LeVar Burton
Acting
Born: February 16, 1957 (age 69) · Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
Highest Rated
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
The Big Bang Theory
2007
INVINCIBLE
2021
Family Guy
1999
Scorpion
2014
Futurama
1999
Adventure Time
2010
Charmed
1998
Community
2009
Star Trek: First Contact
1996
Star Trek: Picard
2020
Ali
2001
Batman: The Animated Series
1992
Photos (4)
Movies (45)
One Night Only
Rick
Star Trek: First Contact
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: Nemesis
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: Insurrection
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Ali
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Star Trek: Generations
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Black Lightning (voice)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Cap Jackson
Our Friend, Martin
Martin at Age 26 (voice)
Blizzard
Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
The Hunter
Tommy Price
Rise of the Zombies
Dr. Dan Halpern
The Supernaturals
Pvt. Michael Osgood
The Midnight Hour
Vinnie Davis
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
Roots: The Gift
Kunta Kinte
Parallel Lives
Dr. Franklin Carter
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
Commodore Geordi La Forge
The Jesse Owens Story
Professor Preston
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
Geordi La Forge
Taken in Broad Daylight
Mike Timbrook
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Dummy
Donald Lang
Emergency Room
Ray Walden
Reach for Me
Nathanial
Liberty
Robert Johnson
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Almos' a Man
Dave
Brentwood
LeVar Burton
Yesterday's Target
Winstrom
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
2017
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
2013
The Jensen Project
Kendrick
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992
Battered
Andrew Sinclair
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
Ron LeFlore
Definition Please
LeVar Burton
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
2014
The Acorn People
Rodney
And the Children Shall Lead
Glenn Scott
School of the Future
2016
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
Narrator (voice)
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
Billy Peoples
A Special Friendship
Ben Sumner
TV Shows (40)
Family Guy
Vern (voice) · 1 eps
Family Guy
LeVar Burton (voice) · 1 eps
Adventure Time
Bubble (voice) · 1 eps
Futurama
Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice) · 1 eps
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Geordi La Forge · 176 eps
The Love Boat
Darnell Hall · 1 eps
Star Trek: Voyager
Captain Geordi La Forge · 1 eps
INVINCIBLE
Suit AI (voice) · 2 eps
Murder, She Wrote
Reporter Dave Robinson · 1 eps
The Big Bang Theory
LeVar Burton · 3 eps
Batman: The Animated Series
Hayden Sloane (voice) · 1 eps
Community
LeVar Burton · 2 eps
The Legend of Vox Machina
Undead Thordak (voice) · 2 eps
Star Trek: Picard
Commodore Geordi La Forge · 5 eps
Gargoyles
Anansi/Poacher 2 (voice) · 1 eps
Finding Your Roots
1 eps
Trapper John, M.D.
1 eps
Becker
Mr. Haller · 1 eps
Pinky and the Brain
Murray (voice) · 1 eps
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Kwame (voice) · 113 eps
Leverage: Redemption
Mr. Blanche · 1 eps
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Kwame · 1 eps
Perception
Paul Haley · 35 eps
Transformers: Rescue Bots
Doc Green (voice) · 104 eps
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
The Monk (voice) · 1 eps
Explained
Narrator (voice) · 1 eps
Houston Knights
Jason Evans · 1 eps
Weather Hunters
Flexspecs (voice) · 1 eps
Weather Hunters
Great Grandpa Wallace (voice) · 1 eps
Strip Law
(voice) · 1 eps
Roots
Kunta Kinte · 2 eps
Carol & the End of the World
(voice) · 1 eps
Boomtown
Marvin Lloyd · 1 eps
Roots
Ephraim · 1 eps
Weird City
Dr. Negari · 4 eps
Christy
Daniel Scott · 7 eps
Deadly Games
Mr. Metcalf · 1 eps
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
Richard Jefferson · 2 eps
Tom Swift
Barclay (voice) · 10 eps
Beyond the Spotlight
1 eps
Self / Appearances (41)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self · 1 eps
The Daily Show
Self · 1 eps
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 1 eps
Jeopardy!
Self - Host · 5 eps
Jeopardy!
Self · 1 eps
The View
Self - Guest · 2 eps
The View
Self · 1 eps
Hell's Kitchen
Self - Restaurant Patron · 1 eps
Tamron Hall
Self - Guest · 1 eps
PBS News Weekend
Himself (voice) · 1 eps
The Eric Andre Show
Self · 1 eps
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Self · 1 eps
Reading Rainbow
Self - Host · 155 eps
The Ready Room
Self · 2 eps
Trivial Pursuit
Self - Host · 41 eps
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Self · 3 eps
The Captain and Tennille
Self · 1 eps
The Shuttlepod Show
Self · 1 eps
The Problem with Jon Stewart
Self · 1 eps
Shatner's Raw Nerve
Self · 1 eps
Central Park
Self
Remembering Roots
Self
MADtv
Self · 1 eps
Lennon or McCartney
Self
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
Trekkies
Self
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Self
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
Self
Butterfly in the Sky
Self
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
Self
US Against the World
Self
I Love Liberty
Self
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
Self
And They're Off
Self
Mickey's 50
Self
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
Self
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
Self
40 Years of Star Trek
Self
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
Self
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
Self
Upcoming (1)
Directing (17)
Charmed
Director
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Director
JAG
Director
Star Trek: Voyager
Director
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Director
Scorpion
Director
Las Vegas
Director
NCIS: New Orleans
Director
Star Trek: Enterprise
Director
NCIS: Hawaiʻi
Director
Perception
Director
Soul Food
Director
Smart House
Director
Blizzard
Director
Miracle's Boys
Director
Reach for Me
Director
The Tiger Woods Story
Director
