Frakes foi premiado com um Prêmio Carreira na Vida no 39º Prêmio Saturno em 2013 .
do comunicado de imprensa:
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films is happy to announce that actor and director JONATHAN FRAKES, whose impressive body of work includes playing Commander William T. Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its big-screen movies as well as directing such series as Castle, NCIS: Los Angeles, Leverage, Roswell, and V, will receive this year’s Life Career Award.
He joins this year’s previously announced special-award recipients Richard Matheson, William Friedkin, and Vince Gilligan and will receive his award in person during the award ceremonies.
Recebeu o prêmio pelo menos em parte pelos seus esforços durante a corrida de televisão do TNG .
Sobre o Saturn Awards:
The Saturn Awards is the official award presentation voted by the members of the The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films.
The Saturn Awards is an acknowledgement of fine work. Some of it is ground-breaking, some of it is vastly entertaining, but the bottom line should be that the recognition is well earned.
Frakes é o único ator TNG a receber um Saturn Award, e muito menos um Life Career Award. (Patrick Stewart foi indicado três vezes para um Saturn Award, mas nunca ganhou um.)
Esse reconhecimento em particular coloca a Frakes entre indivíduos como Ray Bradbury e Gene Roddenberry, e os atores Rock Hudson, Ann Robinson, Vincent Price, Lance Henriksen e Malcolm McDowell - cada um recebeu um Saturn Award.
( Fonte )
Em relação aos elogios a casos específicos de representação de Riker por Frakes na televisão, o site oficial de Star Trek publicou recentemente uma retrospectiva sobre a Episódio centrado em Riker "Frame of Mind" :
O artigo é rápido em apontar:
The season-six hour remains a fan favorite, in large part thanks to the powerful performance by Jonathan Frakes, who plays Riker as a man losing his mind in the complex, layered, even trippy dramatic episode.
