LeVar Burton
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 16, 1957 (age 69)
- Birthplace
- Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
Biography
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
Photos
Filmography
Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary
Movie · as Self
Scripps National Spelling Bee
TV · as Self - Host · 4 eps
One Night Only
Movie · as Rick
Strip Law
TV · as (voice) · 1 ep
Weather Hunters
TV · as Flexspecs (voice), Great Grandpa Wallace (voice) · 1 ep
Butterfly in the Sky
Movie · as Self
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
Movie · as Self
Trivial Pursuit
TV · as Self - Host · 46 eps
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
Movie · as Commodore Geordi La Forge
100 Years of Warner Bros.
TV · as Self · 3 eps
Carol & the End of the World
TV · as (voice) · 1 ep
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Tom Swift
TV · as Barclay (voice) · 10 eps
The Shuttlepod Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Legend of Vox Machina
TV · as Undead Thordak (voice) · 2 eps
Leverage: Redemption
TV · as Mr. Blanche · 1 ep
The Problem with Jon Stewart
TV · as Self · 1 ep
INVINCIBLE
TV · as Suit AI (voice) · 2 eps
Definition Please
Movie · as LeVar Burton
Star Trek: Picard
TV · as Commodore Geordi La Forge · 5 eps
Beyond the Spotlight
TV · 1 ep
The Tamron Hall Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
The Kelly Clarkson Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Ready Room
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Weird City
TV · as Dr. Negari · 4 eps
Brentwood
Movie · as LeVar Burton
Explained
TV · as Narrator (voice) · 1 ep
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
Movie
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
TV · as Kwame · 1 ep
School of the Future
Movie
Roots
TV · as Ephraim · 1 ep
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
Movie · as Self
Lennon or McCartney
Movie · as Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
Movie · as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
Movie · as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
Movie · as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
PBS News Weekend
TV · as Himself (voice) · 1 ep
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Movie · as Self
Rise of the Zombies
Movie · as Dr. Dan Halpern
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
Movie · as Self
Transformers: Rescue Bots
TV · as Doc Green (voice) · 104 eps
Perception
TV · as Paul Haley · 35 eps
The Eric Andre Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Finding Your Roots
TV · 1 ep
And They're Off
Movie · as Self
The Jensen Project
Movie · as Kendrick
Adventure Time
TV · as Bubble (voice) · 1 ep
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Movie · as Black Lightning (voice)
Taken in Broad Daylight
Movie · as Mike Timbrook
Community
TV · as LeVar Burton · 2 eps
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
Reach for Me
Movie · as Nathanial
Shatner's Raw Nerve
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Big Bang Theory
TV · as LeVar Burton · 3 eps
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
40 Years of Star Trek
Movie · as Self
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
Movie · as Self
Hell's Kitchen
TV · as Self - Restaurant Patron · 1 ep
Blizzard
Movie · as Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
Star Trek: Nemesis
Movie · as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Remembering Roots
Movie · as Self
Boomtown
TV · as Marvin Lloyd · 1 ep
Ali
Movie · as Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our Friend, Martin
Movie · as Martin at Age 26 (voice)
Family Guy
TV · as Vern (voice), LeVar Burton (voice) · 1 ep
Futurama
TV · as Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice) · 1 ep
Star Trek: Insurrection
Movie · as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Becker
TV · as Mr. Haller · 1 ep
Trekkies
Movie · as Self
The View
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
Star Trek: First Contact
Movie · as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
Yesterday's Target
Movie · as Winstrom
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
Movie · as Self
The Daily Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Star Trek: Voyager
TV · as Captain Geordi La Forge · 1 ep
MADtv
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
TV · as The Monk (voice) · 1 ep
Deadly Games
TV · as Mr. Metcalf · 1 ep
Pinky and the Brain
TV · as Murray (voice) · 1 ep
Star Trek: Generations
Movie · as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Movie · as Self
Parallel Lives
Movie · as Dr. Franklin Carter
Gargoyles
TV · as Anansi/Poacher 2 (voice) · 1 ep
Christy
TV · as Daniel Scott · 7 eps
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
Movie · as Geordi La Forge
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
Movie · as Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
Star Trek: Federation Science
Movie · as Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
Movie · as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Batman: The Animated Series
TV · as Hayden Sloane (voice) · 1 ep
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
Movie · as Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
Movie · as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Central Park
Movie · as Self
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
TV · as Kwame (voice) · 113 eps
Roots: The Gift
Movie · as Kunta Kinte
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
Movie · as Self
A Special Friendship
Movie · as Ben Sumner
Star Trek: The Next Generation
TV · as Geordi La Forge · 176 eps
Houston Knights
TV · as Jason Evans · 1 ep
The Supernaturals
Movie · as Pvt. Michael Osgood
Liberty
Movie · as Robert Johnson
The Midnight Hour
Movie · as Vinnie Davis
And the Children Shall Lead
Movie · as Glenn Scott
The Jesse Owens Story
Movie · as Professor Preston
Booker
Movie · as Davis
Murder, She Wrote
TV · as Reporter Dave Robinson · 1 ep
Jeopardy!
TV · as Self - Host · 5 eps
Emergency Room
Movie · as Ray Walden
Reading Rainbow
TV · as Self - Host · 155 eps
I Love Liberty
Movie · as Self
The Acorn People
Movie · as Rodney
Grambling's White Tiger
Movie · as Charles 'Tank' Smith
The Hunter
Movie · as Tommy Price
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
TV · as Richard Jefferson · 2 eps
Dummy
Movie · as Donald Lang
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
Trapper John, M.D.
TV · 1 ep
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
Movie · as Ron LeFlore
Battered
Movie · as Andrew Sinclair
Mickey's 50
Movie · as Self
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Movie · as Cap Jackson
US Against the World
Movie · as Self
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
Movie · as Billy Peoples
Roots
TV · as Kunta Kinte · 2 eps
The Love Boat
TV · as Darnell Hall · 1 ep
Roots: The Complete Miniseries
TV · as Kunta Kinte · 1 ep
Almos' a Man
Movie · as Dave
The Captain and Tennille
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV · as Self · 1 ep