Timothy Hutton

When Star Trek's Jonathan Frakes signed on to direct an episode of TNT's Leverage, he agreed to helm one of the drama's most complex episodes yet: one where Timothy Huttons team of cons for good causes help upset an attempt to rig a trial.

But Frakes also beamed in a few friends to turn the set into a mini-Star Trek convention, recruiting The Next Generation's Brent Spiner and Deep Space Nine's Armin Shimmerman and Kitty Swink for key roles.

The once-and-perhaps future Commander Riker also hinted about the possibility of getting involved with J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek franchise, and his acting role on the soon-to-be scheduled Fox drama Persons Unknown, from The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie writer Christopher McQuarrie. And intelligent guy that he is, he took a moment to praise his wife, Genie Francis, for her recent performance in the Hallmark Channel's The Note II: Taking a Chance on Love.

Frakes' Leverage episode, "The Juror No. 6 Job," airs Tuesday at 10 pm/ET.

It's been a good week for Timothy Hutton. The Oscar-winning actor's TNT hit Leverage was renewed for a second season and he's now nabbed a Roman Polanski film.

Hutton has joined the cast of The Ghost, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Based on a novel by Robert Harris, the thriller stars ...
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In the aftermath of Wall Street's fall and in the face of crumbling faith in big business' self-regulation, it seems like the right time for TNT's Leverage. The drama series, which kicks off Dec. 7 (10 pm/ET), follows a group of unlikely allies who team up to right wrongs against average people and get revenge through elaborate con games. Part high-tech spy thriller, part goofy comedy, the rag-tag Leverage crew is helmed by Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton), a former insurance investigator who hits rock bottom before he's offered a con gig that leads him to assemble a team of specialized thieves, martial arts experts and more — and start over with a new sense of purpose. TVGuide.com sat down with Hutton to get inside the mind of Nate Ford and find out what twists are in store for his team in its premiere season. Plus, the actor, who has numerous film projects on the horizon (and in 1980, at the age of 20, won an Oscar his supporting role in Ordinary People), shares what drew him back to TV.