LeVar Burton
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Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). Burton received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow. His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his accomplishments in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From 2017 until 2024, Burton created and hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as "Reading Rainbow for adults". In October 2024, Burton appeared as the host of the Trivial Pursuit television game show broadcast on The CW network and streaming online.
Known for
Credits
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Ali (2001)
as Martin Luther King, Jr.
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
as Black Lightning (voice)
One Night Only (2026)
Actor
The Hunter (1980)
as Tommy Price
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
as Cap Jackson
Our Friend, Martin (1999)
as Martin at Age 26 (voice)
Lennon or McCartney (2014)
as Self
Mickey's 50 (1978)
as Self
Trekkies (1997)
as Self
Rise of the Zombies (2012)
as Dr. Dan Halpern
The Midnight Hour (1985)
as Vinnie Davis
Taken in Broad Daylight (2009)
as Mike Timbrook
Roots: The Gift (1988)
as Kunta Kinte
Blizzard (2003)
as Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)
as Self
The Jensen Project (2010)
as Kendrick
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager (2024)
as Self
Almos' a Man (1976)
as Dave
Butterfly in the Sky (2024)
as Self
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland (1993)
as Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
Reach for Me (2008)
as Nathanial
And They're Off (2011)
as Self
Dummy (1979)
as Donald Lang
Liberty (1986)
as Robert Johnson
Remembering Roots (2002)
as Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds (2013)
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
40 Years of Star Trek (2006)
as Self
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special (1991)
as Self
And the Children Shall Lead (1985)
as Glenn Scott
US Against the World (1977)
as Self
The Supernaturals (1986)
as Pvt. Michael Osgood
Parallel Lives (1994)
as Dr. Franklin Carter
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2005)
as Self
Yesterday's Target (1996)
as Winstrom
Booker (1984)
as Davis
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next (1988)
as Self
The Jesse Owens Story (1984)
as Professor Preston
I Love Liberty (1982)
as Self
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation (2012)
as Self
Brentwood (2018)
as LeVar Burton
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification (2013)
Actor
Battered (1978)
as Andrew Sinclair
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1994)
as Self
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond (1996)
as Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things... (2014)
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Emergency Room (1983)
as Ray Walden
Central Park (1990)
as Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command (2014)
Actor
Grambling's White Tiger (1981)
as Charles 'Tank' Smith
Definition Please (2020)
as LeVar Burton
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story (1978)
as Ron LeFlore
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event (2023)
as Commodore Geordi La Forge
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family (2017)
Actor
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes (1993)
as Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption (2013)
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid (1977)
as Billy Peoples
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con (2014)
as Self
Secrets of Sacred Architecture (2022)
as Narrator (voice)
A Special Friendship (1987)
as Ben Sumner
Star Trek: Federation Science (1992)
Actor
The Acorn People (1981)
as Rodney
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation (2012)
as Self
School of the Future (2016)
Actor