Jonathan Frakes

Star Trek actor Jonathan Frakes turned sixty on Sunday. To celebrate his birthday, we look back to see what became of him and other stars who boldly went where no actors had gone before...

Then: Frakes played William Riker, first officer of the Enterprise, on Star Trek: The Next Generation and in subsequent films. Initially, he didn't have a beard; as his character developed, however, he gained a beard.

Where is he now? Frakes took the step up from acting to directing while working on Star Trek - he began directing episodes of The Next Generation during the show's third season, before going on to helm two Star Trek films, First Contact (even-numbered, good) and Insurrection (odd-numbered, bad). He also directed the live-action film version of sixties puppet show Thunderbirds in 2004; since then, he has had a successful career directing for US television, including shows such as Leverage and Burn Notice.