Star Trek’s Jonathan Frakes Reveals He Once Played Captain America

Marvel Studios nailed it when they cast Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America. His performance radiates wholesomeness, determination and bravery while never feeling smarmy. But while Evans is obviously the most recognizable Cap, a few other actors have taken on the role over the years. Matt Salinger (the son of The Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger!) played the part in the terrible 1990 movie and there’s also a 1944 serial based on the character.

But now we know that an unlikely person once stepped into the costume as well: Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Commander Riker, Jonathan Frakes. The actor, who has since gone on to direct multiple episodes of Star Trek and the movies First Contact and Insurrection, recently returned to the role of Will Riker in Star Trek: Picardand directed two outings of the show as well.

So, how did he end up as Captain America? I’ll let him tell the story in his own words (from an appearance at GalaxyCon):

This gig lasted for a few years, providing regular work for him:

Frakes even made it as far as the White House, making an appearance alongside Stan Lee, First Lady Rosalynn Carter and various other Marvel heroes (apparently related to energy conservation). I’ve done some digging online and managed to find a picture of the event, too, in which we can see how Frakes looked in the costume. Pretty neat huh?

While I doubt that Frakes is likely to return to the Marvel Universe anytime soon, traveling around the country making children smile as Captain America sounds like a pretty good time. And hey, getting to dress up as the hero and hang out in the White House sounds like a pretty unique experience.

Source: ComicBook.com

Source: wegotthiscovered.com