathan Frakes

In the years since he was first cast as Starfleet officer William T. Riker in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Jonathan Frakes has become an integral part of the “Star Trek” franchise not only as an actor but also as a director. shaping things behind the scenes. However, when the role was being cast in the late 1980s, Frakes was not the first choice for the impishly handsome first officer. In fact, he was up against other very talented artists.

In the end, however, everything worked out and Frakes ended up playing the guy who simply can’t sit in a chair the way it was designed (as “Star Trek: Lower Decks” once mocked). Still, things could have been very different on “The Next Generation” if one of the other actors in the running had secured the role. In fact, the person who almost took the role and flew away with it was none other than Billy Campbell, who would later star in the Underrated superhero masterpiece “The Rocketeer” in 1991.

In the “Star Trek” oral history “The Fifty Year Mission: The Next 25 Years” by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, producer Rick Berman revealed that Campbell was originally cast as Riker. However, the president of Paramount Studios at the time, John Pike, didn’t think he would be able to cut the mustard:

“For the role of Riker, we cast an actor named Billy Campbell, who went on to do a lot of other good things, and (John) Pike didn’t like him. He didn’t feel like he had a sense of command. Not following this guy into battle. I think “It was actually more that he didn’t audition well for the role, and that’s when we chose our second choice, which was Jonathan Frakes, who turned out to be an excellent choice.”

While it’s probably better that Campbell didn’t end up playing Riker (otherwise he probably wouldn’t have been able to play the Rocketeer). alongside the great actor Alan Arkin), it’s interesting to think about him on paper. Pike may also have got his credibility right; Admittedly, it’s hard to imagine a “next generation” character like Worf taking orders from Campbell, especially clean-shaven and looking as pretty as he does in “The Rocketeer.” He wasn’t the only contender aside from Frakes, however, as there were other famous faces in the mix during the audition process.

Casting for “Star Trek: The Next Generation” began in March 1987. Then, on April 13 of that same year, An audition memo was sent with a “wish list.” for the desired actors for each character on the show. For the role of Riker, then spelled “Ryker”, John Ferraro (who was the senior vice president of Paramount Pictures at the time) noted that “Ironweed” star Michael O’Gorman was the “favorite” for the role because It had a unique charm. O’Gorman was still relatively unknown and stopped acting just a few years after his audition for “Next Generation,” although he definitely had a slightly rougher look that would have fit the number one spot the show was headed for. for at that time.

Also named in the memo are Gregg Marx, a soap opera star who played David Bannings on “Days of Our Lives” and Tom Hughes on “As The World Turns,” along with Ben Murphy, who played Kid Curry on the western from the 70s “Alias”. Smith and Jones.” While Frakes ultimately bested everyone in the audition, there was another actor in the mix who perhaps could have bested him for the role, one who would become a “Star Trek” legend, no less.

Actor Jeffrey Combs is a titan of the genre, with a deep love in both the worlds of horror and science fiction. He played the twisted Dr. Herbert West in the “Re-Animator” films, once cast as an outsider. Doctor Strange scams Doctor Mordridand perhaps most importantly, he has played nine different characters in the “Star Trek” franchise (if we don’t count the multiple Weyoun clones as separate characters). That’s a lot Screen time in the “Star Trek” universeand it all happened thanks to Combs auditioning for Riker.

Although Combs lost the role to Frakes, the latter remembered Combs when he had the opportunity to direct an episode of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and hired him to play the role of Tiron. As much as Combs had problems with the character’s makeupthis allowed him to work with René Auberjonois, who played the shapeshifter Odo and would later direct the “Deep Space Nine” episode “Family Business.” While casting that episode, he suggested Combs for the Ferengi villain Liquidator Brunt, and since the makeup would obscure his appearance enough to fool audiences, the show’s producers gave him the go-ahead. This, in turn, led Combs to play characters in four different “Star Trek” shows, making him one of the most prolific “Star Trek” actors.

Basically, Frakes getting the role of Riker was probably the best possible outcome. Otherwise we would never have seen Combs as a Weyoun defecting and discovering the textures of all the foods in the replicator (and that’s a universe I just don’t want to live in).