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